Giving Compass' Take:

• David Williams, writing for The 74, explains how career readiness programs that include mentorship opportunities can help increase students' social mobility. 

• What programs are available for increasing employment opportunities in your school system? How are donors contributing to this effort?

• Read about how big bets in philanthropy can advance social mobility. 

The cycle of poverty is not easily broken.

I’ve seen this first-hand over my three-decade career with organizations that address the consequences of poverty, issues like access to food or decent shelter. While treating the symptoms is important work, the real challenge is to break the cycle.

Economic status is, to a large extent, passed down from generation to generation. According to social mobility researcher Raj Chetty, the chances of making it from an impoverished childhood to an affluent adulthood are lower in the U.S. than in many other developed countries. Among youngsters who grew up in the bottom one-fifth of the economic scale, very few Latino (7.1 percent) and even fewer black (2.5 percent) children ever make it to the top fifth of household incomes.

Students who don’t know anyone in their family, school or community who has gone to college or has chosen a professional career may never know that that path is possible for them. And, if they aspire to pursue a specific career path, it may be difficult to find the guidance and support they need to succeed.

They key is to reach these students before they become disengaged from school and work by presenting them with meaningful career opportunities while still in school, allowing them to try a potential path they may have never known was possible and to taste success in the world of work.

Read the full article about high school career readiness programs by David Williams at The 74.