Mission

The mission of Breakthrough Silicon Valley is two-fold: To prepare motivated, under-served middle school and high school students for success in college preparatory high school programs that will lead them to college; and, to inspire and train college and high school students to enter careers in education.

What We Do

By recruiting students in the 6th grade, BSV reaches them in the critical middle school years and prepares them for academic success in college preparatory high schools. Once in high school, BSV continues to support its students with the goal of getting them enrolled in four-year colleges.

Breakthrough's effectiveness is built upon the relationships between our students and the high school and college students who teach them during our summer and after school sessions. Each year we train 40 high-achieving high school and college students, many with backgrounds similar to those of our students, to serve as teachers and mentors. These young teachers not only teach rigorous academic courses, but also demonstrate by example that hard work leads to achievement and that 'it's cool to be smart.' Through teacher training, support and information about the multiple paths to becoming educators, BSV fulfills the second half of its mission to encourage talented students to pursue careers as educators.

BSV students are promising and hardworking, but face challenges that threaten their college dreams:
* 92% will be the first generation in their families to go to college
* 77% receive free and reduced lunch
* 99% are students of color; 76% are Latino
* 74% of our students speak Spanish at home as their primary language
* 44% live in single parent homes

As an organization, BSV boasts the following results:
* 100% of BSV graduates enroll in college immediately after high school.
* 98% of BSV alumni have graduated, or are on track to graduate college within six years.
* 77% of former BSV teachers have entered the field of education after graduating from college.