Rosebud Academy Looking to the Future After the Fire

The Pasadena Unified School District announced on Monday that Rosebud Academy has been offered space at Don Benito Elementary school.

The relocation would allow students from Rosebuds to share space with students at the school as the District continues to figure out how to place students displaced by the fire.

The academy was one of three charter schools destroyed in the fire.

The fire broke out on Jan. 7 and spurred on by powerful winds decimated Altadena and damaged additional buildings in Pasadena.

All told 9,000 buildings and 14,000 acres were scorched by the blaze, which forced many residents to flee their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

“One of our parents sent us a video of [the school] on fire,” said Shawn Brown, founder and executive director of the school. “We knew at that point that for the most part, our school had burned. I live around the corner, so I was at home still kind of trying to figure out when I was going to evacuate. Once we figured out the school was burned. We had to shift gears and let the parents know, and then also find out if they were displaced or had to evacuate. And so we did welfare checks on all of our families, and we just kind of went into next step modes after that.”

The 175 students were sent on field trips as the school continued its educational programs while the school searched for the temporary site.

The school opened in 2007 with just a kindergarten and first grade class. Each successive year yeer grade was added until school became a K-8 school.

But that wasn’t the only challenge. The school quickly outgrew its initial space, and after attempting to create new space at its first location, school officials had to find a new location.

The school is known for its strong focus and culturally relevant instruction and closing opportunity gaps for black students.

“I know there’s a lot that goes into the rebuilding process,” Brown said. “I also lost my home during this process, so I know that they’re not even really going to allow moving, cleaning their properties out. I think that because this is a unique situation, it is going to take some time because it’s going to be a coordinated effort because so many people, pretty much the whole city is kind of demolished.

“We do plan on rebuilding and finding a place to call home in the near future as soon as we can.”

The school needs space and funds for a future location.

“At Pasadena Unified, we view all students — whether attending PUSD schools, charter schools, or private schools — as valued members of our shared community,” according to a statement by Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco. “Our commitment is to serve everyone equitably, prioritizing the needs of our charter schools alongside those of our other schools and programs.”