It has been more than three months since Palisades Charter High School was burned in the Palisades Fire.
City leaders, the school district and others have been working to find a solution for the students. They found it at the former Sears building in Santa Monica, now being called Pali South.
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For the first time since the January wildfire, the third-most destructive on record in California, more than 2,500 students and staff will be back together this week in person at their new temporary home.
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SIGN UP Desks were already set up with water bottles and other swag, marking a significant change from the online learning students have been doing.
Many Pali High families lost their homes in the fire and much of their campus was destroyed and damaged. The Los Angeles Unified School District and Mayor Karen Bass said debris was finally removed from the campus, bringing the possibility of rebuilding a step closer to reality.
Until then, the old Sears building in Santa Monica will be students’ temporary campus.
The Sears Santa Monica location opened in 1947 at a time when shopping centers were shifting away from pedestrian traffic toward businesses designed with cars in mind that featured large parking lots, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy. The two-story building on Colorado Boulevard was designed by local architect Rowland Crawford.
The Sears closed in 2017.
"To think that my dad bought his college mattress here is insane," one student told NBCLA. "It looked like a department store, right? And, now, somehow they've managed to turn it into not only a school for 2,500 kids, but a home, too."
The school says students who aren’t able to come in person can move to the virtual academy program.
There are still some moving parts that are being figured out, like where AP exams will be taken and where baseball and softball will practice. The facilities for all other sports are secured, according to the school.
Graduation is set to happen on June 4 at the Hollywood Bowl.
Due to a tight budget, the school says the first renditions of this campus didn’t have furniture, internet, walls or even air conditioning. But now, thanks to donors and volunteers, it does and it is ready for students.
Students will finally get a bit of normalcy being back in a classroom with their friends.
