More schools in the Los Angeles area reopened Thursday after wildfires ripped through the area this month, forcing authorities to close buildings in fire-damaged areas.
In the Pasadena Unified School District, six of the more than 20 campuses that have been closed since the fire have reopened. About two-thirds of the district's 14,000 students and half of its 3,000 faculty and staff live in areas under evacuations or warnings.
One of the schools, Willard Elementary School in Pasadena, left multiple students and staff homeless, principal Maricela Brambilla said.
Gabriela de la Torre, 44, has been unable to get her 7-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son to school on time even though they are staying with relatives an hour away after losing her home. I made sure to let him go.
“It at least gives us something that the kids can feel safe in,” she said. “At least something is back to some degree of normalcy.”
And in many ways, it looked like normal school life. A boy's backpack bounced as he ran towards the school's blue doorway. A railroad crossing guard wearing a neon cap directed traffic. Parents gathered outside after the drop-off and chatted.
But there were signs that things were different. As Brambilla said, it was truly a day of reconnection. Parents, who usually disperse by 8:15 a.m., stayed until nearly 9 a.m. to catch up. In Cherrywood Kindergarten classrooms, students drew on easels, played with blocks on the rug and rocked babies in their cradles.
“We start with play, because that's what's best for the kids,” Wood said.
A girl asked Wood how to write “Nicole, I love you.” She wanted to make cards for classroom teachers who had lost their homes in the fire and had not yet returned to school.
Even as more schools reopen, not everyone is relieved.
Many parents and teachers said they were grateful for the return to normalcy, but some were concerned that schools near the burn site remained at risk. Authorities have cordoned off areas in the Pacific Palisades, in part due to toxic ash and chemicals, and parents are unsure if enough measures are in place to ensure the air is safe for returning children. I am concerned that this is not the case.
Some felt it was premature to ask students who had lost everything to focus on math classes.
Nine schools in the Los Angeles Unified District have temporarily relocated in areas affected by the Palisades fire. Five returned to campus, and two were still closed on Thursday.
Alisa Rodman's two daughters, Delancey, 10, and Reese, 7, survived the fire but attend Canyon Charter Elementary School, which is located near the perimeter of the fire area. Classes are being held virtually, an unwelcome reminder of the coronavirus pandemic, which caused Delancey's kindergarten to switch to remote learning.
Still, Rodman, 40, is unsure whether he wants to send his daughters to a school near the fire site. For her, the situation brings back memories of 9/11 and the toxic waste that sickened residents of Lower Manhattan.
“There is nothing more rewarding than sending your children to a nice little school, meeting their teachers and friends, and knowing that they are being cared for and learning for six hours a day.” said Rodman. But she added: “Is LAUSD rushing to open schools before it's safe? Absolutely.”
Parents have not yet been told exactly when the canyon will reopen. In a virtual meeting Tuesday night with Canyon parents, teachers and district administrators, officials noted that they have hired an industrial hygienist and an outside consultant, and assured parents that the school building is safe and ash-free. I tried to reassure him.
“They feel ready,” said Carlos A. Torres, director of the district's Department of Environmental Health and Safety.
Wildfires can have negative effects on children's health long after the fire has been extinguished. Young people are more vulnerable to air pollution and can suffer lasting trauma after experiencing destruction or death in their communities.
Some families want the school to move students to other campuses away from the burn zone. And some are considering retirement. Canyon parent Andrew Ferrone, who lives in Venice, is considering whether to enroll his two daughters, ages 7 and 4, in another school.
“The education of our children is our top priority after safety,” Ferrone said. “And when you put it up in the air, it really throws everything up in the air.”
The Pasadena district has not yet announced a specific schedule for reopening the remaining schools, but said all schools will be open by the end of this month. Dayona Patterson, a math teacher at John Muir High School, which has no reopening date set, said uncertainty is the least of her concerns.
Patterson was grappling with her own grief over the community's loss. She was trying to figure out how to be open with her students and share her pain without tearing herself down.
“I don't know what to do, I don't know what to say,” she said. “I'm lost.”