社区黑料

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

On a sunny Tuesday morning, students, parents and community members walked atop the bluffs alongside charred foliage and barren lots, back to Marquez Charter Elementary 鈥� almost nine months after the Palisades fire ravaged the school site and surrounding region, sparing only three classrooms in its wake. 

For the remainder of the 2024-25 academic year, and for the initial period of this school year, the entire school shared a campus with Nora Sterry Elementary. Now, the roughly 130 children attending Marquez are the first public school students to return to a campus destroyed by the Palisades and Eaton fires in January. 

Even though students are returning to portable structures, the campus鈥檚 reopening marked a larger milestone for survivors of the fires. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 the first thing that鈥檚 back in a very serious way,鈥� said Christopher Baffa, a community member whose children attended Marquez but now go to Palisades Charter High School. 鈥淲e got excited when CVS opened. 鈥� It鈥檚 these little milestones along the way that really get us further and further from Jan. 7.鈥�

Marquez鈥檚 recovery

Baffa and his wife tried to remember the lyrics to Marquez鈥檚 school song as they returned to the campus Tuesday morning to witness the progress being made. 

He recalled the words 鈥渢here鈥檚 a school on a hill鈥� 鈥� and texted his daughter, a first-year student at Palisades Charter High School, currently  to a former Sears building in Santa Monica, for the rest of the lyrics. Other parents in the crowd embraced as they listened to speakers at Tuesday鈥檚 press conference. Some held back tears. 

鈥淓very day since, we鈥檝e been writing new pages and chapters in the story of the Palisades鈥� recovery. Some days left us filled only with sorrow and loss,鈥� said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park. 鈥淏ut others captured the strength and resilience that only a community like this can summon. And today, in particular, we鈥檙e writing a new page, a brighter one.鈥� 

Marquez鈥檚 temporary campus, along with the larger rebuild, will cost the district roughly $202.6 million and is slated to be completed by 2028. The rebuilding of all three campuses damaged or destroyed in the conflagration 鈥� including Palisades Charter Elementary and Palisades Charter High School 鈥� will likely cost around $600 million, and will be made possible by a  that was approved by voters in November. 

The temporary campus is home to 19 classrooms, as well as a kitchen, library and play areas. 

Marquez鈥檚 enrollment has declined roughly 58% since the fires 鈥� from about 310 to 130. And the Los Angeles Unified School District has estimated that three-quarters of the enrolled students are not currently living in the Palisades. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 not perfect. But, I think not perfect is the beginning of figuring all this out,鈥� said Baffa, whose children attended Marquez. 鈥淸The district] figured out a way to get them into a place where they could socialize and see each other every day and have in-person learning, and let鈥檚 celebrate that.鈥� 

Beyond Marquez 

Marquez may have been the first to return 鈥� but it will be far from the last. 

The Palisades fire devastated roughly 70% of Palisades Charter Elementary and about 30% of the historic Palisades Charter High School. Meanwhile, the Eaton fire  five district-run schools in the Pasadena Unified School District and three of its charters. 

LAUSD鈥檚 decision to reopen Marquez, but not the other campuses, came in part from a parent survey, according to district officials, who also said Los Angeles Unified engaged families in multiple town hall meetings. 

Just over 45% of the 66 parents who responded to an April survey said they wanted to return to a temporary facility in the Palisades as soon as possible; 36.4% wanted to return by August. 

Meanwhile, just over a fifth of parents said they would not stay with Marquez if it remained at the Nora Sterry Elementary school campus. 

But David Levitus, the parent of a TK student at Marquez, said parents鈥� concerns 鈥� ranging from environmental risks to longer commutes for those no longer living in the area 鈥� seemed much more widespread; 52.4% of parents who participated in the survey noted that the availability of transportation was a factor in their decision-making, along with the timing of students鈥� relocating and other personal circumstances. 

鈥淭here is [nothing] resembling consensus in moving back right now,鈥� he said. 

Parents of Palisades Charter Elementary students, on the other hand, opted to wait for a full return to permanent buildings, in part because their campus has less space to house both a temporary school and the ongoing construction of permanent buildings. 

District officials also said Marquez Elementary was home to more students whose families were returning to the Palisades and that Palisades Charter Elementary was closer to commercial properties that were further behind in their cleanup and demolition efforts. 

Uncertain future in Pasadena Unified

Pasadena Unified, the hardest hit district in the January blazes, has also installed portable structures at various campuses, including Allendale, McKinley, Don Benito, Audubon and Webster, according to spokesperson Hilda Ramirez Horvath. 

The district still does not have a timeline for any potential rebuilds, she added. Without the support of a construction bond, Pasadena Unified will rely on multiple sources of funding, including its insurance carrier, and will look into additional sources of public funding. 

鈥淓veryone鈥檚 just so interested in what鈥檚 happened to us 鈥� and we鈥檙e just trying to survive,鈥� said Julianne Reynoso, Pasadena Unified鈥檚 assistant superintendent of student wellness and support services. 鈥淚 mean, we鈥檙e just still trying to do the job we鈥檙e supposed to do every day.鈥�

Reynoso said, 鈥淧eople are coming to school. They feel connected, and that鈥檚 a really great opportunity for us to see the trust that people have, no matter what we鈥檝e been through, that they鈥檙e willing to still show up.鈥�

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 社区黑料鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.