Blog
This Moment, and the Future It Creates: Breakthrough’s 2025 Impact
This year marked a powerful chapter in Breakthrough’s story. We invested in future teachers, strengthened program quality, elevated our influence, and brought our network together to learn, connect, and lead. These milestones reflect our commitment to expanding...
Meet Lisa Maria: From Classroom to Community Impact
Lisa Maria Rhodes never expected to become an educator. But her experience as a Breakthrough Miami Teaching Fellow changed her trajectory. Teaching alongside peers and mentors gave her practical skills and a clear understanding of how to support young people. That...
Meet Zaniya: Discovering a Calling Through the Teaching Fellowship
Zaniya always knew that she wanted to be a teacher. A self-described teacher’s pet from the start, she always could see the magic in teaching and would share this dream with people she trusted. But well-meaning mentors steered her away: teaching meant being overworked...
Meet Breyanna: Turning Support into Purpose and Advocacy
This spring, Breyanna will accomplish a milestone she’s dreamed of since she was a middle schooler. When she graduates from Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, she will be the first in her family to graduate college. The path here started more than a decade ago for...
Meet Sah’Quarian: Building Confidence and Direction at Breakthrough
When Sah’Quarian or “Que” first walked into Breakthrough Atlanta, he was a shy middle schooler looking to find his footing. He was quiet, unsure of himself, and searching for where he fit. That first summer changed everything. In Breakthrough, Que found a community...
Investing in Teacher Recruitment Delivers What Kids – and the Economy – Need
By Zachary Levine & Vincent Marigna Levine and Marigna: For every tax dollar spent, teacher recruitment has a higher return on investment for student learning than almost anything else. The teacher shortage has reached crisis proportions. In the 2024-25 academic...
A Week of Learning & Leadership in Houston
It was a full and inspiring week in Houston for the Breakthrough community. Program leaders from across the country gathered for Spring Training, preparing for the summer ahead and deepening their practice as they get ready to train our Instructional Coaches and...
Teach for a Summer. Lead for a Lifetime.
Are you a college student looking to grow as a leader and make a tangible difference this summer? Become a Breakthrough Teaching Fellow! This paid, hands-on, high-support teaching opportunity is open to undergraduates of all majors ready for a meaningful summer...
From Student to Advocate: Jassmin Del Rio’s Breakthrough Journey
Breakthrough was a defining experience for Jassmin Del Rio, as a professional and as a person. She was first a Breakthrough student in middle school, when she found such a deep sense of community and purpose that she went on to become a Teaching Fellow while in...
Mentoring, Teaching, Leading: Diana Barriga on Her Breakthrough Experience
Diana Barriga’s years at Breakthrough were full of career epiphanies. Throughout her time as a Teaching Fellow (2012 and 2013) and later as a staff member (2014-2016), Diana supported young people in a range of ways: teaching middle school math, serving as a mentor,...
Research Shows Strong Relationships Transform Math Learning
Breakthrough is proud to celebrate the publication of new research in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology demonstrating the transformative power of developmental relationships in math learning. The study—created in collaboration with the Search Institute,...
A Summer That Changes Everything: Alumni Spotlights
Teaching Fellow alumni across the country agree: their Breakthrough summer changed everything. From student teachers to education leaders, their stories remind us that a single summer of teaching can spark a lifetime of impact. Hear directly from alumni about the...