Like many other activities and services in the area, the Palisades Fire has put a pause to education and school events across the area.
After closing all campuses on Wednesday, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has announced a closure to all campuses again on Thursday. The district has also preemptively closed Malibu schools for Friday.
SMMUSD officials stated that they are “closely monitoring the situation and working with local agencies to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, staff and families.”
“We watch with all of you in disbelief the devastation and displacement caused by the Palisades Fire, which continues to grow and evade containment,” SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton wrote in a Wednesday afternoon update. “Our hearts are broken over the stories of loss and damage and we share your concerns over expanded evacuations in our communities.”
In addition, Wednesday and Thursday’s Samohi athletics contests were cancelled or postponed. For Wednesday, Vikings’ boys varsity basketball and JV boys soccer games were outright cancelled, while the varsity boys soccer game was rescheduled. Thursday’s Samohi athletic contests have all been rescheduled, including boys and girls varsity wrestling, boys JV wrestling, varsity and JV girls water polo, and varsity and JV boys soccer.
The Malibu campuses of SMMUSD are still reeling from the Franklin Fire, including Webster Elementary School which suffered damage from the December flames. Students were able to return to Webster for one minimum day on Monday before the closure of all Malibu schools was announced on Tuesday.
Outside of the SMMUSD campuses, Saint Monica Preparatory also closed to students on Wednesday and will close again Thursday. Remote learning will be determined by grade level and teachers will reach out to parents accordingly. School officials stated that their “prayers go out to all of the families who have been evacuated and those whose homes have been damaged.” St. Monica previously opened its Grand Pavilion as a place of refuge on Tuesday evening.
Along with Saint Monica, the campuses of Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, New Roads School and Saint Anne School were all shut down on Wednesday. Crossroads will be closed the remainder of the week.
On the college level, Santa Monica College canceled in-person classes and services Wednesday, stating that most employees are also working remotely due to the regional impacts of the Palisades Fire. Remote operations will continue through Friday at SMC.
Essential personnel and Maintenance & Operations staff at the Pico campus were told to report to work, though area supervisors were “being asked to make accommodations for any employees directly impacted by the current conditions.”
