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Palisades High struggles to find new home after fire damages campus – Jobsmaa.com

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* Although Palisades Charter High largely escaped the fire, it is nowhere near ready to reopen.
* The school is looking for a temporary location and is preparing to resume classes online.

The search for a temporary home for fire-damaged Palisades Charter High School is underway, school leaders are grappling with an interim and daunting online program and families of about 2,900 students are facing displacement, loss and anxiety about their children's education and future. .

About 40% of the campus was damaged or destroyed, Principal Pamela Magee said. Although the original main campus survives, the overall condition makes it unusable, Magee said.

As the scale of the closure sinks in, parents and students are voicing a range of concerns. What if you are approaching advanced placement exams? Will the school year be extended to make up for lost instructional time? What will be the impact on grades and college applications? When will the game resume? If more students enroll elsewhere, will the school lose teachers? If students leave now, can they come back?

Potential toxins in melted and ash debris can delay return to campus.

“I wish there wasn't some toxic damage so I wouldn't be sick in 10 years,” said team member Maggie Nance, who is a parent, Spanish teacher and swimming coach at the school. At the same time, he said, students realized they needed to be back in a classroom.

“Being online is terrible for my kids' mental health,” she said at Tuesday night's meeting of the school's board of directors. He cites the extended online school period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nance added that she realizes parents will want to attend a different school.

A man walks through the burnt debris of a school.

LA Schools Sub. Alberto Cavalho climbs up what used to be the entrance to a classroom building at Palisades Charter High School.

(Howard Bloom)

“Do what's best for you,” he said, while making a pitch for families to come together to stick things out: “If they stay in school they'll go together.”

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

Poly High is a popular, independent charter school — with its own board of directors — that uses a campus long owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Bali is a neighborhood school of expensive houses located upstream from the Pacific Ocean. Because Poly is a charter school, students from outside the attendance area can apply to attend through a lottery. The high school is 51% white and 24% Latino. About 27% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch due to low family income.

Fire at Palisades Charter High School.

A fire breaks out at Palisades High in the early morning hours of January 7th.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Although the campus buildings are unremarkable, the grounds are spacious, green and maintained at a level higher than many public high schools in the city.

In an online post this week, Bali's leaders announced what they were looking for Temporary location:

● Classroom spaces or premises available for lease or donation
● Large indoor and outdoor spaces suitable for hosting students and teachers
● Support from local organizations that can assist with logistics and operations
● Volunteers to help with moving, set-up and coordination
● Access to nearby athletic training areas

Logistics, pressure on online classes

A lot of parents are looking at private school options and stressing about meeting deadlines for those applications, said Niloo Farhadian, the parent of an eighth-grader who will be at the school next year.

“Any chance we can get back to campus?” she asked.

“We really believe there's no need to change schools,” said one mother. She wanted to see photos of the schoolhouse, damaged and undamaged.

The officers then scrolled through a slide show of such images.

Parents also worry about logistics.

Parents of a junior wanted to know about replacing school laptops destroyed when houses burned to the ground. And what about the Internet?

Fire debris piled up near Palisades High School

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

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

The school promised that computers would be replaced and internet hot spots would be provided from Thursday at several locations across the region to better accommodate the displaced.

On Wednesday, the school issued a status report based on a survey of enrolled families; 86% responded. Of this group, 150 students did not have access to a school-provided computer; 177 also said they need food aid.

Online training will start on Tuesday. The spring semester was scheduled to begin on Monday this week. .

“I completely understand the delay,” said one parent. “I have a panicked teenager at home who feels very disconnected.”

There were significant concerns about the transition to online learning.

While her daughter's middle school was online during the pandemic, Kate Benner said, “a lot of her teachers decided not to show up.” She wanted reassurance that this wouldn't happen.

Teacher Stephanie Moore responded: “We want to be strict. We don't want to overwhelm our kids, but we want to do our due diligence.

A senior commented on the toll of online learning:

“I struggled a lot. I dealt with depression, suicidal thoughts. I felt like I couldn't function mentally and academically. Returning to campus was an important part of my recovery and being able to succeed in school again. When I came back to campus my Fs straightened out. I had some of the hardest times in my life. Connecting with friends has been my lifeline, and I need their support and presence when nothing else can, and now more than ever. ​​​​With the damage to the school, I feel like that progress is slipping away.

The student insisted on finding a solution soon.

“If only a few buildings are gone, why not replace the lost classrooms with temporary structures? There is space around the quad and campus to quickly erect these structures. They can go up in a matter of days.

Makhi tried to convince.

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

“We are looking at other potential locations for our school,” Magee said. “We have some good leads.”

During a virtual meeting Wednesday, administrators explained how the online schedule will work and said information will be posted on the school's website.

Assessing fees

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

At least 11 employees lost their homes. At least 14 people have been displaced. Despite these hardships, 120 employees attended the planning meeting in Beverly Hills, and 82 were on Zoom.

Because it is often the closest school, many families at Bali High may have been evacuated or lost their homes.

Three or four members of the executive committee lost their homes, including Cumers Arsani, who called the meeting from Darsana. He leapt with ideas for redemption, unconcerned about his personal hardships.

Many speakers spoke of their willingness to help raise money and volunteer. There is a school A fund was established.

“Our school is a living, breathing institution,” Magee said. “It's not just a place … we're going to get through this difficult time.”

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