When Palisades Charter High School reopens its home campus on Jan. 12, it won’t just mark the end of a yearlong displacement. It will mark the return of a community that has been waiting to come home.
After the fires forced students and staff into a temporary Sears building in Santa Monica, Principal Pam Magee said the upcoming return represents “a moment of healing, rebuilding and reconnecting,” not just for the school’s nearly 3,000 students, but for the entire Palisades community that has felt the void since the campus went dark.
For Magee, returning is not simply a logistical milestone but an emotional one: “This isn’t just about opening doors,” she said. “It’s about bringing our people back to the place that shapes their identity.”
The road back has required an unprecedented public–private effort.
Architectural firm Gensler, whose temporary education design space has housed the school for the past year, played a pivotal role in making the transition possible, offering architectural leadership, technical solutions, and community-minded support that allowed teaching and learning to continue uninterrupted.
“The return of Pali High to their main campus represents the tremendous collective efforts of so many, including Dr. Magee and the entire Pali high leadership team, LAUSD board, LAUSD, and the incredible resilience of the Palisades community, especially poignant now as we approach the first anniversary of the devastating L.A. wildfires,” said Gensler’s Kelly Farrell, Gensler’s AIA, principal and managing director.
LAUSD mobilized rapidly to provide temporary classrooms to replace those demolished by the fire, while contractors and environmental teams have been working through weekends to restore legacy buildings, remediate damaged areas, and prepare the beloved “Stadium by the Sea” and aquatic center for students’ return.
“We’ve been working closely with school leadership to plan a safe return to their permanent campus, and have also been expediting whatever processes and reviews,” said Nick Melvoin, LAUSD School Board Member representing Palisades. “While we still have some final environmental testing to complete – some are outside the school district’s control. We’re excited to get kids back in the new year to finish off the year strong.”
Work will continue straight through winter break to meet what Magee calls the school’s “North Star” date – a tight but deeply meaningful deadline.
The return is also expected to revitalize the broader Palisades economy.
Students and staff have been away from the neighborhood for nearly a year, and local businesses — especially small retailers, coffee shops, and restaurants are preparing for renewed foot traffic and community engagement. Longtime staples like the Garden Café, have been waiting for this moment to fully reopen.
“There is tremendous hope in knowing the Pali High campus will reopen in January,” said Maryam Zar, CEO of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce. “In every conversation I’ve had with students, families, and teachers, the sentiment is the same – everyone is genuinely happy to be coming back. It feels like an emotional milestone, a sign that our recovery is finally beginning to turn a corner.”
Magee is most attuned to the emotional transition ahead. Many students have not been back to the Palisades since the fire, while others lost homes or familiar landmarks.
“Re-acclimating is its own process,” she said. “We’re focused on strengthening mental health resources so students, families, and staff feel supported as they rebuild their connection to this place.”
Zar noted that families from outside the Palisades remain a vital part of that return.
“Their presence enriches the school community and restores a sense of normalcy and vitality to the neighborhood,” she said.
She acknowledged community concerns about construction traffic on Temescal Canyon Road, and said groups like the Palisades Recovery Coalition are already collaborating with the city to develop a thoughtful mobility plan that protects school operations during peak drop-off and pick-up hours.
The return also extends to athletics, where leaders are seeing their own set of challenges mixed with resilience.
Rocky Montz, athletic director for Pali High, emphasized that while the school’s teams continued to compete at a high level during displacement, even bringing home multiple championships, they did so with significant resource gaps, including shortages in jerseys, equipment, and consistent practice fields.
Many teams operated with far less than they needed, yet the students pushed forward with what Montz described as “unmatched determination.”
As the school prepares to return, some athletic facilities, including outdoor fields remain in development, making temporary training and competition spaces another urgent need. Montz is working to secure photos and documentation to help the community understand the program’s journey and rally support.
Baseball, one of Pali High’s cornerstone programs, faces some of the most pressing gaps. While the team continued to compete during displacement, the program has been operating without full access to a regulation-ready field, consistent batting cages, and key equipment needed for player development. Temporary fields have been difficult to secure and often lacked proper maintenance or scheduling availability.
Montz noted that the program urgently needs field access, pitching mounds, batting cages, storage for equipment, and updated uniforms to support the players’ safety and performance. “
“Our baseball kids have been incredibly resilient,” he said. “But they deserve a field and facilities that match their dedication.”
He hoped local leagues, parks, private schools, youth organizations, gyms, and sports facilities will step forward with field-sharing opportunities, equipment donations, volunteer coaching, and sponsorship support, helping rebuild the program’s full capacity and ensuring students have the resources they need to return to competitive form.
In addition to venues, the school is calling for broader support in several critical areas: technology for students, expanded mental health and wellness programming, campus beautification including landscaping and tree replacement, and continued environmental monitoring to ensure safety during ongoing construction.
These are areas where public–private partnerships, including collaborations with civic organizations, local businesses, environmental science groups, universities, and philanthropic partners can have immediate impact. The school cites past successes, including its partnerships with Santa Monica College, the Apple Store and numerous local professionals who have provided students with hands-on learning experiences that align academic work with real-world exposure.
Even with the reopening, significant needs remain, and Magee hopes that sharing them publicly will spark community partnership.
The school is seeking venues and spaces for activities that cannot return to campus immediately. With the community theater offline, Pali High needs temporary homes for performing arts, visual arts exhibitions, debate, music rehearsals, and all-hands school gatherings. Zar, of the chamber, believes the community is ready to meet that call: “The road ahead is long, but the return of Pali High is a powerful step forward. It brings hope, momentum, and a reminder that this community will thrive again – sooner than many might think.”
Magee sees the return as an opportunity to expand these collaborations, “We welcome partners who can help us restore not just our campus, but the experiences and opportunities our students deserve.”
The return of Pali High is more than a reopening, leaders said.
“Our comeback is about resilience,” Magee said. “It’s about committing to our students, to our educators, and to this community that has held us through the hardest year we’ve known. Now we get to rebuild it together.”