Rotary Club of San Mateo -  SMART Program Overview

 

1) Name: SMART Program: San Mateo Academic Rotary Team

  • Phone:  Don Leydig (Program Co-chair) (650-235-0057)

 

2) Purpose: Encourage promising San Mateo 8th graders, not likely to be college bound, to prepare for college while in San Mateo high schools and then enroll in a 2 Year or 4 Year College.

 

3) Selection Process: San Mateo 8th grade students apply. Rotarians screen applicants. Interview teams score students based on potential, motivation and need. About 30 New SMART Students are selected annually from interviews, needs assessment and input from schools.

 

4) Rotary SMART Coaches: San Mateo Rotarian volunteers are assigned to coaching teams at each of the program’s partner high schools. They help a student set Annual Academic, Personal and Extra Curricular Goals in high school and follow-up to see if goals are met. SMART Coaches approve yearly $100 increases in SMART Student accounts.

 

5) Funding: San Mateo Rotary funds a $500 grant for each SMART 8th grader. Rotary SMART Coaching Teams verify that a student's annual goals are met and authorize addition of $100 to the student's account at Borel Bank.  Students get monthly statements and can watch their account grow to nearly $1,000 for college. Rotary funds about $25,000 annually for SMART. All administration and coaching is by volunteer Rotarians.

 

6) Disbursement: Students submit a form (available HERE) to San Mateo Rotary Foundation SMART program via email to accounting@rotaryclubofsanmateo.com along with verification that the student is enrolled in college. The Bank then mails the money to the student.

 

If you would like to help us in funding this program for the future, please Donate Here!