[Updated] Ten schools in the Pasadena Unified School District are scheduled to reopen on Thursday, Jan. 23 following the devastating Eaton Fire that damaged five campuses and forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 of Pasadena Unified School District’s 14,000 students from their homes.
Students will return to Hamilton Elementary, Willard Elementary and Children’s Center, Blair Middle and High School, San Rafael Elementary, McKinley School, Rose City High School, Center for Independent Study, Pasadena Adult Living Skills, Twilight Adult School, and Aveson Global Leadership Academy.
“To accelerate reopening, campuses located further from the fire’s impact will reopen first, allowing the community to begin its path toward healing,” Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco said as she announced the District’s plans to reopen schools.
The School District plans to reopen campuses in phases over a two-week period, with all students back to school by the end of January.
Many students and their families left the area after the fire destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena.
“I have great grief for all of our families that live in the town of Altadena, the City of Pasadena and the City of Sierra Madre. Out of our 14,000 children, 10,000 have had their lives impacted by this. Out of our 3,000 employees, 1,400 of them have had their lives impacted by this,” Blanco said during a virtual meeting this past weekend.
These displaced students are protected by the McKinney-Vento Act, which requires School Districts to provide homeless students and students displaced by disaster with the same public education as other students who reside in the District or school boundary area.
The act allows families to immediately enroll their school-age children in local public schools where they are temporarily housed without the usual red tape and bureaucracy.
The fire caused severe damage to five Pasadena Unified School District facilities: Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School, Franklin Elementary (closed in 2020), and three charter schools — Edison (Odyssey), Loma Alta (Rosebud Academy and Oak Knoll Montessori), and Noyes (Aveson School of Leaders).
However, all 24 of the District’s schools were impacted by ash. Before schools can be reopened, the District must clean them. Currently, the District is deploying a team of 1,500 workers in 50-foot trucks from three companies working around the clock.
The workers must clean every surface and the HVAC systems. “As soon as they are cleaned we can do the environmental testing,” Blanco said.
As of Sunday, testing has been completed at four schools, and the tests on other schools were still being processed. So far, no schools have failed the testing.
If a school does fail, the entire structure will be cleaned again.
The fire, which started on Jan. 7 and was driven by high winds, has burned more than 14,000 acres in Pasadena and Altadena. As of Monday morning, the fire is 87% contained, but another wind event is expected.
The Los Angeles County Office of Education is deploying over 50 licensed clinical social workers and counselors to support students and staff. The District will hold all-staff training meetings at Pasadena City College next Wednesday before welcoming students back.
Athletic activities will continue with modifications, with teams practicing and competing at locations outside the affected zone until air quality improves.