Summer 2026!

“Thank you, Breakthrough, for believing in me when I doubted myself, for always challenging me to do my best, for pushing me to step out of my comfort zone, and for always reminding me that I am never alone in this journey. To all the Breakthrough students sitting in front of me today, know that this program is a gift. Embrace it, learn from it, work hard, and let it transform you.” – Crystina, BTM Scholar alumna, Teaching Fellow Alumna, and second-year nursing student at Rivier University

Breakthrough Manchester’s Summer of 2026 was full of spirit every morning as we united our voices in cheers to welcome each of our 90 scholars. Twenty-four Teaching Fellows added encouragement during those morning cheers and throughout the summer. As near-peer mentors, they sharpen their teaching skills by learning from both experienced educational coaches and the middle schoolers they teach. Most of the Teaching Fellows from the Summer of 2026 are considering a career in the classroom and will be lifelong advocates for equity in education.

The first day culminated in a special assembly where we welcomed and clapped in all our new 7th and some 8th graders. Then we clapped out, with congratulations, all our recent high school and college graduates! Our graduating seniors shared a word that describes Breakthrough, along with a special memory. Words included:  community, family, opportunity, guidance, and empowerment! Those memories include many of the activities that continued this summer, Breakthrough’s 35th!

Summer of 2026 highlights included: 

• Taking a ferry to Star Island to visit the Isles of Shoals.
• Touring Squam Lake’s Science Center in Holderness, NH.
• Visiting Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Harvard’s Natural History Museum, and, for the first time, Boston’s Sports Museum! 
• Our Scholars continued to tour local and Boston colleges and universities. It is so powerful for a middle school student to walk through and stand on a college campus feeling like, “I can belong here.” 

Back at The Derryfield School,  Directors’ Holiday took on a new look as Directors’ Carnival, with a photo booth, basketball on Derryfield’s courts, the climbing wall, lots of beading, face painting, origami, karaoke, and Let’s Dance dancing, and, of course, the special treat of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream! Scholars can’t wait to do it again next summer! 

We played a lot! We laughed a lot! Danced and sang a lot! On our last day of the program, we even cried a bit as our Teaching Fellows read personalized poems for each of their Advisees – a remarkably empowering moment.

But what about the learning? 

• Chemistry students created Public Service Announcements about water quality.
• Ninth graders studied Newton’s laws and built paper roller coasters in Physics class.
• In Biology, scholars dissected real sheep hearts, which brought their learning about the heart and circulatory system full circle.
• Literature classes saw the world through a social justice lens, making historical connections to their own worlds through reading: Raisin in the Sun, Farewell to Manzanar, The Arrival, and The Other Wes Moore. Governor Wes Moore shared a personalized video message containing a valuable message for Breakthrough Scholars: “Carefully consider your choices and take advantage of the opportunities you are presented with.”
• In Writing, scholars wrote a variety of essays that lay the foundation for the college essays they will write in a few short years.
• There was lots of algebra and geometry  – including the Pythagorean Theorem to prep students for the years ahead.

Pre- and post-assessments show a 42% increase in learning over the summer! High schools often need to place Breakthrough students into a higher math class than anticipated.

The Student Council led us in Diversity Days, celebrating our families’ languages and cultures, and even sharing delicious traditional food from the Breakthrough community! Student Council also led us through Service and Gratitude activities: painting kindness rocks, creating greeting cards for Seniors, and making dog toys to donate to animal shelters. In fact, the activity motivated a Breakthrough Scholar to take extra scrap material home and make 18 more toys to donate to the Manchester Animal Shelter!

There were so many moments of joy: 

• in a classroom when a student shared a brilliant thought, 
• at recess when scholars shared a moment with a friend or won their turn at a game of four square, 
• trying a new extracurricular like French, Psychology, Pickleball, Slam Poetry, or Ultimate Frisbee, to name a few,
• And, of course, those moments of laughter between Scholars and Teaching Fellows – moments that will stay with us forever. We will never forget  “Bacon, Egg and Cheese!” – a random phrase made famous with a dance move by one of our new 7th graders. He would break into it at any moment throughout the day, and as the summer went on, so did many other Scholars and Teaching Fellows!

During the last week of Breakthrough, a parent couldn’t say enough about what Breakthrough meant for their family. A very quiet and somewhat anxious 6th grader by nature started at Breakthrough not too sure what they were getting into. Over the course of the 6 weeks, she began sharing more at home about the activities and people filling up her days, coming home with cheers, songs, and stories. She did her homework diligently, and the next morning, she cheerfully got ready for another Breakthrough Day. This parent is incredibly grateful to our community for nurturing their child and boosting her confidence! Our college-aged Teaching Fellows had already remarked on the growth they had seen as this Scholar slowly emerged from her shell.

A 9th-grade parent in their final summer at Breakthrough shared that when their child first started Breakthrough, their greatest challenge was not academic: like many young people, their child faced personal barriers that, if left unresolved, could follow them throughout their life. The parents had always encouraged their child’s love of music but could never get them to perform. When they heard that their child had signed up for the talent show, they were shocked! The performance represented overcoming an obvious personal barrier – a true “Breakthrough.” “I do not know exactly what combination of encouragement, trust, opportunity, competitiveness, and community helped my child break through that barrier, but I know that Breakthrough Manchester played an important role.” 

Thank you to our Community Partners!

Breakthrough thrives because of the generous support of our partners in the greater Manchester community and beyond. Thank you to The Derryfield School and Southern New Hampshire  University for hosting Breakthrough programming and providing many in-kind supports. Thank you to the Manchester School District and our many partners for their collaboration in supporting Breakthrough Scholars and their families. Most of all, thank you to all who have donated funds or services to launch our programming. Your support paves the path to college for our Breakthrough Scholars, inspiring and empowering them all along the way. We can’t wait to see the places they’ll go!