They fled the fires, leaving behind clothes, stuffed animals and toys. Some lost their homes and their schools. Getting students back in school is a challenge in communities where families are scattered and schools damaged or destroyed, reports Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff in the Washington Post.
Marquez Charter students are back with their old teachers at another elementary school six miles away that's sharing its space, he reports. Their old school in hard-hit Altadena is gone.
Palisades Charter students are sharing space at another elementary school.
But only half of displaced students came to the new buildings on the first day, Wednesday. Families may have left the area looking for housing, or not be able to get their children to a new location.
At their new school, three Marquez fifth-graders were drawing pictures, writes Rosenzweig-Ziff.
Sergio drew four red flames surrounding a house and the hills nearby, with a lone firefighter trying to put them out. Aria, 10, was explaining to Emery that the chimney was the only thing left of the house she was drawing. “Well, it’s not really a house anymore,” she said.
Odyssey Charter School South in Altadena appeared intact, at first, writes Gabrielle Birkner on Chalkbeat. Then Carlos Garcia Saldaña, leader of the charter network, looked left and up the hill. "He saw a heap of twisted metal and charred rubble where, two days earlier, there had been classrooms, offices, lunch tables, play structures, and an after-school clubhouse," Birkner writes. "The tree stumps where students used to sit and eat and dream were still smoldering.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order suspending state regulations "to make it easier for schools to operate in temporary buildings and for students to enroll across district lines," she writes.
With one Altadena school destroyed and another damaged, Garcia Saldaña tried to connect with his student's families while searching for an alternative site.
Odyssey partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena to offer free child care, including sports, games and crafts, this week, reports Birkner. As students arrived, Garcia Saldaña greeted families and "checked in with caregivers about their housing status."
Los Angeles could need $1.2 billion to repair and replace schools.
It's being estimated that around 50% of all people burned out will not stay in the area. These kids' friends will be dispersed, and they'll have to begin new friendships. Many of their families have lost everything and had no insurance.
Then there are the second-order effects. One of our kids went to a private school near the fires, where something like 60% of kids were evacuated the last time the Palisades were on fire a couple years ago. That school, and schools like it are going to feel the pinch come next year. An enormous number of students will either move away, or their families will be so strapped for money, they will not be able to afford pricey…