San Mateo County continues summer program funding

More than $7 million was requested by 81 organizations. Dollars were ultimately distributed based on the percent of socioeconomically disadvantaged students in four areas in the county — the north, central, south and coastside. More than 50% of the funding went toward providing scholarships to 2,092 students and nearly 1,200 students were first-time summer program participants.

“Our purpose was threefold,” Assistant County Executive Peggy Jensen said. “We wanted to make sure these students had access to summer enrichment programs, that they had support for their social emotional well-being and essentially do some catch-up work around their social and emotional development over the past summer and also provide opportunities for youth to be reinspired around their education and propel their learning forward.”

The program largely hit its objectives, said Domonique Edwards, a research consultant with Harder and Company, the firm tapped by the county to review the program. The evaluation, supported by a $50,000 grant from the Silicon Valley Community Fund and another $50,000 match from the county, included interviews with 10 grantees, a survey completed by 659 parents and caretakers, and a focus group of parents and caretakers.

More than 50% of students served were deemed socioeconomically disadvantaged, according to a program evaluation conducted by Harder and Company, which also found about 21% were English language learners, 2% were experiencing homelessness and 6% were students with special needs.

Families reported a number of positive impacts with 69% saying the opportunities reduced stress, 62% saying it allowed them to complete other tasks and 54% reported improved family well-being. And 25% said they could seek an employment change while another 25% said the enrichment program allowed them to pursue educational or other training opportunities.

“We really focused on our neighborhoods that had the lowest income and that’s the point of the program, to reach out to students in that community,” Jensen said.

Grantees also reported benefits include substantial improvements to student relationships and social skills, self-management and emotional regulation, responsible decision-making and self awareness. By the end of the program, students were better able to apologize, were better listeners, found it easier to get along with other students, were more respectful of others and their feelings, were more willing to share and were more open to exploring new activities.

But the effects of the pandemic on students has lingered and more support is needed, Jensen said. With that in mind, supervisors agreed to allocate $3 million from the $140 million sent to the county from the American Rescue Plan act, allowing the program to return in 2023.

While most of the funds will go toward grants, ranging from $15,000 for providers with 25 slots to $100,000 for those with more than 200, the San Mateo Credit Union will receive $29,500 for administrative services.

The application process will run from Dec. 2 to Jan. 9 with grants being distributed in March. Programs are expected to run four hours a day for four weeks and those providing comprehensive programming to certain groups will be prioritized.

“This is a continuation of this board’s efforts and thoughts to make sure that young people are getting the right education, getting extra help when they need it, providing summer school for them so that they will have an easier time when they get into regular school and into high school and hopefully want to stay in San Mateo County and be productive citizens,” Supervisor Carole Groom said, who sponsored the initiative with board Vice President Dave Pine.