The Balm For Middle School Years.

Fairly or not, middle school is often labeled as the most difficult years for growing children. For Kimberly Barnes, joining Breakthrough not only softened the bumps of that period, but it was the experience that defined her choice of career.
“Seeing how the teachers worked with us and really connecting with the Teaching Fellows during the summer…and how Breakthrough just reached into the community and gave back to students – that made me really love teaching and learning,” said Kimberly. “By 14 years-old, I knew I wanted to be an educator.”
Kimberly, who attended Breakthrough from 2011 to 2014, graduated from West Chester University with a Bachelors’ in Education. She was offered two positions at the Upper Darby, PA, school district at the end of her practicum last summer and accepted the role of reading interventionist for grades 1-5. Her next goal is to earn the accreditation to also teach 6th to 8th grades.
“Giving back in the educational realm the way Breakthrough gave to me has been an honor,” said Kimberly. “The program inspired me to push into my community at my local library, and that encouraged me to sign up for the [Literacy Enrichment After-School Program] to actually start teaching and educating.”
Kimberly credits her mother – a “network resource queen” – with steering her and her sister to enroll in Breakthrough. “She was so excited about how it would be enriching academically and socially.”
“Middle school” Kimberly was a bit shy but relaxed when arriving for the first gathering of the summer program, a barbecue. She worried that it would be too heavy on academics but soon fell into the rhythm of making new friends and digging into the school work.
“That’s where I fell in love with English, because of the amazing teachers at Breakthrough,” she said. She also got support to develop skills to work through more challenging subjects for her. “The enrichment program helped me break down math problems better, to think through them better,” she said. “It taught me to see science as a cohesive process.”
The fruits of Breakthrough were not only academic, though. The activities embedded in the curriculum encouraged her “to stretch” and build relationships across a diverse group of peers, said Kimberly.
To those considering the program, she has a few words of advice: “Love Breakthrough, do Breakthrough, lean into it and appreciate it – it will change your life.”
Contributed by Mara Lemos-Stein
コメント