Breakthrough Summerbridge Impact Report 2022

Impact Report 2022

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear Friends,

I am proud of what we accomplished through unprecedented circumstances over the past several years. Our staff, teaching fellows, families, and—most remarkable of all—our students displayed flexibility, resilience, and determination, through a remote program in 2020 and a hybrid program in 2021. This past summer, though—our first since 2019 where we all gathered 100 percent inperson—was special.

Since 1978, Breakthrough Summerbridge has helped over 1,700 underresourced students achieve admission to college preparatory high schools. As a result, the majority of our students reach and graduate from four-year colleges. Behind this success is each student’s commitment to academic excellence and determination to persist in the face of challenges. But anyone who participates in a Breakthrough Summerbridge event knows that we have a spirit that makes our program unique. The way that our students, staff, and teaching fellows interact and collaborate evokes joy and builds friendships and mentoring relationships that often last well beyond their years with Breakthrough.

The essence of this spirit is relationships and an unwavering emphasis on combining academic rigor with fun. It is so uplifting to witness in person the energy that arises when students engage with teaching fellows and each other through challenging, hands-on activities that take their learning to the next level. Equally inspiring are the bonds of mentorship that are formed between teaching fellows and instructional coaches as they discover the trials and the rewards of helping students succeed.

The middle school years can be challenging. Building relationships with other students who aspire to academic excellence, while participating in activities that emphasize teamwork and innovation, creates a critical network of support to help navigate these dynamic years. Breakthrough Summerbridge helps students build a stable groundwork for success on the road to high school, college, and beyond.

Thank YOU for being part of our community. I hope that as you review this year’s Impact Report, you gain further insight into the lifetime of difference Breakthrough Summerbridge makes for our students, teaching fellows, and alumni.

With Breakthrough Summerbridge Spirit,

Dara Northcroft

Dara Northcroft, Executive Director

BREAKTHROUGH SUMMERBRIDGE

...is an award-winning, tuition-free, year-round and summer-intensive academic enrichment and advocacy program.

We support highly motivated, traditionally underrepresented students to achieve post-secondary success, and recruit, inspire and develop the next generation of educators and youth advocates.

Located within San Francisco University High School (UHS), we are the original site and inspiration for the Breakthrough Collaborative, which now includes a network of 24 affiliates throughout the United States.

In 2021we rebranded from Summerbridge to BREAKTHROUGH SUMMERBRIDGE to emphasize our pride as the Collaborative’s flagship program and showcase the value of our partnership with Breakthrough affiliates across the country.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

• Provide enrichment to support student success in their school-year programming

• Comprehensively assist all students with admission to college preparatory high schools

• Provide guidance, mentoring and skill-building opportunities that encourage Teaching Fellows to pursue careers in youth development and/or education

• Empower and provide resources for parents to support their children on the path to college

Humanities Science Math

“The best part of this year’s summer program was being with friends and learning…my first full in-person year definitely made it so much better.”

— Bethany, 2022 Student Participant

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

ON AVERAGE EACH YEAR...

100 Students engage in our intensive 6-week Summer Program of instruction prevent “summer slide” and build academic skills

180 Hours

18 Teaching Fellows

9 Instructional Coaches

participate in intensive internships on their pathway to careers in education

mentor Teaching Fellows on best practices in teaching and lesson planning

SINCE OUR FOUNDING...

Over 1,700 Students Served

Over 650 Teaching Fellows Engaged

COLLEGE & CAREER DAY

Each summer on College and Career Day students participate in a variety of workshops, often led by Breakthrough Summerbridge alumni, to learn firsthand about the college experience and the career opportunities that are available for college graduates.

This year, we ventured off campus for this event. Groups of students were fully immersed in college and post-graduate culture through field trips to U.C. Berkeley, San Francisco State University, and to start-up tech company, Searchlight.

“What’s really wonderful about being an instructional coach is I get to work with young people who are interested in the teaching profession.

I really like guiding and sharing my experience with them throughout the summer in an effort to help them improve the instructional program.”

—Eugene, Instructional Coach

OUR STUDENTS

98% Average student retention rate over the course of our 3-year summer program

95% Students enroll in academically rigorous college prep high schools

75% Students have graduated from a four-year college

On average, students lose about two months of reading and math skills during the summer (known as “summer slide”). Students from low-income and historically underserved communities, on average, lose about three months of academic skills.

In summer 2022 Breakthrough Summerbridge students, on average, gained:

1.4 Months in Math Skills

3.1 Months in Reading Skills

76% Low-Income

“My experience was amazing at Summerbridge, not only because of all the wonderful peers and Teaching Fellows, but also because Summerbridge is giving you the knowledge that you need, and also teaching you in a fun and creative way.”

– Josephine, 2022 Student Participant

OUR STUDENTS

Our students reflect the richness and diversity for which San Francisco is proudly known.

Over 50% From Multilingual Families

“The best part of Breakthrough this summer was the community. Everyone knew each other, and there was a sense of belonging, a sense of being in the right place... I’m happy to be part of the Breakthrough Summerbridge community.”

—Sebastian, 2022 Student Participant

OUR PROGRAM’S LASTING AND EXPONENTIAL IMPACT

Following her experience as a Summerbridge student, Natalie Garcia Lara dedicated herself almost immediately to educating and empowering the next generation of students. Serving as a Summerbridge Teaching Fellow in 2003, Natalie then earned her undergraduate degree in English from the University of San Diego, interned with Teach for America, then achieved a Masters in English from California State University, East Bay.

As a teacher, principal, and now, in her role as Director of Academics for a K-8 school in Northern California, Natalie credits her early experience with Summerbridge as a strong influence on her pedagogical philosophy. As a self-described “shy kid”, she remembers fondly being “pushed to participate and excel, but also having a safe space to be silly and have fun.”

Natalie identifies a Summerbridge course in Chicana Literature as the experience that gave her “the bug to become an English teacher”. “Being taught Latina literature by a Latina teacher—and Teaching Fellows who looked like me—opened up a world for me,” says Garcia Lara.

Today, Natalie is passionate about creating educational experiences that are culturally relevant, safe, challenging, participatory, and FUN—particularly for students that “might need an extra push, and advocacy.” She amplifies this philosophy through active participation in the arena of professional development. Currently she is part of a cohort of educators in Loyola University’s Diversity in Leadership program for principals of color.

“I owe so much to Summerbridge,” says Garcia Lara. As a Latina, and the first in her family to graduate from college, “the program gave me a foundation culturally and academically. I could say to myself ‘I belong here. School is for you and people that look like you excel in school’.”

Natalie Garcia Lara is making a difference every day for students, fellow educators, and for equity and inclusion throughout her community. Breakthrough Summerbridge is proud to share her story.

– Natalie Garcia Lara, M.A. BTSB Student ‘99, BTSB Teaching Fellow ‘03

77% Plan to continue work on behalf of youth

“As a Teaching Fellow I have seen this eagerness to learn, to connect, to empathize with others flourish among everyone here at Breakthrough Summerbridge, and I am extremely blessed to not only have taught, but to have learned from my colleagues and students. I would not have wanted to spend the last two months of my life doing anything else.”

– Caterina, Teaching Fellow

OUR TEACHING FELLOWS

This past summer, our Fellows came to us from regions throughout the country--from as near as the Bay Area to as far as the East Coast.

61% Report a likelihood of pursuing a career in education

20% Are former Summerbridge or Breakthrough Collaborative students*

81% of our 2022 summer program student participants surveyed reported “forming strong relationships with their Teaching Fellows”.

*Historical data

Total Expenses: $569,538