Breakthrough Houston at Connect

Breakthrough is a national collaborative focused on providing a tuition-free, academic enrichment and college preparatory program for young people who are curious and college-bound. They also hire and train talented college and high school students as teaching fellows who work under master teachers to gain valuable teaching experience for future careers in education. Longitudinal studies have shown that students who participate in the program are more prepared to be accepted to competitive high school programs and to college. 

There are 19 primary and secondary schools in a two-mile radius of Gulfton & Sharpstown. Despite lots of quality school options, the data showed a scarcity of high quality out of school programs, with academically gifted students especially having little to no options.

In 2016, Connect Community was presented with an opportunity to partner with Breakthrough Houston to create its first expansion site at the KIPP Connect campus. Breakthrough Houston at Connect Community has capacity to serve 180 students. Students apply as 6th graders and participate in the high energy, academically-focused six week summer program as rising seventh, eighth and ninth graders. In high school, they continue into Breakthrough Houston’s College Bound and College Completion program for a total of ten years of support and enrichment. They then continue into Breakthrough Houston’s College Bound and College Completion program, totally 10 years of support and enrichment.