Breakthrough Silicon Valley

Breakthrough Silicon Valley empowers young people from underserved communities to reach their full potential. Our multi-faceted six-year program launches low-income, first-generation students on the path to college through personalized academic advising and support, college counseling, and leadership development.

• About Us
  Seven-year, comprehensive focus - We believe that building trusting relationships matters. Student growth unfolds over years, not months. We are committed to our students and their families for the long haul.
  
  Focus on academic excellence, as well as social-emotional skills like collaboration, communication, and resilience - Our graduates are not only accepted to college, we prepare them to succeed at top-tier institutions and, ultimately, in an increasingly complex workplace.
  
  Meaningful exposure to careers and professionals - By introducing our students to professional role models and an array of careers, we help them take the first steps in creating a vision for their future.
  
  Parent education - We provide parents with the tools they need to be advocates for their children. Having information and resources empowers parents, strengthening the network of support for their children and fueling their success.
  
  Students-teaching-students model - We prepare talented high school and college students to teach, lead and inspire our students. By the time Breakthrough students reach high school, they’ve established bonds with role models who demonstrate that academic achievement is cool.
  
  Local program, national footprint - As an affiliate of a national collaborative, Breakthrough Silicon Valley is able to share best practices and innovative strategies with 25 partner agencies across the country.
• Our Impact
  Breakthrough Silicon Valley launches talented students who have been historically excluded from higher education on the path to college, and inspires high school and college students to become the next generation of leaders, advocates, and educators. BTSV’s seven-year college access and success program, which supports students from 7th grade to first year of college, has proven to be effective in preparing these students for college: a stunning 99% of BTSV graduates attend college immediately after high school.
  
  BTSV’s tuition-free program provides year-round out-of-school time academic support, counseling, and advocacy for a diverse group of talented students, most of whom come from under-resourced communities and will be the first generation in their family to go to college. Through our students-teaching-students model, BTSV also provides a consummate professional development experience providing talented high school and college students the opportunity to understand the K-12 system and the drivers of educational inequities, and to design and teach classes under the direction of seasoned educators.