Breakthrough Staff
Jess Pena
Prgoram Coordinator
Jess@breakthroughctx.org
Laura Palomares
Program Coordinator
laura@breakthroughctx.org
Chanelle McFarland
Associate Director- Del Valle
Chanelle@breakthroughctx.org
Angel Arreola
Program Coordinator
angel@breakthroughctx.org
Darielle Cyphers
Program Advising Fellow
darielle@breakthroughctx.org
Our Mission
Breakthrough Central Texas creates a path to and through college for students who will become the first in their families to earn a college degree.
Our Vision
All Central Texas children have the opportunity to realize their potential through the life-changing power of a college degree.
Our Core Beliefs
We believe all children should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing power of a college degree.
We believe deep rooted, systemic racism and income inequities create barriers to college degree attainment for students of color, students from low-income communities and students who will be the first in their families to earn a college degree.
We believe supporting all students to realize their educational potential can be a disruptor of our region’s current racial and economic disparities.
We believe the path towards increasing educational equity in our region is through culturally responsive interventions provided in the context of trusting relationships.
Why We Exist
All children should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing power of a college degree, as educational opportunities beyond high school afford a greater ability to achieve economic mobility and build a life of one’s own choosing.
However, too often, a student’s circumstances of birth – race, ethnicity, family’s income level or immigration status – predicts the educational opportunities they will be afforded.
In Central Texas, only 8% of middle schoolers from low-income communities go on to earn a college degree of any kind. Those who do not only have a 12% chance of earning a living wage as a young adult.
It is critical to move the needle on post-secondary attainment in our region. The current status quo is detrimental to the vitality and future of Central Texas. The disparities in access to a college education contribute to a devastating loss of human potential and promote a lack of diversity in our homegrown talent pool for all sectors of our workforce – perpetuating our region’s current racial and economic inequities.
For our region to flourish and reach its true potential we must be a community where everyone can truly thrive. By dramatically increasing the number of students from historically underrepresented backgrounds who graduate from college, we can create a more equitable Central Texas for ALL who live here for generations to come.
What we do
Our multi-faceted approach is rooted in our core beliefs. By partnering deeply with students, families and local stakeholders we are facilitating lasting change driven by the unique needs of our students and greater community.
12-year Experience
School wide Post secondary Advising Program
Advocacy Practice
Near Peer Teaching Fellowship