Breakthrough Sacramento Celebrates Remarkable 24% Increase in Math Scores for Under-Resourced 7th - 8th Grade Students

Sacramento, CA - Breakthrough Sacramento, a leading educational nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering under-resourced students, is thrilled to announce a significant achievement in improving math scores among 7th and 8th grade students. In light of the recent article published in the New York Times on October 23, 2023, highlighting income disparities in SAT test results, Breakthrough Sacramento proudly reports a remarkable 24% increase in math scores for its under-resourced student population.

The NYT article shed light on the unfortunate reality that income can often be a determining factor when it comes to academic success. However, Breakthrough Sacramento has been working tirelessly to bridge this gap and provide equal opportunities for all students.

Through its innovative programs and dedicated team of educators and mentors, Breakthrough Sacramento has implemented targeted strategies aimed at enhancing math and English language arts proficiency among under-resourced middle school students. These efforts have yielded exceptional results as evidenced by the impressive increase in math scores.

"We are incredibly proud of our students' achievements," said Breakthrough Executive Director, Faith Galati, "This significant improvement not only demonstrates their hard work but also highlights the effectiveness of our near peer led summer programing, year-round tutoring, leadership building activities, social-emotional learning pedagogy, mental health supports, and empowering paid social justice internships.

Breakthrough Sacramento firmly believes that every student deserves access to quality education regardless of their socioeconomic background. By focusing on personalized instruction, fostering critical thinking skills, and providing ongoing support through mentorship programs, they have successfully empowered their students to overcome barriers and excel academically.

In addition to academic support, Breakthrough Sacramento offers various enrichment activities such as leadership development workshops and college readiness programs. These initiatives aim to equip students with essential life skills beyond academics so they can thrive both inside and outside the classroom.

As an organization committed to continuous improvement and innovation within the education sector, Breakthrough Sacramento remains dedicated to expanding its reach and impact. By collaborating with local schools, community partners, and passionate individuals, they strive to create a brighter future for all students.

For more information about Breakthrough Sacramento's programs and initiatives or to schedule an interview with a representative from the organization, please contact: 

Faith Galati
Executive Director
faith@breakthroughsac.org
916-524-5714

About Breakthrough Sacramento:

Breakthrough Sacramento is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing under-resourced students with access to quality education. Through personalized instruction, mentorship programs, and enrichment activities, they empower students to achieve academic success while fostering essential life skills. With a commitment to equity and opportunity for all students, Breakthrough Sacramento aims to bridge the educational gap in our society.

Breakthrough April News

Earth Day Adventures

We're adding ‘kayak pro’ to our resumes! We partnered with ICO Sacramento for an Earth Day adventure to Tomales Bay.

Part of our year-round program is creating enrichment activities for BSAC students and offering opportunities to deepen their knowledge base. Breakthrough Students spent the day exploring the ocean, learning about the marine life of Marin County, and, of course, laughing together! 

Students Spotlight California Cannabis Legalization

Breakthrough Sacramento's Social Justice Interns are currently in the process of surveying the public on their awareness of California marijuana policies.

Studies have shown that frequent marijuana use before the age of 21 increases the chance of becoming addicted by 40-80%. Since its legalization in California, the public lacks awareness of the process of selling and using marijuana. We hope to assess the public's awareness and find ways to make this knowledge more widely accessible.

Want to learn more and receive the full Breakthrough Newsletter? Subscribe below at Become a Friend of BSAC!

Breakthrough February Recap

Breakthrough Visits KCRA Channel 3

Breakthrough Sacramento had the privilege of going on a behind-the-scenes career exposure to KCRA Channel 3!! Dirk Verdoorn took us on a tour of the news station and introduced us to his team. We watched the whole news segment LIVE and learned what it is like to work in front and behind the camera! It was a fun and educational experience for our BSAC students.

Thank you, KCRA!!!!

Students Spotlight Mental Health

Students are looking for more ways to prioritize mental health. Two groups of passionate students from Stanford and Georgetown have created Student Mental Health Week to raise mental health awareness and show students they aren't alone in their struggles.

