Founded in April 2011, Friends of the Mandarin Scholars in the San Mateo Foster City School District (EIN # 45-2465260) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that supports the K-8 Mandarin education programs at College Park Elementary & Bayside STEM Academy in the San Mateo Foster City School District (SMFCSD).
In the past, San Mateo Foster City School District received federal funds to support the Mandarin immersion program during its start-up phase as a magnet school at College Park Elementary. College Park is the first public school Mandarin program in San Mateo County. Unlike most immersion programs that include only a select group of students, every child entering College Park is learning Mandarin regardless of ethnic, linguistic, or socio-economic level resulting in a diverse, dynamic school experience for everyone.
With the loss of federal funding in December 2011, FMS has played a critical role in raising needed funds from parents and the broader community to support the Mandarin program on an ongoing basis. The funds that we raise support Mandarin aides in our schools to provide more individualized learning for students in the classroom, as well as before- and after-school. Additional funds support curriculum planning and professional development for the Mandarin teachers as well as a summer school program to help prepare incoming Kindergarten and 1st grade students for success with the Mandarin curriculum at College Park.