Palisades High community ready for a whale of a homecoming on Tuesday

The day before the gates of Palisades Charter High School would reopen for its students on Tuesday, Principal Pamela Magee stood on campus reflecting on a journey that began more than a year ago with evacuation notices spurred by the deadly Palisades fire, temporary classrooms in a shuttered Sears store and months of uncertainty.

“We were fortunate to have the right people in the right place at the right time,” Magee said Monday. “None of us were prepared for this. None of us knew exactly what we needed to do. What made the difference was people coming together to make this work, along with an incredibly supportive community.”

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For Magee, returning to the Pacific Palisades campus represents a major milestone in a long recovery process.

“This is the next step in a journey that started back in January. It is not the end, but it is a very significant moment. Moving from virtual learning to a temporary campus in Santa Monica and now back home, even though construction is not complete, is incredibly meaningful. We are excited to be back in our neighborhood,” she said.

The Palisades fire, which ignited on Jan. 7, 2025, destroyed nearly 7,000 homes, businesses and other structures. With at least 12 people killed, tit is the deadliest in Los Angeles’ history and the third-most destructive ever for the state. Jonathan Rinderknecht has been charged with setting the fire that grew into the massive inferno.  The blaze burned alongside the equally disastrous Eaton fire, largely in Altadena and the San Gabriel Valley.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes Pacific Palisades, described the reopening as a turning point for the broader community.

“In the wake of so much loss and devastation, every milestone, every step forward, every slight step back to something that looks and feels like normal is progress and recovery happening right in front of us,” Park said. “Having these kids back on campus is going to be game changing in our recovery process.”

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Park said the return of students will help reactivate the neighborhood and restore emotional stability for families.

“This is going to breathe new life into the community. It gives parents a reason to return. For students, being back on their own campus with their friends and returning to their normal environment is part of the emotional recovery that follows a disaster like this,” she said.

Park also emphasized the importance of continued public private collaboration as rebuilding continues.

“This recovery will not happen without public private partnerships. Whether it is restoring our park and recreation spaces or rebuilding the commercial corridor, it will take all hands on deck to do it and to do it right,” Park said.

Inside the campus, signs of transition and rebuilding were visible on Monday. Thirty-six temporary modular classrooms now sit on the former baseball field and will remain in place for two and a half years as permanent facilities are reconstructed.

According to school officials, the temporary structures were installed using the same fire-safety, water-proofing and building standards required of new construction.

Much of the furniture used to reopen the campus was sourced from the former temporary Santa Monica school site, with logistics support provided by Corovan. Additional equipment and furnishings were contributed through partnerships with local organizations and private companies to accelerate the reopening timeline.

Rafael Negro, Director of Operations at Palisades Charter High, said renderings posted along the campus fence give families and students a preview of what the rebuilt campus will ultimately look like once permanent construction is completed.

While facilities continue to evolve, McGhee said restoring academic life and student opportunity remains the school’s top priority.

“We are excited to bring back our visual and performing arts programs and our athletics programs at full strength,” she said. “We also have career technical education programs that are growing quickly and our International Baccalaureate program that is preparing to launch next year.”

The reopening also brings financial challenges that the school continues to navigate. Magee said more than $3 million in textbooks were lost due to environmental exposure concerns and will need to be replaced, with much of that cost not covered by insurance.

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“These are the types of gaps we are still working to close so we can fully support our students,” she said.

Magee added that the school is actively seeking partnerships in the realms of business, arts and athletics to help strengthen programs and expand real-world learning opportunities.

“We would love partnerships with businesses that can support our entrepreneurial and virtual enterprise programs,” she said. “Our music and media programs are always looking for collaborators who can bring meaningful opportunities to students. Athletics is also critical, especially our baseball program, which was heavily impacted because the temporary classrooms were placed on that field,” she said.

For families, the reopening represents a deeply personal moment.

Jessica Rogers said her son Joshua has long dreamed of attending Pali High.

“We are so thrilled that our son gets to fulfill his dream of going to Pali High School in Pacific Palisades. Although he won’t be able to walk there from home like we had promised him his whole life, he will get to play soccer on the Pali High field and be back in the community that has been home to him since he was born,” Rogers said. “Pali High School’s doors opening is a huge win for our entire community and the families it supports from across L.A. In all the hardship we have endured, this is a joyous moment for us all.”

Students returning to campus described the moment as emotional and transformative.

Junior Jackson Richmond called the reopening a full circle experience.

“There was so much uncertainty after the fires. Zoom school, the Sears building, not knowing when we would come back. Now that we’re here, it feels like we made it,” Richmond said.

Junior Tiffany Jensen, whose family was directly impacted by the fires, said the experience reshaped how she views everyday life.

“It taught me to live in the present and appreciate what we have. Coming back to campus feels like life coming back. Everything is open again. It just feels alive,” Jensen said.

State Sen. Ben Allen called the reopening a milestone for families who have endured prolonged displacement.

“This is an important milestone for a community that has been displaced for over a year now. Getting our kids back to their home campus provides an important sense of normalcy that has long been missed,” Allen said.

Brian Goldsmith, a candidate for state Senate who has centered his campaign on Palisades recovery, said the reopening should also serve as a call for continued state investment.

“Pali is one of America’s best high schools and a jewel of this community. Generations of residents have gone to school and grown up here. The reopening marks a major turning point, and the state should do everything possible to support and sustain this community, including providing the funding for ongoing monitoring and testing to ensure faculty, staff, and students stay safe,” Goldsmith said.

As seniors prepare to graduate back on their home campus and freshmen experience Palisades Charter High School for the first time, McGhee said the emotional impact is already being felt.

“Our seniors told us the most important thing was coming back home for their final semester. We are committed to making sure they graduate here, in this place, surrounded by the ocean and the mountains,” she said.

Award-winning songwriter, author, and longtime Palisadian Jimmy Dunne captured the spirit of the day.

“Pali High doesn’t reopen as a building, it reopens as a feeling. The classrooms are temporary, the walls are temporary, but what’s not temporary is what matters: our kids, back together. Because school is a thousand small moments that shape a life: a teacher who sees you, a friend who makes you laugh on a hard day, a team, a play, a song, a deadline, a second chance. It’s where young people don’t just learn facts, they learn who they are.”

Dunne added: “Today our town is in bloom, not the bloom of perfect conditions, but the bright, stubborn kind that happens anyway. The kind that proves the roots held. The kind you can hear in the hallways. Our kids are together again. And that’s how a town grows back.”