They created a comprehensive list of resources and workshops for students to learn more about their own mental health and create positive, healthy habits around taking care of themselves. Students who chose to participate were encouraged to discuss their own challenges and victories, engage in activities supporting positive messaging, and given resources to maintain mental health practices.

Breakthrough is happy to offer free mental health resources to our students. Through your continued support, students and their families can have access to Breakthrough's list of resources and monthly mental health check-ins.

Removing financial barriers for students to access mental health care gives students the tools to navigate the ups and downs in their academic careers, relationships, and can give them an added boost of confidence while persuing their college journey and beyond.

Want to learn more?

CONTINUE READING

Want to learn more and receive the full Breakthrough Newsletter? Subscribe below at Become a Friend of BSAC!

Inside Sacramento: Summer Breakthrough

Students thrive in ‘near-peer’ teaching program

By Cecily Hastings
July 2022

As most Sacramento middle-schoolers celebrate the lazy days of summer, a few fortunate students are beginning a life-changing journey.

Breakthrough Sacramento, an educational nonprofit, operates a middle school summer academy taught by college students. After closing in 2020 under the pandemic and reopening with a hybrid model in 2021, the program is back in full force for its 28th year in Sacramento.

“Our program partners motivated, but underserved, middle school and high school students to assist them in graduating high school and entering college,” says Michael Covey, chair of the organization’s board of directors and a retired teacher at Sacramento Country Day.

During summers after their sixth, seventh and eighth grades, Breakthrough students participate in a rigorous, engaging six-week academy daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students receive additional tutoring and counseling during the school year.

“School-year assistance is also provided during their high school years, along with college counseling. We help them apply to colleges and financial assistance,” Executive Director Faith Galati says. “Many of these students will be the first generation of their family to attend college.”

Student teachers, recruited from colleges all over the country, receive 80 hours of training in best practices. High school students also help teach.

“This near-peer teaching provides the middle school students with role models for the types of people that they aspire to become,” Galati says. “The Breakthrough teaching experience can be life changing as many of the student interns go on to the teaching profession.”

Jesus Aispuro has been part of Breakthrough since sixth grade. This fall, he’s headed to Stanford on a scholarship. “The program allowed me to continue pursuing higher education for both high school and college,” he says. “I’m grateful that my parents supported me throughout the program and my extracurricular activities.”

He continues, “Breakthrough literally changed the course of my life. Through participating in Breakthrough, I was also selected for the Country Day Scholar Program—a full scholarship to attend Sacramento Country Day School. Before that, public school was my only option. Country Day exposed me to numerous opportunities I’d not otherwise have had.”

Aispuro credits his Breakthrough college counselor who helped him apply to several highly select universities and arranged a visit to Columbia in New York City. “In the end, Stanford was my best option,” Aispuro says.

“The Breakthrough experience is vital in the lives of the participating students and their families. A college degree leads to an average full-time pay that is almost twice that of a high school graduate,” Covey says. “Over the last 20 years, unemployment rates for college graduates are one-half that of students who only graduated high school, regardless of the state of the economy. Statistically, a college graduate has less than a 5-percent chance of falling below the poverty line once obtaining their degree.”

Limited access to quality academic programs has historically hampered the progress of students from underserved communities. In 2020, young people from families in the top 20 percent income brackets were almost twice as likely to enter college as students with family incomes in the lowest 20 percent.

“Thankfully, the trends have been improving significantly over the last 50 years, with high school graduation rates climbing in all communities to at least 80 percent, and college entry in underserved communities climbing to above 45 percent,” Covey says. “But the opportunity gap between underserved communities and those with means still remains quite large.”

Breakthrough Sacramento is funded by private donors and corporate and agency partners.

“Our partnerships include the generosity of Sacramento Country Day School, SMUD, Kaiser, Teichert and many more,” Covey says. “Our board members and private individual donors are also a big help to fund our mission.”

