A helping hand at Hillsdale High School

Through extracurriculars offered such as after-school sports, exposure to the arts, readily available tutoring and more, ETA hopes to establish a sense of belonging among its targeted demographic. Rachel Lauderdale, co-executive director of the program, said most of the students involved are first generation and many are multilanguage learners. 

“A lot of our students are disenfranchised from those opportunities just usually for financial reasons,” Lauderdale said. “Our enrichment activities give those students a chance to be a part of something that’s not just going to class, which they really need to have to want to come here every day.” 

Though ETA was established in 2018 and served around 60 students, the program has developed expansively with a desire to provide wraparound services to more students in need, as well as to their families. Lauderdale said though programming is a strong asset of ETA, it’s important to address a student’s baseline of need first. 

“When you are able to really focus on yourself because your basic needs are met, you’re able to really imagine your possibilities and focus on your own strengths,” Lauderdale said. “Many of our students work to support their families so they’re not able to even dream about the possibilities they could have because they’re focused on surviving.”

The Peace Pantry drive-thru was initiated to address the dramatic increase in cost of living within the county, according to Brett Stevenson, ETA co-executive director and dean of students. He said the demonstrated need has not wavered in the years after the pandemic. 

Though ETA is geared toward the students, Stevenson said providing support to the families of these kids is just as vital to welcoming all into the Hillsdale High School community. 

“When you feel like you’re a part of a community, and families see that we’re in this together, and the students feel that as well,” Stevenson said. “You start to see more trust.”

As families pull through the parking lot, they’re greeted with a big smile from Leti Cottrell, family engagement coordinator for the high school. Cottrell said she’s received thanks from families, who are often newcomers, for “treating them with the dignity they deserve.” She said getting to know families this way has made them feel open to asking for help. 

“I see these families that drive through and I’m seeing my parents,” she said. “Yes, we’re giving them food, but it’s so much more than that too, it’s a connection to the school. It’s building that trust between the families and the school because there’s so much mistrust, with any institution.” 

In addition to the 600 food boxes provided weekly by Second Harvest Food Bank, ETA volunteers established a partnership with the local Mi Rancho Supermarket and supplements with fresh organic produce harvested from the community garden. 

Volunteers are about to reap the third harvest this summer from the transformed triangular lot on the side of the parking lot covered in raised beds, pollinating flowers, and a huge variety of planted produce. 

Oscar Gonzalez, garden organizer and campus safety specialist, said establishing the garden has been a constant learning curve with trial and error. He said the dedicated community involvement is what’s able to keep it thriving. 

This involvement is exactly what Stevenson and the rest of the volunteers with ETA hope sustains the program and its success.

As the county dedicates $1 million toward raising awareness to treat the growing presence of loneliness, Stevenson said the work ETA does provides opportunities to feel connected. 

“In this moment when people are feeling isolated, we want them to know that this can only happen with a community behind it,” he said. 

Involvement can even be the simple act of donating a bag of clothes to the recently established Community Closet, hosted in a TUFF shed toward the back end of the parking lot. Christy Knott, who helps connect fellow alumni to the ETA program, said it’s just as significant as any other involvement. 

“It really is about connection and we are trying to connect everyone in any way,” Knott said. “You don’t just have to be one thing, you can say ‘I’m a part of a community’ and look at what we’re doing as a community to help our people. These are our people.”