Students at two burned-out Los Angeles elementary schools will resume classes Wednesday at new locations in the fire-ravaged neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, as unions estimate at least 150 school district workers, including many teachers, lost their homes.
Students attending Palisades Charter Elementary will transfer to Brentwood Elementary Science Magnet in Brentwood, near Pacific Palisades. Students at Marquez Charter Elementary School will report to Nora Sterry Elementary School in the Sawtelle community south of Brentwood.
Sunday, days after Palisades Charter Elementary School was destroyed in a fire.
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
Officials announced the reopening of the relocated school at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting.
The relocation plan leaves the two displaced school communities intact, with the same teachers teaching the same students.
Over the weekend, some teachers at the host schools worked to move out of their current classrooms, allowing incoming groups to gather together in designated areas of campus. At the same time, arriving teachers are also organizing check-in.
Students' belongings lie among the charred remains of Marquez Charter Elementary School.
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
All of the district's 1,000 campuses were closed Thursday and Friday last week. All but two of the campuses that were destroyed and seven others affected by evacuation zones reopened on Monday.
The teachers union said it had identified 148 employees it represents who lost their homes. United Teachers Los Angeles represents approximately 38,000 teachers, counselors, psychologists and nurses. The union said that as of 3pm on Monday, 550 people were known to have been displaced.
The California School Employees Association, an independent union representing library assistants, said two of its members lost their homes.
Together, the two unions account for about half of district employees.
The Los Angeles school superintendent said the district will offer five flexible paid leaves to affected employees and that number may increase. Alberto Carvalho.
Teachers union President Cecily Myrter-Cruz and Administrators Union President Maria Nichols sharply criticized Carvalho's administration for not closing campuses sooner and communicating less quickly after Tuesday's Palisade and Eaton Canyon fires. It is not smooth, causing principals and parents to be in a hurry.
Carvalho acknowledged the problems but said they were not due to a lack of diligent attention. He said the district's actions are based on protocols put in place after major fires in 2021.
Palisades Charter Elementary School after the fire.
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
"This guide actually considers one event," Carvalho said. "By the way, this is consistent with the level of preparedness and response announced by fire departments, municipal entities, Cal Fire. There has never been a response to three, four, five or six simultaneous hurricane-level fires, with some degree of erratic winds. and a certain degree of preparation for unpredictable wind direction changes.”
On Wednesday, Carvalho said the air quality dashboard "is inconsistent with what I'm seeing" and what the principal is reporting to him.
Carvalho's decision to expand school closures, even closing those in progress on Wednesday, created logistical problems, but he said it seemed more prudent than waiting for the day off.
He added that the district will review and improve the process going forward.
Palisades High School, a Los Angeles Unified school run by an independent charter school, remains closed this week.
Principal Pamela Magee wrote in a post to the school community that approximately 40 percent of the building was damaged or destroyed.
Barrie High School plans to reopen next Tuesday and offer online classes while it searches for a temporary location.
Also on Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced measures to help schools restore and maintain funding. Among other things, the order suspends attendance, class sizes and residency requirements at affected campuses.
On Monday, attendance across the Los Angeles Unified District was 87%, compared to 91% for the year. Attendance at Brentwood Elementary School's science magnet is 65 percent; at Stry, it's 79 percent.
The Eagle Rock area was affected by heavy smoke and high winds, and attendance in the area was also below normal. Eagle Rock Elementary School's attendance rate is 84%, and Eagle Rock High School's attendance rate is 90%.