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Andrea is confident and caring. She is a bubbly 7th grade student in our Peninsula Bridge Middle School Academy. She is an activist with the North Fair Oaks Youth Initiative speaking out about the lack of affordable housing in Redwood City. "I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and fight for something I believe in, " Andrea says with meaning. Andrea has organized several marches to unify and engage the community on the housing issue in Redwood City. Andrea continuously sets new goals for herself. She always shows up with a lot of enthusiasm and asks great questions, and she does a terrific job of applying what she learns at Peninsula Bridge. Growth mindset and risk taking are two skills that Andrea puts to work every day.
Andrea exemplifies our outcomes. Peninsula Bridge is dedicated to helping our students persist and persevere through middle school, high school and college. We are providing our students with a road map and essential skills to navigate this path.
We currently have 90 9th-11th grade students in our High School Academy. They are all part of a college-going cohort and each of them is confident they will attend college. Persistence and perseverance are essential to long-term success, and this is something we work on with our students every day. The Peninsula Bridge High School Academy not only provides academic and college planning support, but centers on developing student social and emotional competencies. The academic advisors and teachers develop meaningful relationships with students inside and outside the classroom. They foster self-esteem, teach resilience and encourage students to set goals for themselves.
Robert Putnam, a public policy professor at Harvard whose book "Our Kids" looks at the widening class divisions in America, states "Socio-economically disadvantaged students are going down the college path without anybody holding their hands." And this explains why only 10% of low-income students graduate from college nationwide. Click here to read more. Peninsula Bridge walks our students down the path and provides the psychological and academic support and the 1:1 advising to help our students not only stay on track, but thrive along the way.
Andrea is an example of a student with tenacity and perseverance. It is clear she is developing her voice and thriving. This is what Peninsula Bridge does best.
Thank you deeply for your partnership and support. Our students and families are eternally grateful.
Randi Shafton & Jocelyn Swisher
Co-Executive Directors, Peninsula Bridge
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