Summerbridge was founded in 1978 as an academic outreach program for seventh
and eighth graders in San Francisco and now has been replicated in 35 schools
nationwide. Recognizing the need to serve younger students, the San Francisco
Unified School District established Summerbridge Prep in 1991. This program,
now known as Day School Summerbridge, serves fifth and sixth graders and has
been housed at the San Francisco Day School since 1993.
Day School Summerbridge is a year-round academic and personal enrichment program
for fifth and sixth graders in San Francisco public and parochial schools. It
is a comprehensive, tuition free, two-year program that promotes diversity,
leadership, creativity, personal development, study skills and academic excellence.
Breakthrough Collaborative
Formerly Summerbridge National, Breakthrough Collaborative is the national
Summerbridge organization. You can visit them at http://www.breakthroughcollaborative.org/.
Summerbridge is comprised of two components:
The summer program is six weeks of demanding, skill-based, multi-cultural,
and student-centered work. Each weekday morning students take four academic
classes, including language arts, math, science, and social science. Two
elective classes - ranging from world language to art history to athletics
- are taken in the afternoon. Classes are small and students receive individual
attention and personal and academic advising.
The faculty is comprised of talented high school and college students
recruited locally and nationally. They participate in six days of intensive
teacher training prior to the start of the program, and they have full
responsibility for curriculum development, classroom teaching, student
evaluation, workshop design and leadership of clubs and advisories during
the six-week program.
Summerbridge’s success as a teacher-training program—and
in particular, its success in drawing students of color into the field
of teaching—has earned national acclaim.
The school year program provides after-school tutoring and enrichment
classes three days a week, which are taught by high-school and college
students. Students receive one-on-one help with homework and projects
while benefitting from a relationship with a mentor. Students also
participate in monthly service learning field trips throughout San
Francisco and fun activities to reinforce skills and maintain excitement
from the summer program. Day School Summerbridge is always striving to
create partnerships and opportunities for the benefit of the students. We
work closely with families to create the best educational opportunities
possible by providing middle school counseling and community referrals.
How to get involved
We are currently recruiting volunteer teachers for our after-school
program. Please see the job
description for more information about the job and how to apply.
If you have any questions contact Elizabeth Lebow at 415-931-2422 x141
or .
“
Summerbridge has emerged as
an enormously powerful intervention in urban schools across
America”
Summerbridge Staff
Nicole Michna, Director (415) 931-2422 ext 142
Elizabeth Lebow, Associate Director (415) 931-2422 ext 141
