San Marino Schools Foundation

San Marino Schools Foundation Empowering public education excellence in San Marino Unified School District.

Donations bridge the gap between what the state provides and what an excellent education actually costs.

09/15/2026

Meet Andrew Chan.

He grew up in San Marino. Carver, Huntington Middle School, San Marino High School. Today his son is a seventh grader at HMS and his daughter is a fourth grader at Carver. By day he works in accounting and finance for a family office.

His path onto our board is his favorite part of the story. He was already a supporter. Then one day he called Kathryn to complain about something, and by the end of that phone call she had asked him to become a trustee. He said yes.

Here is what changed once he got a look from the inside. He already knew the Foundation helped fund teaching positions across all four schools. What he did not know was how much else sits underneath that. The intern program. Grants that go to specific programs at specific school sites. A lot of quiet work that keeps a public school district delivering something closer to a private school education.

What he is most excited about right now is what is coming next. A speech and debate program for fourth and fifth graders at Carver and Valentine, which means his daughter gets a shot at learning to stand up and speak well before she ever sets foot in middle school.

"I give to this foundation because it's important for me to support the schools, and I believe in the foundation's mission."

Thank you, Andrew.

If you have been meaning to give, this is the season. Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.

Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

09/10/2026

Two Valentine students. Three years apart. Two very different answers.

Toby is in first grade in Mrs. Pastre's class. His favorite thing about school is playing with all of his friends.

Max is in fourth grade. His favorite thing is working on the computer, where there are a lot of fun apps and sometimes games.

That is the whole job right there. A school day has to hold both. It has to be the place where a six year old finds his people and a nine year old finds the thing that makes his brain light up. That range does not happen on its own.

Then Max said this: "Thank you for donating to the foundation and supporting our schools. Thank you so much."

You are welcome, Max. Keep going.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.

Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

Congratulations to our student-leader intern, Derek Wang, for being a 2027 National Merit Semi Finalist! .w ⭐
09/09/2026

Congratulations to our student-leader intern, Derek Wang, for being a 2027 National Merit Semi Finalist! .w ⭐

09/08/2026

Meet Christen Gair.

When she is not working on Foundation business she is outside, running or mountain biking somewhere in Southern California. She lives in the district, owns her home here, and has a 15 year old sophomore at San Marino High School.

She has known about the Foundation since her son started kindergarten, and she has given at the requested amount per student every year since. Long before anyone asked her to join the board. A friend who was already a trustee finally asked if she wanted a seat at the table, and she said yes.

Ask her why she keeps giving and she goes straight to the people:

"It supports the heart and soul of our school district, which is our teachers. The continuity in supporting our teachers and our school district to keep the most special thing about our town thriving is why I give year in and year out."

That is the case, made by someone who has been making it quietly for ten years.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.

Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

09/03/2026

Meet Willa.

She is in first grade at Carver. Her two favorite things about school are music class and field trips, which is exactly the right answer when you are six.

Music class and field trips do not happen by accident. They happen because this community keeps choosing to fund the kind of school day that has room for both.

Then she said the part that stuck with us: "Thank you so much for supporting our schools."

That is who we do this for. Every single one of them.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.

Donate: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

09/01/2026

Meet Gregg Millward.

Parent of a fifth grader and a second grader at Valentine. New-ish to the district. Golfer when he can steal the time, and otherwise on the sideline of somebody's game.

Here is the part we appreciate most about his story.

"I didn't know what the Foundation did before."

He is not alone. Most families do not. That is our job to fix, not theirs.

So Gregg did the thing that fixes it fastest. He joined.

"I decided to join the Foundation to get further and more deeply involved, particularly as a new family to the district, and ultimately found it as a way to hopefully continue to raise the support that makes this school district so incredible and so important to the community."

Now he sees it from the inside.

"Now that I've been a part of the Foundation, I understand how important it is to support the ongoing needs of the district, keep class sizes where we want them to be, and provide activities and opportunities for our students that make this such a wonderful learning environment."

And then he offers the simplest test we have heard yet for anyone still deciding.

"Ask your child if they're having a wonderful experience in school. Ask your child if they enjoy the teachers they have. Ask your child if they enjoy being a part of this community. And then ask yourself, is this our community? Is this the place that we're going to be for a long time?"

If the answers are yes, you already know what to do.

The state doesn't fund what this district delivers. We do.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount. 👉 https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

08/27/2026

Sometimes the best case for the Foundation does not come from a board member. It comes from a six year old.

