Breakthrough Silicon Valley
Cause Area
- Children & Youth
- Education & Literacy
Location
1635 Park AvenueSan Jose, CA 95126 United StatesWebsite:
http://www.breakthroughsv.org
Organization Information
Mission Statement
Our dual mission is: to prepare talented and motivated but under-resourced middle school students for success in academically rigorous high school programs that will lead them to college. and to inspire and prepare high school and college students to enter and excel in careers in education.
Description
Breakthrough’s innovative Students Teaching Students model partners middle-school students with college and high school students who serve as teachers, role models and mentors, providing real-life examples that it’s 'cool to be smart’. Breakthrough boasts a proven ripple effect of positive results: 93% of Breakthrough student alumni are accepted to college preparatory programs and 72% of Breakthrough teachers, many of whom were Breakthrough students, go on to pursue professional careers in education.
Students commit to a minimum of two years of tuition-free intensive six-week summer sessions and after-school programs in which they take classes in core academic subjects, and participate in elective courses ranging from astronomy to African-American literature. Breakthrough's classes are rigorous and small (a maximum 4:1 student to teacher ratio) and full participation and attendance is expected of every student.