Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: 4/5ths__
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Cunningham, Director, Human Services Agency
Subject: Acceptance of Donation to The Big Lift
RECOMMENDATION:
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Recommendation to:
A) Approve an Appropriations Transfer Request (ATR) in the amount of $24,000 to the Human Services Agency, recognizing unanticipated revenue from the Give Forward Foundation to support high impact tutoring; and
B) Adopt a resolution authorizing the Human Services Agency (HSA) Agency Director or designee to accept funding in the amount of $24,000 to provide stipends to staff that lead high-impact tutoring.
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BACKGROUND:
The Big Lift (TBL) is a countywide collective-impact initiative led by the County of San Mateo in partnership with local school districts, educators, families, philanthropy, and community organizations to improve early literacy outcomes for children from preschool through third-grade.
High-impact tutoring is a targeted strategy within The Big Lift’s broader countywide investment in improving foundational literacy outcomes. In spring 2026, The Big Lift partnered with Ignite Reading to pilot individualized, high-impact tutoring for students who were not meeting grade-level benchmarks in foundational literacy, as measured by mid-year DIBELS data.
The spring 2026 pilot served 130 students in four (4) Big Lift partner districts: Bayshore, Cabrillo, Millbrae, and San Bruno Park. Students received 15 minutes of daily, one-on-one virtual tutoring tailored to their individual assessment data. The pilot also provided The Big Lift and district partners with an opportunity to identify implementation supports needed to expand access while maintaining quality.
Pilot results were encouraging, 87% of participating students met or exceeded the goals established for the 2026 spring pilot. Building on the success of the spring 2026 pilot and the implementation lessons learned, The Big Lift will expand access to high-impact tutoring across six (6) districts during the 2026-27 school year, serving 384 students. Measure K will fund 192 tutoring seats, and The Big Lift has secured a $480,000 contribution from the Give Forward Foundation which will be paid directly to Ignite Reading to match the County’s investment, expanding access to an additional 192 students during the 2026-27 school year and 140 students during the 2027 Inspiring Summers program.
DISCUSSION:
The Give Forward Foundation has offered a $24,000 donation to support The Big Lift’s high-impact tutoring initiative specifically to provide stipends to the “Site Champions” who lead daily implementation of high-impact tutoring. Acceptance of this donation will strengthen the County’s public investment by leveraging philanthropic resources to expand access to targeted literacy support for students who need additional instruction to reach foundational reading benchmarks.
As the initiative expands, The Big Lift will monitor attendance, student engagement, implementation fidelity, and DIBELS progress to assess whether the strategy is reaching students as intended and to guide ongoing implementation decisions.
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
Accepting the donation from the Give Forward Foundation will help provide high-quality learning experiences in San Mateo County school districts where third-grade reading proficiency rates fall below the county average. Enrollment will prioritize families defined as households earning up to 80 percent of San Mateo County’s area medium income, using the Department of Housing and Urban Development income guidelines.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This action accepts a $24,000 donation from the Give Forward Foundation for The Big Lift’s high-impact tutoring initiative. The donation will provide additional resources to support the expansion of targeted literacy tutoring during the 2026-27 school year. There is no net County General Fund impact associated with acceptance of this donation.