BREAKTHROUGH TWIN CITIES
2051 LARPENTEUR AVENUE EAST, ST PAUL, MN 55109 www.breakthrougtwincities.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: BREAKTHROUGH TWIN CITIES (BTC) PREPARES UNDER-RESOURCED STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE SUCCESS AND CULTIVATES THE NEXT GENERATION OF EDUCATORS.

BREAKTHROUGH TWIN CITIES HELPS STUDENTS PREPARE FOR COLLEGE.

DURING 2018-19, BREAKTHROUGH TWIN CITIES OPERATED AT TWO SITES: MOUNDS PARK ACADEMY IN EAST SAINT PAUL AND SAINT PAUL CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SAINT PAUL PROMISE NEIGHBORHOOD. WE SERVED 487 STUDENTS IN GRADES 7-12 AND PROVIDED A TEACHING FELLOWSHIP TO 42 COLLEGE AND HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS. WE ALSO ENGAGED TWELVE HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM INTERNS AND EIGHT LICENSED TEACHERS AS INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES (LICENSED MINNESOTA TEACHERS) DURING THE SUMMER TO PROVIDE CRITICAL PROGRAM AND INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT.100% OF THE STUDENTS WHO FINISHED THE SIX-YEAR PROGRAM IN 2017 ARE ENROLLED IN COLLEGE WITH AN AVERAGE ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP OF $21,371. OF THE 492 STUDENTS SERVED, 90% QUALIFIED FOR FREE/REDUCED LUNCH AND 86% WILL BE FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS. 55% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE LEARNING ENGLISH A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE.OUR TEACHING FELLOWS, CONSISTING OF COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, WERE 36% MALE TEACHERS AND 60% TEACHERS OF COLOR - 26% OF OUR TEACHING FELLOWS WERE FORMER BTC STUDENTS. TEACHING FELLOWS RECEIVED 250 HOURS OF TRAINING, COACHING, AND HANDS-ON TEACHING EXPERIENCE UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF OUR INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES. OF OUR TEACHING FELLOWS THAT HAVE GRADUATED COLLEGE, 70% HAVE GONE INTO CAREERS IN EDUCATION.THE OPPORTUNITYIN MINNESOTA, 87% OF WHITE STUDENTS GRADUATE ON TIME FROM HIGH SCHOOL COMPARED TO ONLY 67% OF YOUTH OF COLOR. NOT ONLY DO STUDENTS OF COLOR ENROLL IN COLLEGE AT LOWER RATES THAN THEIR WHITE PEERS (26% COMPARED TO 74%), BUT ALSO THOSE WHO DO ARE LESS LIKELY TO COMPLETE CREDENTIALS AT EITHER A TWO-YEAR OR FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTION. 79% OF WHITE STUDENTS HAVE EITHER A BACHELOR'S OR AN ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE, COMPARED TO 49% OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN, 40% OF LATINO, AND 36% OF NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS (MNEEP STATUS OF EDUCATION REPORT 2016). THIS GAP CONTRIBUTES TO THE LACK OF OPPORTUNITY THAT CONTINUES TO TRAP COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN MULTI-GENERATIONAL POVERTY.ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THIS GAP IS THE PREDICTED ATTRITION OF TEACHERS IN MINNESOTA. DATA DEMONSTRATES THAT FEWER AND FEWER YOUNG PEOPLE ARE DECIDING TO PURSUE TEACHING AS A PROFESSION EACH YEAR AND THAT NATIONALLY OVER 50% OF ALL TEACHERS LEAVE THE FIELD WITHIN FIVE YEARS. THESE CONSEQUENCES THREATEN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM AT LARGE AND THAT LEAVE MORE AND MORE STUDENTS WITHOUT MOTIVATED AND COMPELLING TEACHERS, ESPECIALLY STUDENTS WHO NEED THEM THE MOST. THESE