"My name is Maverick, and I go to Valentine, and I'm in first grade. Something I love at school is my friends."

And from his fourth grade sister, Mia:

"I love my teachers, because I get to learn new things from them. And I love my friends."

Two sentences. No pitch. No data. Just two kids describing something most families in California are still hoping to find for their own children.

Here is what makes those sentences possible.

A district that has decided excellence is the baseline, not the exception. Teachers who stay because they are supported. Class sizes that let a fourth grader feel seen. Academics, Arts, Athletics, and Activities all held to the same standard, so a kid can find the thing that lights them up and then go all in on it.

That is a full education. Not just instruction, but experience, culture, and community.

And it is not free.

The state does not fund what this district delivers. We do. Every gift to the San Marino Schools Foundation goes directly into the classrooms and the teaching positions across all four schools, Carver, Valentine, Huntington, and San Marino High. Ninety three percent of every dollar goes straight to district programs.

It also resets to zero every September. Which means the education our kids will get this year depends on what this community decides to do right now.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.

And from Mia and Maverick, on behalf of about 3,000 kids who feel the same way:

"Thank you for donating to our school."

Give here: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

08/25/2026

Meet Karla Domier.

39 years teaching in this district. Three grandchildren she hopes will walk the same hallways. And a family story in San Marino schools that started back in 1968.

"Our schools are probably the biggest asset and gift in our community. The San Marino Schools Foundation is just a way that we as a community can give back to our schools."

Karla joined the Foundation board with a specific job: serving as liaison to the San Marino High School Alumni Association. Two groups who love these schools, finally pulling in the same direction.

She has known the Foundation mattered for years. Sitting on the board showed her something else.

"I've learned the level of commitment that our parents and community members have toward the Foundation. Being on the board has really cemented for me what an important gift it is to the community."

This year her granddaughter started first grade. The same grade Karla used to teach.

That is the whole thing in one sentence. What we build now, they inherit.

"A gift to the San Marino Schools Foundation is really a gift to every student in our district, to the teachers, to the staff. I give because our kids benefited from our schools. I benefited from our schools. My grandkids will benefit. The schools are the heart of our community, and I want to continue the legacy that started for my family back in 1968."

The state doesn't fund what this district delivers. We do.

Give what works for your family. Participation matters more than the amount.
👉 https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

08/21/2026

"What is the Foundation?"

It is the question we hear most often, and it deserves a real answer.

Alisa Yingling, a San Marino parent of four who has served on the Foundation board for years and is this year's President, sat down to give one.

Most families are surprised to learn that San Marino Unified is one of the lowest funded districts in California. Not one of the highest. One of the lowest. Alisa walks through exactly why:

🔹 Prop 13. When it passed over forty years ago, the way California funds public schools changed permanently, and affluent communities like ours were assessed as able to cover their own costs.

🔹 Property tax revenue is unusually low here. Many San Marino homes stay in families for generations through trusts, which keeps their assessed value at decades-old numbers. A home that might generate $50,000 a year in taxes can be paying $2,000.

🔹 There is almost no sales tax base. No malls, no tourism, no major corporations. We have a Starbucks.

Put together, the result is significant. San Marino Unified receives about $13,000 per student. The statewide average is over $20,000.

The Foundation exists to close a portion of that difference, and it has for over forty years. It resets to zero every September, which is why we ask every year.

Here is what Alisa asks of you: thoughtfully consider what you can contribute this year. Some families can give a great deal. Others cannot. What matters most is participation.

Historically, about half of our families have given. Imagine what this community could accomplish if every family gave what they could.

Previous generations built the extraordinary schools we enjoy today. Now it is our turn.

💙 Give here: https://www.smsf.org/donate/donate.html

San Marino Schools Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3).
Carver. Valentine. Huntington. San Marino High School.

🎓🎓 Congratulations to ALL of our SMUSD graduates! 🎓🎓Join SMSF in celebrating the Class of 2026 with our $26 for '26 camp...
05/26/2026

🎓🎓 Congratulations to ALL of our SMUSD graduates! 🎓🎓

Join SMSF in celebrating the Class of 2026 with our $26 for '26 campaign. Honor a Carver, Valentine, HMS or SMHS grad, a favorite teacher or just celebrate another great school year! Donate $26 or any amount to close the school year strong. 🎉🎉🎉

Click here to donate: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/26forclassof26/

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1665 West Drive
San Marino, CA
91108

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