“I am still making a continued effort to be a part of Breakthrough,” Aispuro says. “I volunteered for the summer program as a ninth grader, and this summer I am working as a teacher. However, all of this would not have been possible if it were not for my involvement and the generosity of Breakthrough.”

This summer’s enrollment includes 90 middle-schoolers and 107 high school students.

“All students in our community are capable of success,” Galati says. “Breakthrough assists those who want that success to rise above the disadvantages of opportunity. Each of these students are amazing in so many ways. We are privileged to be able to help them on their life-changing journey through middle and high school and into college.”

For more information visit breakthroughsac.org.

Cecily Hastings can be reached at publisher@insidepublications.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.

Breakthrough on the Block

What's New in The Neighborhood?

Breakthrough Sacramento!

You’re invited to Breakthrough on the Block!

Thursday, May 12, 2022 | 5:30 - 7:30 PM

Esther's Park
3408 3rd Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95817

• Enjoy locally-sourced food, drinks, music, and more

• Discover how Breakthrough elevates the academic outcomes of under-resourced and marginalized youth

• Learn how Breakthrough plans to connect and collaborate with area organizations

• Meet Breakthrough students and their college mentors Network with local businesses and nonprofits

• Tour our new office space

RSVP online or email faith@breakthroughsac.org

Student Applications Now Open. Apply Today!

Breakthrough is an exciting and challenging journey that starts the summer before seventh grade and continues through high school and college. 

Each spring, students in 6th and 7th grade throughout the greater Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, and Elk Grove region, are invited to apply to join our 6-year program. As a Breakthrough student you will participate in:

• Three outrageously fun Academic Summer Programs - It’s like going to the gym for your brain to pump some neurons! Participate in the 6-week Breakthrough Summer Academy the summer before 7th, 8th, and 9th grade! You’ll be taught by high school and college students who make math, writing, literature, and crazy science classes extraordinary. You’ll learn new tools and skills through chats, cheers, and raps, and meet many new friends. And each week you will look forward to Fabulous Friday Field days where we have games, competitions, and field trips!

• Free school-year tutoring - Students have access to one-on-one or group tutoring, daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on your needs.

• Monthly Super Saturday Events - Students get the opportunity to go hiking, camping, take treks to the snow, and attend professional sporting events, theatre, and ballet, as well as attend college field trips. Many events also include free tickets for your family.

• High School Advising and College Prep Counseling - Breakthrough helps you set personal goals that set your path to achieving your academic potential, including annual goal setting, engaging school-year seminars, paid school-year internships and social justice projects, and lots of college preparation activities.

As a Breakthrough student, all of these support activities and the associated supplies are offered to you at NO COST!

Summer 2022, we are excited to welcome more than 100 new students to Breakthrough Sacramento!

Each year, Breakthrough admits a new class of students, rising 7th graders and 8th graders attending schools in the greater Sacramento region, attending school at Sac City, San Juan, Twin Rivers, Elk Grove, and Folsom Cordova Unified School Districts. Charter school and home-schooled youth are also eligible.

New students have their first Breakthrough experience at our cornerstone program, an academically rigorous Middle School Summer program held on the Sacramento Country Day School Campus in Sacramento. The Breakthrough Summer Academy helps combat summer learning loss, a leading contributor to the achievement gap. Teachers are well-trained, exceptional, and diverse high school and college students who serve as near-peer mentors. With a 1:8 teacher-student ratio, our 3-pillar model, consisting of extended learning, comprehensive advising, and leadership experiences, helps younger students experience breakthroughs in academics and confidence while the older students discover potential as educators and leaders.

The following characteristics typically describe our students:

• Will be first-generation college graduates

• Motivated to learn, work hard and achieve success in school

• Willing and able to make a long-term commitment to Breakthrough, while attending their neighborhood schools

Learn more about eligibility and the application process.

Apply before May 31, 2022!

“I watched my brother participate in Breakthrough for the past couple years and I couldn’t wait for my turn. This is my chance to learn more and advance in school and homework. I have big plans for my future as an architect.”

— Nico H., 7th Grade