ATTRITION RATES ARE ALL THE MORE CRITICAL FOR FUTURE TEACHERS OF COLOR, WHO ARE 24% MORE LIKELY TO LEAVE TEACHING POSITIONS THAN THEIR WHITE PEERS. HAVING A TEACHER OF COLOR IN THE CLASSROOM MATTERS. RESEARCH DEMONSTRATES THAT YOUTH OF COLOR SHOW IMPROVEMENTS IN ATTENDANCE, TEST SCORES, AND COLLEGE ENROLLMENT RATES WHEN THEIR TEACHERS ARE ALSO PEOPLE OF COLOR (ANA MARIA VILLEGAS AND JACQUELINE JORDAN IRVINE, 2010). BEING TAUGHT BY SOMEONE OF THE SAME RACE AND SIMILAR LIFE EXPERIENCE IS TRANSFORMATIONAL FOR STUDENTS WHO FACE BARRIERS TO ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND COLLEGE MATRICULATION, AND RESEARCH INDICATES THAT IT HELPS STUDENTS OF COLOR FEEL LIKE THEIR SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS CARE ABOUT THEM. IN TURN, STUDENTS OF COLOR ARE MORE INSPIRED TO STRIVE FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS. THE STATE OF MINNESOTA HAS ONLY 4% TEACHERS OF COLOR. FOR THE TWIN CITIES SPECIFICALLY, THERE ARE 19% TEACHERS OF COLOR IN ST. PAUL TEACHING 79% STUDENTS OF COLOR, AND THERE ARE 17% TEACHERS OF COLOR IN MINNEAPOLIS TEACHING 65% STUDENTS OF COLOR. MOST SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE PROFESSED GOALS TO DIVERSIFY THEIR TEACHING STAFF TO REPRESENT THE STUDENTS THEY SERVE, BUT AS THESE DATA DEMONSTRATE, THIS ASPIRATION IS NOT TRANSLATING INTO ACTUAL SIGNIFICANT HIRING OR RETENTION OF TEACHERS OF COLOR. ALTHOUGH SOME EFFORTS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL, RECENT EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT NATIONALLY, THE AVERAGE RATE OF ATTRITION AMONG TEACHERS OF COLOR CONTINUES TO OUTSTRIP THEIR RATE OF ENTRY (INGERSOLL & MAY, 2011). PROGRAM ACTIVITIES & POPULATION SERVEDBTC RECRUITS YOUTH AND FAMILIES IN 6TH GRADE DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR. WHILE THE APPLICATION PROCESS IS COMPETITIVE, TUITION IS FREE. BTC STAFF, YOUTH AND PARENTS COMMIT TO WORKING TOGETHER TO NAVIGATE THE COMPLEX PATH TO COLLEGE SUCCESS OVER SIX YEARS STARTING THE SUMMER BEFORE THE STUDENT ENTERS THE 7TH GRADE. AT THE SAME TIME, BTC PREPARES DIVERSE YOUNG PEOPLE TO BECOME CLASSROOM TEACHERS FOR THE SUMMER, HIRING TEACHING FELLOWS THROUGH A COMPETITIVE ONLINE PROCESS STREAMLINED BY THE NATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH COLLABORATIVE. SINCE 2005, BTC HAS SERVED 848 YOUTH AND 352 ASPIRING EDUCATORS IN THE TWIN CITIES. BTC STUDENTS DEMONSTRATE POTENTIAL BUT FACE MULTIPLE BARRIERS TO ENROLLING IN OR GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE, INCLUDING THAT THEY:- IDENTIFY AS A RACE THAT IS UNDERREPRESENTED IN COLLEGE (96%) - LIVE IN POVERTY (90%)- SPEAK A LANGUAGE AT HOME OTHER THAN ENGLISH (55%)- WILL BE FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS (86%) - COME FROM A SINGLE PARENT HOUSEHOLD (32%)TO GAIN ACCEPTANCE AND ENROLL IN BTC, STUDENTS AND PARENTS AGREE TO- AND EACH SIGN A CONTRACT COMMITTING THAT THEY WILL- ACTIVE PARTICIPATE IN THE INTENSIVE SUMMER AND SCHOOL YEAR PROGRAM ACTIVITIES TO ENSURE STUDENT SUCCESS. CULTIVATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF EDUCATORS (STUDENTS TEACHING STUDENTS)BTC HAS A SECOND AND EQUALLY IMPORTANT STRATEGY TO ENSURE ALL YOUTH SUCCEED IN SCHOOL- BY CREATING A PIPELINE OF DIVERSE EDUCATORS. BTC RECRUITS DIVERSE AND ENTHUSIASTIC HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO