Students of Palisades Charter High School, which was burned in January’s devastating wildfire, are resuming in-person lessons on Tuesday, but at a temporary location in Santa Monica.
Roughly 2,500 students will be heading to the corner of Colorado Avenue and 4th Street, where a former department store has been turned into a high school.
“That was the old Sears. I used to remember going there with my mom when I was a kid, and now it has been transformed into this beautiful, brand new, Pali High dubbed Pali South,” KTLA reporter Annie Rose Ramos said before the school day began.
City of Santa Monica spokesperson Lauren Howland said it took about eight weeks to retrofit the building into a high school-ready campus.
“Our council knew right away that we needed to step up and help … And in the first days of the fire, passed an emergency order that allowed us to locate schools in commercial zones,” Howland said.
She said the City chose the landmark Sears building because it had been vacant for some time and was a “perfect match” for Pali High and the number of students that would be attending.
Howland encouraged students and others to take public transportation during peak travel times or plan on leaving early when traveling through the area, which is located between the 3rd Street Promenade and Santa Monica High School.
“The peak times are expected for an hour or so during drop-off time before school begins at 8:30 a.m. and then again around pick-up time at about 2:45 p.m. Other than that, we don’t expect too much impact,” Howland said.
More information about the school can be found on a fact sheet posted to the City’s website.
