​Areas of Need

Scholarships Support Students
Join your friends and neighbors in supporting a scholarship for an academically deserving Porterville College student. Students needing assistance are studying a variety of subjects, including:

​Agriculture
​Anthropology
Art
Biology
​Business
Chemistry
Economics
Engineering
English
Forestry
Geography
​Geology
History
Mathematics
​Music

Philosophy
Physical
Education
Physics
Political
Science
​Pre-Med
Pre-Dentistry
Pre-Law
PrePharmacy
Psychology
Social Welfare
Sociology
Spanish Speech
​And Many Others

​Books for a full-time student for one semester cost approximately $400!

​College Support

As a small rural community college serving the southern Tulare County region of the San Joaquin Valley in Central California, our resources are limited. The California Legislature funds Community Colleges far below the k-12 and four year college and University levels. Our building are aging and technology has overcome our ability to purchase state of the art equipment for both teaching and administrative needs. With only 8% of the populace achieving a Baccalaureate Degree, it is imperative that we continue to save the needs of our community.

​Porterville College S.M.A.R.T. Mobile Science Laboratory

​The Science Math And Resource Technology mobile science laboratory is available for elementary school teachers and students throughout Tulare County. The SMART lab concept was developed with a federal grant from Dwight D. Eisenhower funds. It continues today through a partnership between Porterville College, the Porterville College Foundation, and the Tulare County Office of Education. Sustaining partners are the Tulare County Farm Bureau, Sierra Sunrise Rotary Club and the Porterville Breakfast Rotary Club. Partners who pledge a minimum three year commitment of $2,500.00 per year are listed on the lab itself.

Call us to learn how parents, businesses and community groups can get involved to support this worthwhile opportunity! Based on "into-through-and-beyond" teaching methodologies, the SMART mobile science out-reach project teaches elementary school teachers how to make science, math, art, language arts and writing a realistic part of their curriculum. Preparing students for the SMART lab visit is the into module. The site visit is the through module where students conduct experiments using selected items on the $350,000.00 equipment inventory list. The beyond module reinforces concepts taught during the school site visit. SMART lab equipment includes compound and dissecting microscopes, an ultrasound machine, a skeleton and torso, a cut-away engine, a steam tractor, lego bricks, robotic arm, a weather station, a windmill generator, geodes, a plate tectonic project, a seismograph, a mobile planetarium, and much more. The SMART lab brings the "things of science" directly to the school site as a sophisticated science tool for teachers; the science mentor who travels with the lab is there to manage the equipment, set up experiments and assist the teacher in any aspect of the day's lessons. The California Science Frameworks has changed to the New Science Standards. Teachers can fulfill a variety of required science areas by utilizing the matrix of standards covered by SMART curriculum and lesson plans. Training usually consists of an eight hour opportunity for elementary school teachers to learn how to teach a specific science strand. After attending training, teachers have the option of calling for the lab to visit their school. Often two or three teachers can utilize a single day's visit of the SMART lab.

LIFE SCIENCE focuses on plant and cell life through microscope illumination, the human structure, and adaptation and survival.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE is divided into energy and simple machines segments. Chemistry curriculum is under development.

EARTH SCIENCE spotlights astronomy utilizing a mobile planetarium and a variety of telescopes, Weather curriculum is under development.