Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano Information

While roughly one of every two high-income students in the United States will graduate from college, only 1 in 10 of their low-income peers can say the same. Regionally, only 30 percent of socioeconomically disadvantage students in Orange County graduate high school with the A-G courses needed to apply to public colleges in California. Breakthrough SJC is determined to reverse this trend. We are passionately working to end inter-generational poverty in our community by in education. Through summer and after-school programs, we increase educational opportunities for motivated, underserved middle school students so they can realize their potential to excel in high school and be the first in their family to go on to college. During the summer, promising 7th-9th grade students engage in academically rigorous coursework during the summer taught by high achieving college students. Middle school students enrolled in Breakthrough commit to three, six-week intensive summer sessions in core and elective academic courses. Additionally, they engage in year-round extracurricular programming that continues into high school. Breakthrough’s unique Students Teaching Students model is also designed to encourage talented high school and college students to pursue careers in education and choose to teach in communities with the greatest need. Teachers at Breakthrough are outstanding high school and college students from across the country and attend colleges such as Brown University, Yale, Cornell, USC, etc. Teaching Fellows receive intensive teaching training and ongoing support from mentor teachers, who are professional teachers from local schools, and Breakthrough directors. By serving both students and teachers, we ensure that we are addressing the educational needs of low-income communities both short- and long-term. Evidence of the success of the model is scene when some of our students have become Breakthrough SJC teachers.