IMAP: Preparing SMART's Middle School Scholars for Success

The Independent Middle School Achievement Program (IMAP) ramps up September 10th with 56 scholars participating twice a week. We are excited to continue to support our scholars to ensure they are thriving academically and socially, as well as keeping an eye on the prize: college! 

The newly developed IMAP curriculum is based on research on youth development, gold standard educational non-profits, and overall, what our own SMART families said they needed! We will be zeroing in on a myriad of 21st century skills that are important to both academic and personal success, such as teamwork, time management, and learning how to be flexible and adapt to new or stressful environments.

SMART scholars will have the opportunity to practice their public speaking and researching skills as they will have engaging and interactive research projects, and also get to learn more about the city and communities that surround them. In addition, our eighteen 8th graders will be preparing for their final year of middle school, and focus on SSAT prep, applying for independent high schools, and also discuss the transition into high school. We are eager to begin a productive and meaningful year full of community, growth, and learning! 

SMART goes to... Olympics?

In the spirit of celebrating athleticism, we wanted to showcase two of our incredible Scholars, Dinh and Kinsley, with their ice skating and ballroom dancing skills (respectively).

SMART goes to... Olympics?

Placement Announcements for the 2012-2013 Academic Year

SMART is very proud to announce the placement details for the 2012-2013 school year! Our families worked tirelessly throughout the entire application process, our 17 incredible partner middle schools have accepted our talented SMART Scholars into their communities, and our 8^th grade graduates are moving on to great high schools all over San Francisco. We are very proud of where our rising 6th and 9th graders will be going to school next year. Congratulations SMART Scholars!  

HIGH SCHOOLS 
Alberto – Gateway
Cinthia - Sacred Heart High School
Keila - Drew School
Michelle - The Marin School
Jerrick - Washington High School
Ramona - Drew School
Justin - Galileo High School
Sonia - San Francisco Waldorf  School
Jocelyn - Mercy High School
Mauricio - Gateway High School
TaJae - San Francisco Waldorf School
Nahrie - Saint Ignatius College Prep
Tiffany - Saint Ignatius College Prep

MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Justin - Marin Country Day School
Dinh - Stuart Hall for Boys
Victor - Children's Day School
Caleb - Marin Country Day School
Quest - Cathedral School for Boys
Roderick - Cathedral School for Boys
Alejandro - Synergy School
Isabella - Katherine Delmar Burke School
Emily - Hamlin School for Girls
Kaili - Katherine Delmar Burke School
Michelle - The San Francisco School
Daniela - San Francisco Friends School
Savana - Presidio Hill School
Karla - Marin Country Day School
Glory - Convent of the Sacred Heart School
Dulce - Live Oak School
Trinity - St. Anthony's of the Immaculate Conception

A Reason to Celebrate—SMART Goes to College

Thank you to everyone who joined us on May 2nd for SMART Goes to College, our 4^th annual fundraiser and celebration of SMART Scholar achievements. The evening was filled with inspirational stories and anecdotes from SMART staff, board, and school administrators, as we celebrated the impact of SMART, not only on the youth we serve, but on our community, and on our independent partner schools. We heard from Dennis, SMART’s featured student speaker and a senior at Lick-Wilmerding High School, who announced that he will be attending the Southern California Institute of Architecture in fall on a merit scholarship.

Dennis, SMART's featured speaker at
SMART Goes to College

Dennis explained that he grew up sharing a 200 sq/ft SRO (Single Resident Occupancy) unit with his parents and his young sister, and at an early age, was overwhelmed with a desire to redesign his world. He went on to say, “I kept drawing in my youth unsure of how to become an architect. My first golden ticket came in the form of SMART. To be an architect, I had to get a proper education. I had to get the BEST education. SMART offered me a placement into a private school that was the best fit for me, and supported me through with tutoring, mentoring, and after-school programs.”

