Students return to Pali South in Santa Monica on April 22.
Credit: Mallika Seshadri / EdSource
This story has been updated to include information from the City of Santa Monica and LAUSD.
It was like the first day of school on Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica.
Campus security directed parents as they mapped out drop-off routes. Staff greeted students, who lugged backpacks, musical instruments and sports gear. High schoolers embraced and marveled at their new campus.
But unlike most first days of school, even seniors on the verge of graduating wandered around, asking where to go. Teachers wondered where to lock their bikes.
“Definitely nervous,” said Aurora Robles, a first-year student. “I don’t think I would know where any of my classes are or where any of my friends are.”
It’s April 22 — more than three months since the Palisades Fire ravaged over 23,000 acres in Los Angeles and destroyed roughly 30% of the historic Palisades Charter High School, which is known for its appearances in films such as “Carrie” and “Freaky Friday.”
Unlike other schools in Los Angeles Unified and Pasadena Unified that returned to in-person learning weeks after the fires, Pali High’s roughly 2,500 students had been learning online.
And as of Tuesday, its students, teachers, administrators and staff can call an old Sears building — now called Pali South — their new, temporary home for the rest of this academic year.
It took roughly eight weeks to coordinate the industrial building’s transformation, and 28,000 construction workers turned it into a learning space, complete with the school lettering, in 29 days, according to a media release from the city of Santa Monica.
The Pali South campus is home to 90 classrooms — and required the installation of 2,750 desks and chairs, 7,000 square feet of supergraphics, 30 miles of wiring, 48,000 square feet of acoustic insulation and 11,000 square yards of carpeting, according to the release.
“I’m happy to welcome the administrators, educators and students of Palisades Charter High School back to in-person learning,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement released Tuesday. “While this home is only temporary until we can get them back to their regular site, the partnership and collaboration between state and local officials to get this new site up and running shows the spirit of our recovery. This is an important step forward for the Palisades community as we rebuild and rise together.”
A Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson told EdSource it would take roughly $250 million to rebuild Pali High over the next few years. And debris from the original campus has already been cleared, so students can return in the fall.
“I definitely didn’t expect it would happen,” said senior Lucas Nehoray. “I told a lot of people that I just didn’t think it would have time to come to fruition at a different site. But here it is. … I’m really happy.”
Despite being used to online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, several students expressed their excitement in being back. Some of them, including senior Samantha Murillo, hadn’t seen their peers since December, before winter break.
“I get to see my friends after five, six months,” Murillo said. “But I’m also kind of thrown off a little bit because it’s a whole different location. … It’s weird, but in a good way.”
Others said they were looking forward to learning more in person, especially with AP exams around the corner in May.
The “last few months have been easier academically,” Nehoray said. “I’m glad I’m in person and I can actually learn.”