PACIFIC PALISADES—On April 22, the City of Santa Monica welcomed 2,500 Palisades Charter High School students to their temporary Pali High School in the old Sears building located at 302 Colorado Avenue. This was the first day back to in-school learning for the students since the fire devastation.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) members posed for photographs at the students’ temporary Pali-High site on opening day.
Santa Monica Mayor, Lana Negrete made the following statement in a press release that can be viewed in full text on the City of Santa Monica webpage:
“I’m thrilled to welcome students and families who have endured so much over the past few months, and it was so special to see the smiling faces of students and teachers arriving this morning to our city.
It is amazing to be able to play a part in bringing the Pali High family together again at this new campus and I hope it brings them a sense of normalcy and comfort as our region continues to rebuild and recover”.
California Governor, Gavin Newsom welcomed students and faculty back to school as well:
“I’m happy to welcome the administrators, educators and students of Palisades Charter High School back to in-person learning. 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.”
Community Development Department Director Arminé Chaparyan, spoke on the opportunity to make use of unused space:
“It has been a monumental effort to bring a school with these many students so quickly to a city center. We are honored to be able to support wildfire survivors and, show how we can think creatively about Santa Monica’s commercial spaces.”
The students will be in their new-to-them location for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year.
