Our Why

SF Day 6

Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.

Across the country, too many students are held back—not by a lack of potential, but by conditions that haven’t always supported them to thrive. This challenge shows up in two deeply connected ways:

The degree divide.

A college degree remains one of the strongest drivers of economic mobility. Yet students from low-income backgrounds face more barriers to earning one—widening the gap between them and their wealthier peers.

While nearly 60% of students from high-income families earn a bachelor’s degree by age 24, only 15% of those from the lowest-income quartile do.

Bachelor’s Degree Attainment
  • High-income Students 60% 60%
  • Low-income Students 15% 15%

The educator gap.

Classrooms are facing a growing shortage of qualified, diverse teachers. Over 400,000 teaching positions are either vacant or filled by educators not fully certified—and while more than half of U.S. students identify as BIPOC, only 1 in 5 teachers do.

This shortage has serious consequences for student success—both in the classroom and beyond—and disproportionately impacts students of color and those from underserved communities.

Representation Gap in the Classroom
  • % of Students of Color 50% 50%
  • % Teachers of Color 20% 20%

These challenges reinforce one another—and continue to limit the futures of too many young people. Breakthrough exists to change this.