mreyesaleti

Training The Equity Lens On Teaching Inspired by her mother’s career as a fourth-grade teacher, Jordyn Kaplan saw herself as an educator from a very young age. That vision sharpened over time to a clear picture of herself teaching History in public schools, where she believes she can affect students’ lives in a meaningful and positive way. She put that vision to the test in the summer of 2021 by joining Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia as a Teaching Fellow. At the time, Jordyn was a...

Sowing Confidence to Reap Possibilities As a middle schooler at Hill-Freedman World Academy, an international baccalaureate school, Shakirah Ray was on the path to a promising future. Her path widened irrevocably when she joined Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia in middle school (2008). “The program was very instrumental to my academic success,” said Shakirah. The depth and breadth of the curriculum, as well as the range of experiences shared with a diverse group of peers and teachers...

Mixing Tracks as an Eye Opener It’s not easy to predict what will spark possibilities in life, but it can be as unexpected as spinning records. As a Scholar in one of the first Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia classes, Cristen Pierce took DJing classes as part of her middle school electives and, besides the fun creative moments, she also felt her world expanding. “I don't know why I was into DJing, but I enjoyed it,” said Cristen. “I never would have thought of taking DJing as a course,...