ARE ASPIRING EDUCATORS TO APPLY TO JOIN BTC'S TEACHING RESIDENCY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. BTC HIRES COLLEGE STUDENTS AND A SELECT NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN EDUCATION CAREERS TO TEACH MIDDLE-SCHOOL YOUTH IN ITS SUMMER SESSIONS. BTC PROVIDES TEACHING FELLOWS WITH OVER 250 HOURS OF TRAINING AND HANDS-ON CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE. TEACHING FELLOWS ARE TRAINED BY BTC STAFF AND INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES WHO ARE LOCAL, LICENSED TEACHERS TRAINED IN BTC METHODS AND PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES ON HOW TO MAKE LEARNING EFFECTIVE, COOL AND FUN. THE BTC INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, RANKED AMONGST THE TOP TEN BY THE PRINCETON REVIEW, GIVES THESE BRIGHT, DIVERSE ASPIRING TEACHERS THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO BE EFFECTIVE IN URBAN CLASSROOMS. PROGRAM RESULTS AND KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTSBTC STUDENTS AND TEACHING FELLOW OUTCOMES OVER THE PAST DECADE ALONG WITH FINDINGS FROM A BTC PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS STUDY CONDUCTED BY THE WILDER FOUNDATION (2011) PROVIDE EVIDENCE TO SUBSTANTIATE THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT OF PROGRAMMING. BTC STUDENTS EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN ACHIEVEMENT, GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL, AND ENROLL IN COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY. BTC TEACHING FELLOWS COMPLETE THEIR FELLOWSHIP WITH RENEWED INTEREST IN TEACHING AND REPORT FEELING BETTER PREPARED BECAUSE OF BTC PROGRAMMING. UPON GRADUATION, 70% OF FELLOWS ENTER CAREERS IN EDUCATION.COLLEGE BOUND PROGRAM OUTCOMES (HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS):- 98% (40) OF THE CLASS OF 2018 GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL WITHIN 4 YEARS - 90% WERE ACCEPTED TO 4-YEAR COLLEGES- 10% WERE ACCEPTED TO 2-YEAR COLLEGES - 98% ENROLLED IN COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY - ANNUAL AVERAGE FOR GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS PER STUDENT PER YEAR IS $22,751.- 95% OF ALL BTC HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GRADES 9-12 WERE ENROLLED IN AT LEAST ONE HONORS COURSEMIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM OUTCOMES:- 62% MIDDLE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT IN AT LEAST ONE HONORS COURSE PER TERM IN SCHOOL- 90% REPORTED FEELING BETTER PREPARED FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR BECAUSE OF BTC PROGRAMMING- 89% REPORTED THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY BELONG IN A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY AT BREAKTHROUGH- 94% REPORTED THAT THEY HAVE STRONG, POSITIVE COLLEGE GOING ROLE MODELS AT BTCTEACHING FELLOWSHIP OUTCOMES:- 83% REPORTED IMPROVEMENT IN TEACHING SKILLS- 100% REPORTED THAT THEY HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE RIGOR OF A TEACHING CAREER AS A RESULT OF THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH BTC- 88% REPORTED THAT BTC REINFORCED OR INCREASED THEIR INTEREST IN TEACHING- 70% OF FELLOWS ENTER EDUCATIONAL FIELD AFTER COLLEGE GRADUATIONHTTP://WWW.BREAKTHROUGHTWINCITIES.ORG/SUPPORT/

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