Silicon Valley Tech Gurus Challenge Wits Against 7th-12th Graders At Breakthrough Silicon Valley

Online, September 28, 2011 (Newswire.com) - SAN JOSE, CA -Breakthrough Silicon Valley today announced a head to head combat of wits between top Silicon Valley executives and community members against 7th - 12th grade Breakthrough students in a challenge fundraiser event called Are you Smarter than a Breakthrough Student? The event will be held on Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. at the Triton Museum in San Jose, CA.

Executives from eBay, Oracle, Applied Materials and others will pit their intellects against students enrolled in Breakthrough Silicon Valley, a no-fee 6-year college readiness program for academically motivated yet underserved students in the Silicon Valley. The event will raise vital funding to continue to serve students enrolled in the San Jose area and aid expansion into other communities. The annual cost of the program per child is $2500.

"Having visited Breakthrough classrooms, I'm seriously concerned about being outwitted by these bright young students. It's clear that we'll need to bring our "A" game to best these kids." said Mark Walker, Managing Director, Global Community Affairs at Applied Materials Inc. Applied Materials is a founding sponsor of the Breakthrough Silicon Valley program.

At Breakthrough Silicon Valley, academically motivated students from San Jose discover an Intellectual community and support system of peers and mentors where "smart" is "cool." Breakthrough students develop academic skills and self-confidence for success in rigorous, college-preparatory middle and high schools, and, ultimately, four-year colleges. Breakthrough Silicon Valley serves approximately 200 students per year.

The Breakthrough program employs the research-proven "Students Teaching Students" model in which outstanding college and high-school students are trained and mentored by professional educators to serve as full-time summer "teachers" to younger elementary and middle-school students. Breakthrough's success as a teacher training program - in particular, its ability to draw students of color into the field of teaching - has earned national acclaim.
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