Palisades High is struggling to find a new home after being damaged by fire

The search is on for a temporary home for the fire-ravaged Palisades Charter High School as school leaders scramble to put together a temporary — and terrifying — plan and the families of about 2,900 students face displacement, loss and worry about their children's education and future. .

About 40 percent of the campus was damaged or destroyed, said Principal Pamela Magee. Although the original campus survived, the overall condition rendered it unusable, Magee said.

Parents and students are expressing widespread concern as the scale of the shutdown grows. What would be done about approaching Advanced Placement exams? Could the school year be extended to make up for lost teaching time? What will be the impact on grades and college applications? When will sports resume? If more students enroll elsewhere, will the school lose teachers? If students leave now, will they be able to come back?

The potential toxicity of dissolved waste and ash can also delay the return to campus.

“I would like no toxic damage so in 10 years I'm sick,” said board member Maggie Nance, a parent, Spanish teacher and swim coach at the school. At the same time, he said he realizes that the students must return to the classroom.

“Being on the Internet was dangerous to my children's mental health,” he said at Tuesday night's school board meeting. He was referring to the overtime of the online school for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nance added that he understands that parents may wish to enroll in another school.

“Do what's best for you,” he said, as he prepared families to come together in the evacuation: “They will face this together if they stay at school.”

In an online meeting, board members voted to give Magee emergency powers to make important, time-consuming decisions.

Pali High is a popular, independent school – with a board of directors – that operates a long-term facility owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Pali is actually a neighborhood school of expensive houses built on a cliff from the Pacific Ocean. Because Pali is a fee-paying school, out-of-state students can apply to attend the lottery. The highest-achieving school is 51% white and 24% Latino. About 27% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch because of low family income.

A fire breaks out at Palisades High in the early hours of Jan. 7.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Although the campus buildings are unremarkable, the grounds are open, green and maintained to a standard that surpasses many city high schools.

In an online post this week, Pali leaders announced what they wanted in the interim:

● Classroom spaces or campuses available for rent or donation
● Large indoor and outdoor spaces suitable for hosting students and teachers
● Support from local organizations that can help with management and operations
● Volunteers to help with travel, setup, and communication
● Access to nearby gyms

Stress over materials, online classes

Many parents are looking at private school options and are under pressure to meet deadlines for those applications, said Niloo Farhadian, the parent of an eighth-grader who will be at the school next year.

“Is there any chance we can go back to school?” he asked.

“We hope that we won't have to change schools,” said one mother. He wanted to see pictures of the school to see what was damaged and what was missing.

Officials later searched through a slide show of such images.

Parents are also worried about the property.

The parent of a small child wanted to know about the replacement of school laptops that were destroyed when the houses burned. And what about the Internet?

Palisades High School is across the street from homes destroyed in the Palisades fire.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

The school has promised that computers will be replaced and online facilities will be available as early as Thursday. Administrators are trying to figure out the best place to set up a distribution center, as families are scattered.

Online instruction begins next Tuesday, January 21. The spring semester was scheduled to begin on January 13.

“I totally understand the delay,” said one parent. “I just have a scared child at home who feels cut off.”

There have been significant concerns about the move to online learning.

When her daughter was online at middle school during the pandemic, Cat Benner said, “most of her teachers decided not to come.” He wanted reassurance that this would not happen.

Teacher Stephanie Moore replied: “We want to be strong. We don't want to overdo our children but we want to do the right thing.”

An adult posted a comment about the value of online learning:

“I struggled hard. I experienced depression, suicidal thoughts. I felt like I couldn't function mentally and academically. Returning to campus was a critical part of my recovery, and being able to succeed in school again. My Fs are straight As I return to campus. Being able to connect with my friends in person has been my lifeline during the hardest times of my life. Their support and presence has pushed me forward when nothing else could, and right now, I need it more than ever. Now, because of the damage done to the school, I feel that progress is slowing down.”

This student called for a quick solution.

“If there are no more buildings, why can't we remove the debris instead of removing temporary buildings to accommodate the missing classrooms?” There is space on the quad and around campus to set up these buildings quickly. They can go up in a few days. “

Magee tried to brace herself.

The school has moved forward with applications for emergency funding, he said.

“We are out there looking at other possible places for our school,” said Magee. “We have very good leads.”

Toll check

“We know that our enrollment will change,” Magee said, and that some students will enroll elsewhere. “But we try to keep our campus as united as possible.”

At least 11 workers lost their homes. At least 14 others were left homeless. Despite such difficulties, 120 employees attended the planning meeting in Beverly Hills, and another 30 on Zoom.

Because most of the school is a neighborhood, Pali High may have a large number of families who were displaced or lost their homes.

Three or four board members lost their homes, including Kumars Arzani, who was driving the meeting from Tarzana. He came in with ideas of recovery without his personal burden.

Many speakers talked about being ready to help raise money and volunteers. The school has an established fund.

“Our school is a breathing industry,” said Magee. “It's not just a place … We will get through this difficult time.”