Breakthrough Collaborative Receives $2.5 Million Capacity-Building Grant From Atlantic Philanthropies

Breakthrough Collaborative, a national non-profit that increases educational opportunities for high-potential, low-income middle school students, has received a $2.5 million capacity-building grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies. The grant is intended to support Breakthrough’s growth, fundraising and evaluation efforts and will ultimately help the organization serve an additional 5,000 middle school students annually in their summer program. The organization also employs college and high school age teachers, inspiring these young people to pursue careers in education.

“This grant will help further Breakthrough’s mission to help close the academic achievement gap and ensure that our students make a successful transition into college-track high schools,” says Laura Pochop, Executive Director, Breakthrough Collaborative. “Breakthrough will initiate a comprehensive strategic planning process focused on significantly increasing the number of students we serve and fortifying the organization at the national level while coordinating regional fundraising for the 29 local Breakthrough sites.”

Mounting research shows that a great deal of the academic “achievement gap” between low-income and high-income students is attributable to the vast difference in how students spend their summers[i]. Less than ten percent of low-income elementary and middle-school students attend summer school. Given the paucity of positive options for low-income youth during the summer, it is not surprising that by eighth grade, low-income students are more than twice as likely to perform below grade level as their more affluent peers.[ii]

About Breakthrough Collaborative, http://www.breakthroughcollaborative.org:

Through intensive summer sessions, after-school tutoring, weekend enrichment opportunities, and individual counseling, Breakthrough ensures that high-potential students begin the road to college successfully in middle school. Founded in San Francisco in 1978, Breakthrough serves more than 2,200 middle school students and employs 700 college and high school students as middle school teachers in 28 locations across the U.S.

[i] (Beth M. Miller, Ph.D., (2003) Critical Hours: Afterschool Programs and Educational Success. Quincy MA: Nellie Mae Education Foundation); (Alexander, K. L., & Entwisle, D.R. (1996). Early schooling and educational inequality: Socioeconomic disparities in children’s learning. In J. Clark (Ed.), James S, Coleman. London: Falmer Press)

[ii] U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2005 Mathematics Assessment