Thank you to Dennis, and to everyone who celebrated with us! In addition to the wonderful accomplishments of our Scholars, SMART is also celebrating the generosity of our community! The fundraiser was a great success, bringing in more than $210,000 in support of SMART programming and Scholar sponsorships. To our donors, volunteers, partner schools, Scholars and families, thank you for your partnership in this very important work.

A Long Term Impact of SMART Volunteers

Congrats Martin!

We recently received an incredibly nice note from a former SMART mentor, Arnold, who volunteered with our program over 11 years ago.

"Through the SMART program I have had the pleasure of being Martin's mentor since 2001.  When I signed up for the program I was told it would be a minimum of a one year commitment, well now 11 years later, Martin is still in my life.  We are no longer mentor/mentee, we are family. I am so proud to tell you that  this Friday, May 11th, he will be graduating from USC and will be working for Apple upon graduation. 

I want to thank SMART for being such a wonderful organization and for bringing Martin into my life.  He has gotten to where he is today due to hard work, and taking advantage of the enormous possibilities SMART provides their students, and in my case their mentors. Martin is definitely one of SMART's success stories and proof that this program does change students, and their families, lives. I wish SMART continued success and hope that there are more stories like Martin."

We are so incredibly moved by Arnold's commitment to Martin and grateful he reached out to us. We would like to take this opportunity to thank ALL of our volunteer tutors and mentors who work tirelessly to ensure the personal and academic success of our students.

Congratulations Martin and his family!

Expanding the College Access Program (CAP)

In November 2011, SMART was proud to expand upon the services offered to our high school Scholars with the addition of monthly CAP workshops. Based on information collected from SMART Scholars who completed middle school programming, SMART is expanding services to ensure that our 9^th-12^th grade scholars are on track to enroll in 4-year post-secondary institutions.

This academic year, CAP takes place the first week of each month for all freshman through juniors. Students have reviewed college eligibility requirements, the financial benefits of completing a college degree (or higher), and compared different salary trajectories for various levels of educational attainment. In February, our Scholars will be exploring different career options. Ana Maria, SMART's new Program Manager, is working individually with current seniors to assist them with college and financial aid applications, locating scholarships and perfecting essays.

A current junior in the program stated:

"I am very very VERY grateful for the SMART CAP. Before the SMART CAP started, I was very stressed out on how to prepare for college and this program has really helped me figure out which path I should take and make me feel less overwhelmed with all this. Thank you very much for establishing this program...!"

Beginning in the 2012-2013 academic year, CAP will launch two distinct programs (one for 9^th & 10^th graders, and one for 11^th & 12^th graders) with the first focusing on exploration, academic counseling and skill preparation, and the latter focusing on specific elements of the college application process, ensuring that every student who comes through the SMART CAP will have the skills, resources and knowledge to best prepare themselves to attend the college of their choice.

Student Profile: Mei Deng

Mei Deng is a junior at Galileo High School. She entered SMART in 2005 and was admitted to Katherine Delmar Burke School for her 6^th grade year. Today, Mei remains active in SMART through the College Access Program.

Mei has attended all three of the monthly CAP workshops this academic year, and is planning to participate in the SAT/ACT prep class being offered at SMART through the Princeton Review. Mei stated, “the most informative aspect of CAP was the session we had recently this month, regarding the SAT/ACT grading, GPA calculation, and especially the eligibility index stuff. That REALLY helped me determine what I needed to know for my upcoming months as a junior.”

About to begin the college application process, Mei admits that she is both nervous and excited. She hopes to attend UC Berkeley, UCLA or UC Davis, and would be open to out-of-state schools if she can find the funding. In the meantime, Mei will continue to attend monthly workshops at SMART, working on scholarships, personal statements and researching schools and careers. As a senior next year, she will be coming to SMART weekly to select and apply to college. As Mei stated to Ana Maria, SMART’s CAP Program Manager , “I am very thankful for all the enthusiasm and effort you put into the SMART CAP. We need more people like you as high school counselors!”