Breakthrough Central Texas is thrilled to announce that we are expanding into the Del Valle Independent School District with the enrollment of our first 60 sixth graders this spring.
Richard Topfer, Breakthrough Executive Director Michael Griffith, Diana & Gregg Lowe, Board Chair Neil Webber
Why Del Valle?
As our recent rebranding reflects, Breakthrough Central Texas seeks to expand the geographic reach of our services beyond Austin to serve more students in need of our program where they live and go to school.
Nearly 87 percent of Del Valle ISD students are considered economically disadvantaged. District officials and teachers have been working hard to create a college-going culture for their students, but the path from middle school to college remains challenging for the many Del Valle students blazing a new trail for their families.
The 12-year Breakthrough program is proven to greatly increase the odds of lower income students enrolling and graduating from college, and we believe that this partnership will make a meaningful difference in the district’s efforts and the lives of these students.
The Del Valle partnership was made possible by the generous $1 million matching donation we received from Gregg and Diana Lowe last year that ultimately raised a total of $2.3 million for the purpose of increasing Breakthrough’s enrollment by 600 students to create even more first-generation college graduates.
We cannot thank our supporters enough for answering Gregg and Diana’s challenge. The Breakthrough program is dependent on donations such as this and from our dedicated school districts partners, Austin ISD, Manor ISD and Del Valle ISD.
Thanks to you, Breakthrough’s enrollment will grow to nearly 1,700 students in the Austin, Del Valle and Manor school districts by 2018 — a 44 percent increase from when we launched our More Breakthroughs Brighter Futures Growth Campaign in 2015.
Higher education has never been more important in our community where two-thirds of new jobs created require a college degree, but just six percent of low-income middle school students go on to graduate from college.
As our community and the economic inequality within our community grows, so too does the need for our unique program.
Your contributions and support are making a positive difference in the lives of these students. We couldn’t do it without you.
Chief Development Office Grace Holland, Breakthrough Student Gloria Perez, Growth Campaign Chair Walt Penn