Breakthrough SJC completed its 18th summer at St. Margaret’s with 84 middle school students on campus for academic programming and community connection.
St. Margaret’s played host to a full and fun summer of academic programming for motivated local students, as Breakthrough SJC completed its 18th summer at St. Margaret’s.
Breakthrough SJC is a tuition-free academic program founded, sponsored and hosted by St. Margaret’s. The summer program is one of the organization’s most popular offerings, and this year 84 middle school students were joined by 17 teaching fellows, four junior teachers and four instructional coaches.
This year’s theme was “In Solidarity and In Learning” to highlight Breakthrough’s strengths as both an academic preparation program and a community that uplifts and empowers students.
“Our hope is to help our students understand and appreciate the summer program as an academic enrichment opportunity that is experienced in solidarity with their peers who come from shared first-generation and/or underrepresented backgrounds,” Breakthrough SJC director Elizabeth Eusebio said.
In addition to academic programming in subjects like math, science, art and the humanities, Breakthrough students also took part in “Vision and Ventures,” a startup incubator for students by students, which teaches students to become business leaders that serve their communities.
Over a week, Breakthrough students took part in lessons developed by St. Margaret’s Upper School students Radley Copps and Ella Pintar with support from the Dragon Kim Foundation. On the final day, Breakthrough students pitched their business ideas in a format reminiscent of the hit show Shark Tank.
In addition to the summer programming, Breakthrough SJC offers programs throughout the school year that expand the number of students helped as they work toward a college degree. That includes weekly tutoring sessions for middle and high school students, college counseling support for students and parents, and college access and completion support for current college students.
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