Following the Palisades Fire, which began Jan. 7, Pali executive director and principal Pamela Magee announced that Pali would return to school on Jan. 21 with online instruction for the foreseeable future. According to Pali’s Board of Trustees, plans are set to return to a temporary campus in mid-March.
Magee stated that the Palisades Fire damaged an estimated 40 percent of Pali’s campus, delaying a return to on-campus learning. As a result, Pali administration organized materials for online education, releasing virtual learning schedules, Zoom links and chromebooks, which were distributed to students in need by the tech office.
The new remote format, scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 12 p.m., has an almost three-hour difference from Pali’s usual in-person schedule. While Pali’s block schedule was maintained, classes were shortened to an hour each instead of the usual 100 minutes.
Junior Sunny Lehrhoff has been displaced due to the fires. She said that transitioning to online school has been difficult coupled with her move to a temporary residence.
“Zoom really isn’t an ideal situation,” she said. “So many of us are stressing about school while also stressing about our living situations.”
Lehrhoff is one of many Pali students who has a Section 504, a plan developed to allow people with learning difficulties to receive accommodations.
“Without being in person with a teacher that forces you to be fully present and learn, it is easy to get distracted and lose concentration, especially with my ADHD,” she explained.
Yet, Lehrhoff believes that the transition to Zoom has been eased by students’ and teachers’ prior experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Los Angeles Unified School District spent about a year and a half online.
“Our online [schooling] during the pandemic has really prepared us for our digital experience now,” she shared.
The transition to virtual learning has also presented challenges for Pali faculty and staff, with teachers navigating the transfer and adaptation of their curricula to online learning.
Graphic Arts, Web Design and Yearbook teacher Phillip Hoag described his struggles communicating with his students, particularly tied to the fact that teachers are not allowed to mandate that students turn on their Zoom video screens.
“There is just a lack of personal connection through Zoom,” Hoag said. “It can feel very isolating to be teaching to a room of students with no cameras turned on and with very little participation in class.”
Additionally, students and staff have had to adjust to the loss of resources due to campus closures.
“My graphic arts students no longer have access to [their] classroom computers, which had paid access to Adobe InDesign and other platforms,” Hoag said. “Without this program, I have had to find temporary replacements during this digital learning period.”
Some Pali families made the decision to transfer their children to nearby public and private schools rather than continue at Pali through online instruction.
Former Tideline member and junior Kamran Yashouafar completed the first week of online learning before deciding to transfer to Milken Community School.
“[Zoom] was isolating and not at all effective for my learning style,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I was getting the engagement from school I needed to truly learn.”
He explained that his decision to leave Pali was difficult and forced him to consider many factors, including the pivotal nature of a student’s junior year.
“I know that junior year is a crucial year that colleges view, and I wanted to give myself the best chance for success,” Yashouafar said.
While Zoom school has raised many concerns from families and staff, with many hoping for a return to in-person learning, no official plans have been made to move back to the Pali campus due to safety concerns regarding debris and air quality. According to a statement released by Magee on Feb. 4, detailed procedures will be put in place to ensure students and staff will be safe from exposure to asbestos, lead, particulate matter and other harmful chemicals when school returns to campus.
In the meantime, finding a temporary campus to resume in-person instruction has been a major focus of Pali’s administration. At the Feb. 11 board meeting, a temporary location was voted upon, the name of which will be released pending the finalization of contracts. The transition to that campus is scheduled to occur sometime in mid-March, according to public records from the board meeting. Magee’s statement also announced Fall 2025 as a date for Pali’s possible reopening.
She concluded her message with hope: “This too shall pass and we will be stronger for it.”
