Launch Pad to College AT COUNTRY DAY, AN INNOVATIVE PROGRAM FOR SMART, BUT UNDERPRIVILEGED STUDENTS
BY CECILY HASTINGS PUBLISHER’S DESK
B
y midsummer, most middleschool students aren’t thinking about school. But at one special program in Sacramento, quite the opposite is true. Breakthrough Sacramento is part of a cross-country program collaborative that has changed the lives of tens of thousands of middleschool students. Breakthrough Sacramento’s home and host is Sacramento Country Day School’s impressive campus off American River Drive in Arden. “The program is a partnership that provides a year-round, tuition-free, college-prep program for academically motivated, ethnically diverse students from underresourced schools primarily in Meadowview, South Sac and Del Paso Heights,” says Adolfo Mercado, director of Breakthrough Sacramento. “It is also an innovative teacher-training program for talented high school and college students.” Applying to join in February, 36 new students are selected each year to attend an intensive six-week academic summer program taught on the Sacramento Country Day campus by enthusiastic college students
Adolfo Mercado, director of Breakthrough Sacramento
from across the country and local high school students. The students continue in the program for six years, until they go off to college. Only 25 percent of those who apply are chosen each year after a rigorous selection process that includes essay writing, teacher recommendations and personal interviews. “The school-year program consists of weekly after-school tutoring sessions in primarily English and math, as well as monthly Breakthrough Saturday events,
including cultural events, outdoor adventures, college visits and community service,” says Mercado, who has directed the program since 2005. Mercado says that grade tracking, high-school options counseling and advocacy ensure that Breakthrough students have the opportunity to enroll in challenging collegepreparatory high-school programs. During their high school years, Breakthrough students participate in SAT prep programs, college
preparation workshops and financialaid information sessions for them and their parents. These monthly sessions are taught by local high school students and students from Sac State and UC Davis. “Family involvement is key, as we estimate that about 95 percent of Breakthrough students will be first in their families to attend college,” says Mercado. “Educating their parents on why they should support their students in going away to college is a real challenge for us. Poor and immigrant families have real fears of their children leaving home. We have to convince them to let go.” Mercado may be the perfect role model for these students: He grew up in Meadowview, attended Christian Brothers High School and graduated from UC Santa Cruz. “I am so passionate about this program because I see myself in many of these students,” says Mercado. “I’ll never forget the motto on the wall outside at Christian Brothers: Enter to learn, leave to serve. Through my work at Breakthrough, I can help those who were just like me at one time.” The program produces measurable results year after year. According to Mercado, 92 percent of Breakthrough Sacramento graduates attend college directly after graduation, compared to 34 percent of low-income students nationally and 29 percent in the Sacramento area. “Our students’ choices have included St. Mary’s, Harvard, Stanford, Wesleyan, the University of California campuses and more,” he says. “Plus, more than 70 percent of Breakthrough Sacramento teachers plan to enter careers in education PUBLISHER page 13
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