About Breakthrough
Breakthrough Houston provides a tuition free, academic enrichment and college preparatory program for some of Houston’s most deserving young people. BTH exists to ensure that bright, gifted, and motivated students from low income homes in Houston are given the opportunity to reach their full potential. We aim to prepare students who possess high academic potential, but limited educational resources, for competitive high-school programs and college admission. We serve approximately 200 underserved Houston area students through our Summer, School Year, and College Readiness programs. Our students have been admitted to some of the highest ranked high schools in Houston, such as St. John’s School, Episcopal High School, Debakey High School for Health Professions, Carnegie Vanguard, Lamar IB, YES! Prep, KIPP, and Bellaire High School and have gone on to attend universities like Princeton, Vanderbilt, and University of Virginia. Additionally, we encourage talented high-school and college students to consider careers in education. Of the 30 teachers from the 2010 summer, 23 plan to pursue (or are considering pursuing) such a career.
History
BTH, part of the national Breakthrough Collaborative, was established in Houston in 1996. Starting with an initial enrollment of 30 middle-school students and a handful of teachers in 1996, we have worked with over 1500 students and teachers over the past fifteen years. Our summer program is generously housed by St. John’s School, while our School Year and College Readiness programs operate at Episcopal High School.
Our Programs
Summer Program (in the summers before 7th, 8th, and 9th grades)
The BTH Summer Program runs for eight weeks every summer. It begins with an intense orientation for the teachers, followed by six weeks of classroom work for the students in Literature, Writing, Science, Social Studies, Math, and Electives, and concludes with a week of teacher evaluations and reviews. Our students also participate in Career Day, Community Service Day, and an Alternative Energy Science Fair.
School Year Program (during 7th and 8th grades)
The BTH School Year program meets twelve Saturday mornings during the school year, and includes English, Math, and Elective classes. Additionally, for any student with a grade falling below an 80%, BTH provides tutoring to ensure that the student has the high GPA required for admission to a competitive high school and eventually to college.
College Readiness Program (during 9th, 10, 11th, and 12th grades)
Established in 2008, the BTH College Readiness program is part of our six-year commitment to our students. Our College Readiness Program strives to ensure that each of our students remains on the path towards college admittance with SAT prep, mentoring, career and college counseling, and help with resume building activities like internships, summer programs, and community service.
Inspiring Future Teachers
At BTH, we aim to inspire college and high school students who are interested in education careers to pursue that interest after college graduation. We expose them to the world of education with a hands-on, autonomous, and authentic classroom environment, to show them first hand what a positive impact they can have on a young student. BTH strives to ensure that we are encouraging the most talented and promising future teachers.
