Peninsula Bridge About Us: Main

About Us |Main

MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to promote academic and personal success for motivated middle school students from under-resourced communities.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The following principles guide our work:

Responsibility

As active members of our community, we are responsible for enhancing and improving the education of young people. We are accountable for the quality of our programs and the outcomes of our work.

Equity and Justice

We believe in fairness and human dignity. We embrace diversity and the notion that every child deserves an excellent education.

Human Potential

We are committed to nurturing dreams and possibilities. We believe every child should be empowered to reach his or her human potential.

Equal Access and Opportunity

Every student should have access to the same opportunities, equal access is fundamental to a strong, well-balanced society.

Community

We believe communities are stronger and richer when we work together to solve problems and improve lives.

WHY DO WE NEED THE PENINSULA BRIDGE PROGRAM?
1. Low-income students with college aspirations are swimming against the tide.

In the 8th grade, the desire to go to college is about as high among low-income students as among their affluent classmates. Whereas nearly all of the latter will realize their aspirations, only about two-thirds of the former will do so. Intervention strategies to aid low-income students have to begin in the 5th and 6th grades, not on the eve of college attendance.
-Research Report from The College Board, Swimming Against the Tide: The Poor in American Higher Education, by Patrick T. Terenzini, Elena M. Bernal, Alberto F. Cabrera, Published: 2001

Unfortunately, many students in the communities that Peninsula Bridge serves are "tracked out" of college preparatory classes while they are still in middle school. Algebra I is frequently referred to as "the Gatekeeper Course" because enrolling in this class by 8th grade remains the most reliable predictor of future success in college. For seventeen years, Peninsula Bridge has been helping students from under-resourced communities successfully enroll and excel in college track courses in high school.

2. Parents of underserved students need more help and resources to get their children on the college track.
Parents are central players in the intergenerational legacies that are passed on and which shape children's educational attainment. Low-SES (Socio-Economic Status) parents need more and better information earlier in their children's lives about what is possible and available in the way of college attendance and financial aid.
-"Swimming Against the Tide: The Poor in American Higher Education," by Patrick T. Terenzini, Elena M. Bernal, Alberto F. Cabrera, Published: 2001

Parents, some of whom may not have finished high school or attended college themselves, can also be overwhelmed by the academic and financial requirements of thier children's education. Peninsula Bridge gives parents the information they need to help guide their children through middle school, high school, and ultimately the college application process.

3. With budget cuts for California public schools, private organizations must step up to the plate and offer additional academic resources and guidance.
Dwindling resources in the state of California will only increase the dramatic academic achievement gap that separates low-income and minority students from students being raised in high-income communities. Peninsula Bridge is a privately funded organization that is committed to easing the shortfalls created by an overburdened public school system.