On the first day of class this fall, Eagle Rock High School (ERHS) English teacher Aileen Gendrano Adao had a new student in class: Selena Gomez. Yes, that Selena Gomez. The billionaire, pop star, actor and philanthropist Selena Gomez. According to Adao, Gomez’s appearance was part of the launch of a student mental health initiative headed by Google and DonorsChoose, a program that helps fund resources that teachers provide in their classrooms.
Adao said that Google raised $10 million for schools to purchase mental health resources for both students and teachers. According to The Eastsider LA, DonorsChoose provided $50,000 of that $10 million to give to ERHS.
Adao said that Gomez was invited by the partnership as a celebrity spokesperson for the initiative.
“DonorsChoose contacted me and asked me if I was willing to be part of the launch of their mental health initiative with Google,” Adao said. “Then they would come in, and they would engage in this launch event with myself and my students and bring in a celebrity to [make it] a press release celebration.”
Adao said that other notable figures from the local education community were invited by Google and DonorsChoose to christen the initiative.
According to Adao, Gomez’s Rare Impact Fund — a nonprofit founded by Gomez to fundraise for mental health resources — also raised money for the school through the initiative, matching DonorsChoose’s $50,000.
According to The Eastsider LA, The Jed Foundation (JED) — a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting emotional health among young people — has also received financial support from the program. John MacPhee, CEO of JED, said via email that they are thankful for this support.
“JED is grateful to Google.org and DonorsChoose for their support of our mission-driven work in protecting emotional health and preventing suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults,” MacPhee said via email.
Adam Rupe, director of strategic communications for DonorsChoose, said via email that the partnership was seamless because of the program’s nationwide coverage.
“When they [were] looking for nonprofits with a national reach and connections to thousands of teachers, we were a natural fit,” Rupe said.
Rupe said that DonorsChoose, which operates through a public website, allows individual donors to provide money for public school teachers in need of resources.
“On DonorsChoose, public school teachers across the U.S. can request classroom resources, and donors who feel inspired can help fund those resources,” Rupe said.
According to Rupe, the overwhelming majority of public schools throughout the country have a teacher who has been on DonorsChoose. Adao said that the reason why DonorsChoose reached out to her was because she consistently relies on donations that come through the site.
“I have been working [with] and using the DonorsChoose platform for over 10 years,” Adao said. “I’ve had a ton of projects done through [it].”
According to Adao, her reliance on DonorsChoose is partly due to the duties of her other position on campus as the school’s restorative justice coordinator. Adao said that the position of restorative justice coordinator aims to find more holistic, community-building approaches to discipline and education.
“On the ground, I’m constantly working with conflict mediation and community-building circles,” Adao said. “[I’m] helping us create systems, new projects and policies that all connect and support one another.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adolescent mental health is worsening. Rupe said that teachers nationwide are also reporting this trend, as many are worried for their students’ emotional well-being.
“Our recent research shows that more than 70% of public school teachers are concerned about their students’ mental health,” Rupe said.
Adao said that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this problem at ERHS and that she could see her students struggling with issues of mental health during the lockdown. She said that the effects of the lockdown on students’ mental health are still lingering and that the community has not fully recovered from the emotional isolation.
“I see it in the students that withdraw,” Adao said. “That don’t want to talk or don’t want to even attempt to find a connection to the school, to the class, to their peers, and I see them sinking further and further from the class and themselves, and that’s scary.”
Adao said that part of the funds from the initiative are going towards graphic novels and literature, specifically for the Asian American community on campus, which will help students reconnect with themselves and their peers.
“Hearing and knowing other people’s experiences lets others know that they are not alone,” Adao said. “Isolation occurs when people feel like nobody gets them — they feel misunderstood, they feel judged, they feel betrayed. But when someone is able to tell a story in which their lives are mirrored, then it’s transformative. They feel connected. They feel part of a larger community.”
Adao said that the cost of this connection is priceless.
“Nothing is more impactful than investing in human relationships,” Adao said.
According to Rupe, many school districts with more racially diverse student bodies have significantly less funds compared to majority white school districts. Adao said her budget has been fairly sparse throughout her five years at ERHS.
“We know from a study by EdBuild that school districts serving mostly students of color get $23 billion less in state and local funding annually,” Rupe said. “This equates to a funding gap on a per student level of $2,266 per student.”
According to Adao, the significance of Gomez’s appearance was not so much about the celebrity’s fame but more about the feeling that someone was hearing their problems and willing to help financially.
“I think the event itself and the fact that we were celebrating the donation of resources of the money for mental health resources made an impact on them,” Adao said. “People care and make time and will give money to this.”
She said that the initiative has helped open up a conversation on campus about student mental health and let students know that their voices will be heard.
“That, I think, makes the most impact,” Adao said. “Not just that she came, but, I think, that people are willing to celebrate, to take time and to make space for the conversations around mental health.”
Contact Noah Kim at nkim4@oxy.edu
