As more details emerge regarding the college admissions scandal, we’re proud to highlight another publication placing Breakthrough as a leading force in transforming the education landscape. Many of Breakthrough’s leaders were featured in an article recently published in DiversityIS magazine discussing the importance of academic programs that aim to close the opportunity gap. In this article, however, the focus was not on college admissions, but on admissions to independent secondary schools.
Mariah Stewart writes, “While the admissions scandal unfolds in the realm of higher education, students from lower socioeconomic statuses (SES) still struggle to gain access to independent schools. Lack of awareness, finances, test preparation, and transportation are the main contributors that keep many of them out.” This is where people who champion diversity in education step in – people like Anne Stavney of the Blake School in Minneapolis, Mark Desjardins of St. John’s in Houston, and Frank Steel of Gulliver Schools in Miami – all heads of prominent institutions that support change and diversity by hosting Breakthrough programs at their schools. Apart from incorporating Breakthrough into their schools, these leaders promote diversity through tools like financial aid calculators and interpreters for ESL families.
As long as the school admissions system – in both higher and secondary education – creates barriers by prioritizing privilege, the need for programs like Breakthrough and the people that champion them is immense.
We are grateful and proud to have these innovators standing by our side.
Read the full article by Mariah Stewart for DiversityIS here.
May 2019
Image courtesy of Breakthrough Twin Cities
