We are honored to share that we have launched college attainment and academic navigation services for Eaton Fire survivors at The Collaboratory.
Located at 540 West Woodbury Road in Altadena, the Eaton Fire Collaborative’s Collaboratory serves as a central hub for survivors to access vetted recovery resources and engage directly with community partners driving long-term recovery efforts.
Our offerings at The Collaboratory will focus on Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) students and recent high school graduates, but are open to all fire-impacted families. Assistance includes enrolling or re-enrolling in college, navigating financial aid, and supporting students and families facing academic challenges. CAP hours are Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“As PUSD’s largest local academic partner and resource, CAP’s space at The Collaboratory is a one-stop shop for academic guidance,” says Innesa Kolanjian, CAP’s director of programs. “We are deeply committed to supporting survivors with academic challenges, and welcome K-12 students and families, and recent high school graduates to our spaces for expert advising through what can often feel like a complex and overwhelming journey, even without the added stressors of a community-wide disaster.”
CAP’s Collaboratory team also includes a dedicated staff member, supported through a grant from the Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF), to assist recent high school graduates with post-secondary pathway interruptions or transfers, missing deadlines, fee waivers, course withdrawals, and especially accessing mental health counseling and academic and career resources on their campuses.
Offerings at The Collaboratory expand on CAP’s existing services and fire-response efforts on PUSD school sites, including trauma-informed peer mentors in CAP drop-in spaces at John Muir Early College Magnet and Pasadena High School; ongoing support of financial aid navigation and college application guidance across all high schools and available on a drop-in basis; and family engagement programming to help students and parents make decisions about post-secondary options as they recover and rebuild.
We are honored to partner with the Eaton Fire Collaborative and PUSD during this time of recovery. In addition to PCF, we are grateful to the California Community Foundation, FireAid, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, and the California Fire Foundation for their investment in our fire relief work, and to countless community members and organizations who have contributed time and resources to The Collaboratory.”
Visit www.collegeaccessplan.org/efc to request support from a member of CAP staff.