Why We Exist
Young people across the United States do not have equal opportunity to attend college.
- Only 76% of America’s low-income youth can expect to graduate from high school
- Only 61% can expect to enroll in college
- And a mere 14% will earn a bachelor’s degree.
Low-income students, students of color and first generation students face unique barriers getting on and staying on the path to college. Their success remains our highest priority.
Researchers striving to explain unequal academic achievement find that much is attributable to differences in the number of hours young people spend in constructive enrichment activities outside of school.
BTGB’s academic out of school time and college access programming addresses the urgent need to close the opportunity gaps and ensure all students have the opportunity to pursue four-year college.
Researchers striving to explain unequal academic achievement find that much is attributable to differences in the number of hours young people spend in constructive enrichment activities outside of school.
BTGB’s academic out of school time and college access programming addresses the urgent need to close the opportunity gaps and ensure all students have the opportunity to pursue four-year college.
Meanwhile, schools in the United States will need to hire up to 1.9 million teachers by 2024. Research shows that students with the most effective teachers make academic gains at as much as three times the rate of students with the least effective teachers. There is currently a shortage of high-quality teachers in low-income districts. There is also a shortage of teachers of color: only 17% of public school teachers across the country are of color.
Breakthrough provides an entryway for high-achieving, diverse college students to gain substantial teaching experience in an urban setting while providing the supports they need to be effective.
What Makes Breakthrough Special
- While our model is rooted in over twenty-five years of evidenced-based practice, Breakthrough meets the needs of the new students and communities we serve with agility and innovation
- Breakthrough’s unique dual mission, serving both students and aspiring educators, tackles inequities at both the individual student and systemic level
- Breakthrough’s Teaching Fellows bring fresh energy into the classroom, and serve as role models to younger students on the path to college. Together, younger and older students create a vibrant learning culture and achieve impressive outcomes
- Research has shown early academic intervention is critical to college access and success for low-income students. Starting in seventh grade, Breakthrough students join a college-going cohort and develop positive mindsets that help them thrive
- Breakthrough is there for our students for the long term, providing consistent programming and relationships.
A six-year college access model is incredibly rare – and highly effective - Knowing that life success is not limited to academic mastery, Breakthrough intentionally builds life skills through four key social emotional competencies: community membership, effective communication, creative problem solving, and persistence