Program Description
MVLA Community Scholars provides four-year college scholarships and one-on-one mentoring to high potential, underserved youth graduating from the Mountain View – Los Altos High School District. We currently fund more than 50 college students, most of whom are first generation in their families to attend college, and each of whom has a powerful life story. Most of our students attend in-state colleges – primarily UCs, CSUs and our local community colleges. The Scholars Program is unique in providing not only scholarships and a personal mentor, but also a community of support through events, workshops and newsletters. We feel very privileged to be a part of these students’ lives and journey through college.
Community of Support:
We create a community of students and adults dedicated to helping our Scholars achieve their academic goals. Our founding assumption is that with the confidence of the community behind them, our Scholars are more likely to succeed. This community is created through two program-wide events (Summer Picnic and Winter Celebration of Books), a freshman retreat, monthly brown bag lunches for mentors, a student support club at the local community college, and regular newsletters.
Scholarships:
Our grants provide “Gap Funding” – that amount between the cost of education and what a student receives in Federal, State and private grants, and student loans. The amount a student still needs to pay can limit the choice of colleges, require a student to work often 25-30 hours per week, and/or force the choice to opt out of college altogether. Funds are primarily used for tuition, room and board, books and supplies. Funds may also be used for living expenses or a computer.
One-on-one mentoring:
Our mentors work closely with their Scholars, helping them set budgets and determine how they will get through school on the award package offered by the college, helping them to best manage their time (e.g. balancing work and studies), and providing support and encouragement. These mentors, as our students often report, are “what kept me in school.”
Students are selected based on the following four criteria:
- Financial need (average household income is < $50,000)
- Academic readiness and performance (average GPA is 3.0)
- Personal characteristics (e.g. perseverance, initiative, responsibility)
- Life-changing potential of the program (e.g. first generation college student)
How do we measure our work?
- Graduation rates and success in fundraising
- Annual program evaluations from Mentors and Scholars
- As a mentor-based program, we have a built in system for regular contact with our Scholars. Mentors contact students at least on a monthly basis, and get together during vacations, to help surface any problems and to provide regular, on-going encouragement.
- Quarterly training/social events with mentors offer information, skill development and tools for working with this demographic of students and keep us apprised of how the mentors are doing.
- Renewal process asks for transcripts – student must earn a 2.0 grade point average to stay in the program, and must tell us about their academic year and plans for the next year. This apitional layer of accountability lets the Scholars know there is a community of people who care about their progress. Process includes an essay about their year and how the Schoalrs program has impacted them.
- A twelve-member Scholarship Selection Committee scores applicants using a rubric. This committee changes annually, with some core members serving more than one year. With multiple, fresh eyes reading applications and an objective scoring system, we seek to make the best decisions in choosing Scholars that merit community support.