The Pasadena Unified School District is announcing a phased reopening of schools

The Pasadena Unified School District will reopen campuses in phases over two weeks with the goal of returning all students to in-person learning by the end of January as it begins to recover from the Eaton fire, which destroyed several schools and forced closures. of all campuses.

But district officials, speaking at a press conference Thursday, did not provide details of their plan, and shared few details about how and where the burned schools would be reopened.

The district said in a statement that six school sites are expected to open next week. Those areas are said to be named at the board meeting on Thursday night.

Five school buildings owned by the district had more damage or vandalism than before in Jan. 7. Among those, three charter schools leased campus space in the district: Pasadena Rosebud Academy, Aveson School of Leaders and Odyssey Charter School. The district has not discussed the future of these campuses.

“We are considering their needs,” said District Supt. Elizabeth Blanco. “I know they need space too – we just can't assess where that space might be at this point in time. But they are not forgotten, and we are fixing that.”

Blanco, whose district includes 14,000 students — 10,000 of whom have been evacuated — said several factors have delayed efforts to assess the damage, including the inability to reach some schools through evacuation zones. In total, the destroyed schools teach about 1,500 students.

In Wednesday's letter to Blanco, the heads of four local charter schools noted that state law requires public school districts to provide private charter schools with available space. They asked for immediate support to get temporary resources for their students, among other requests.

Asked about the letter Thursday, Blanco said, “I think what they're trying to say is, 'You can't answer the questions we need answered right now.'”

“I would ask them to know that our hearts are also with them, and to be patient,” he continued. “They're part of a bigger plan.”

In addition to the charter school sites, the district-owned Eliot Arts Magnet School was damaged, possibly beyond repair, as was Franklin Elementary, which closed in 2020.

All 24 state campuses have been closed since Jan. 8. For those who survived the fire, several steps should be taken before they bring the students back.

The district is in the midst of a massive cleanup, with 1,500 workers deployed to remove 10 tons of trash from campuses. Those sites can only be reopened after confirming they are safe according to the standards of the California Office of Emergency Services.

“If they don't pass the environmental test, we'll have to clean them up again,” Blanco said.

It is not known how many of the district's 3,000 workers lost their homes, but approximately 1,400 were living in refugee camps.