When the nonprofit Karma Club opened last year at Northgate Mall in San Rafael, students streamed into the safe and comfortable teen center to socialize, have a snack and do their homework.
And they keep coming back.
Sally Newson, founder and executive director of Karma Club, knew a need existed in Marin for a nurturing after-school space for teens, not to just hang out, but also to participate in enriching programs—all at no charge. With one other staff member and student interns from nearby Dominican University, Newson has created a welcoming and well-appointed teen center.
“You don’t see many kids on their phones at Karma Club,” Newson said. “They come here because they crave human interaction and social connection. It gives them a sense of belonging, sense of community and sense of purpose.”
In a typical week, Karma Club kids can play chess, join the English as a Second Language homework group, play group video games with an adult volunteer, take a calligraphy or crocheting class, learn AI storytelling and enjoy a guitar jam session.
Or they can find a quiet corner in the large space to do homework. For students without laptops, Chromebooks are available.
The big buzz right now centers on Karma Club’s newest program, FuturePrep. Launched on Sept. 30, FuturePrep pays the fees for Advanced Placement (AP) exams and college admission applications for students at Terra Linda High School and San Rafael High School, regardless of socioeconomic background.
Terra Linda High School has 1,300 students, with over 45% qualifying for financial assistance, according to principal Katy Dunlap. Sixty percent of the students are Latinx.
At San Rafael High School, 66% of the 1,400 students identify as Latinx, said Ruth Graham, the school’s student data systems specialist. And 71% of the student population qualifies for financial support.
Initially, FuturePrep received $100,000 from an anonymous family educational foundation to pay the AP exam and college admission fees for Terra Linda High School students. Both the foundation and Newson wanted an easy process to access the program, making it available on a “just ask” basis with no income verification required.
Soon Newson began fundraising to bring FuturePrep to San Rafael High School students, also available with the same easy process.
“The idea is to eliminate financial barriers and open the doors for getting into the college of their choice,” Newson said. “We know that the AP exams are tremendously helpful in getting into colleges and universities.”
Students in AP classes take AP exams toward the end of the school year. Scoring well on the exams offers students the opportunity to earn college credit while in high school and skip some introductory courses once they enter college.
Each AP exam costs $99. If a student qualifies for financial assistance, the price drops to $62. But many families struggle to pay the fees, especially when a child is taking more than one AP exam.
“It’s also hard on middle-income families,” said principal Dunlap. “Just because I don’t qualify for aid doesn’t mean that I’m rolling in the bucks.”
Additionally, FuturePrep will provide professional college counselors for students from both schools. During workshops and one-on-one meetings, the counselors will guide students through the college application process, including writing the all-important essay and applying for financial aid.
“Karma Club is about bringing social and academic equity to this community, where there’s huge socioeconomic disparity,” Newson said. “And FuturePrep is really leveling the playing field for college acceptance by paying for AP and college application fees.”
Students who may have only applied to one college because of the fees now can apply to others, increasing their chances of getting into a school of their choice. FuturePrep helps college-bound kids become more competitive.
Newson came up with the idea for FuturePrep when she began taking Karma Club teens out to lunch separately. The goal of the outings was to find out what the students needed.
At one of the lunches, a straight A Terra Linda High School student shared with Newson that she wants to go to Oxford and hopes to take five AP exams.
“She said my mom’s a single mom who works from 9 to 9 almost every day,” Newson explained. “Then she told me that the five AP exams cost $500, and she didn’t know if her mom could afford to pay for one exam.”
Around that time, the head of a family educational foundation called Newsom, saying he had heard about Karma Club and wanted to meet. After the meeting, Newson submitted a proposal for FuturePrep. Ten minutes later, the foundation agreed to pay the AP exam fees for Terra Linda High School students and later added the college application fees.
Last week, I visited Karma Club to speak with teens about FuturePrep. Eswin Lopez; his younger brother, Duberson Lopez; and Santos Hernandez, all Terra Linda High School students, were excited to talk about AP exams, their accomplishments at school and why they enjoy spending time at Karma Club.
Hernandez and Eswin Lopez said they signed up to take the Spanish AP exam, and FuturePrep is paying the fees. Duberson Lopez, Eswin’s younger brother, can’t take any AP exams this year because he’s in 9th grade, and Advanced Placement courses at Terra Linda High School are for 10th-12th graders. But the aspiring artist plans on taking AP classes next year.
For all three boys, English is their second language, yet they speak it eloquently. Hernandez and Eswin Lopez started a club at school that welcomes new students who are just learning English and showing them the sights around Marin.
“It’s called the Explorations Club, and Lisa Crawford is our teacher advisor,” Eswin Lopez said. “We’re planning on bringing them to Karma Club.”
The Lopez brothers and Hernandez come to Karma Club every day or two and stay for a couple of hours. In fact, Eswin Lopez and Hernandez were the first two teens to enter Karma Club when it opened in August 2023.
“It’s chill here,” Hernandez said. “I can do my homework without someone [siblings] interrupting me.”
On my way out, I spoke with Crystal, who didn’t want to provide her last name. Crystal’s daughter, an 11th grader at Terra Linda High, will soon take three AP exams. They were at Karma Club to sign up for the FuturePrep program, which will pay $297 for the exam fees.
“The process was super simple,” Crystal said. “It took less than a minute. Honestly, it’s a wonderful thing to me. We really encourage children to sign up. Getting into the classes and taking the AP exams indicates that you can apply yourself, and it helps you get into a good university.”
The fundraising for FuturePrep continues. For more information, email Sally Newson at [email protected].
