Palisades Charter High School, which has become known to millions as the location where numerous movies and television series have been filmed inside and outside its halls, is seeking a temporary campus after 40 percent of the property burned in the ongoing Palisades fire.
Faculty and students are prohibited from entering the campus, according to an announcement from the school indicating that a good portion of the school remains viable after the largest fire in Los Angeles history swept through the campus. Principal Dr. Pam McGee wrote that the charter schools’ classroom and gymnasium buildings were in good condition and that the gymnasiums, baseball field, playground and aquatic center were all viable.
The fires still burning in the area have postponed the start of the semester until January 21, when the school plans to offer online learning when classes resume next week. The Palisades Fire is 19 percent contained and has spread to 23,713 acres as of Wednesday morning. According to Cal Fire.
The school administration on Tuesday sent out a press release announcing that it is now looking for temporary space to keep the school community together so students can benefit from in-person learning and avoid any mental health issues that may arise with remote learning.
“Personalized learning is critical to their emotional and social development; Without it, students may experience increased feelings of isolation and anxiety, further complicating their recovery from the trauma of recent events. “We are urgently requesting assistance from the Los Angeles community to help secure a temporary campus or shared space, ensuring that our students can maintain a sense of normalcy and stability in their lives.”
According to the statement, school administrators are seeking to provide temporary study spaces or a campus with large indoor and outdoor spaces suitable for hosting students and teachers. Their mission also includes support from local organizations who can help with logistics and operations and volunteers to help with “moving, preparing and coordinating.” The school also requests access to athletic training areas close to the potential new learning environment.
The school — which for many film buffs has become an iconic representation of a California high school or public high school student — hosts about 3,000 students from more than 100 zip codes. It was the famous backdrop in Brian De Palma’s horror classic, curryAnd Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday (2003), as well as the success of MTV Teen Wolf series. Famous alumni of the high school include Susanna Hoffs, Katey Sagal, and Antonio Sabato Jr.
Meanwhile, a call for help for the area’s elementary school also came from local Spencer Pratt, who posted support for the school on Instagram this week and linked to the school’s teachers’ wish lists on Amazon. He and his wife, Heidi Montag, who starred on the MTV hit series HillsThey were among the many who lost everything in the Palisades Fire.
