It’s been nearly nine months since the Palisades Fire ravaged the Pacific Palisades, permanently changing the lives of all neighborhood residents, young and old.
Some lost homes, their workplaces and for many area children, their schools were burned to the ground.
One facility that suffered that unfortunate fate was Marquez Charter School, an elementary school located on Marquez Avenue near Sunset Boulevard.
Pupils at Marquez Charter – as well as other schools in the area – were forced to attend classes at other schools in the wake of the fire; for Marquez students, their temporary new home was Nora Sterry Elementary School in West Los Angeles, about 10 miles from their home campus.
A sense of normalcy was restored on Tuesday, though, when students returned to the Palisades for class for the first time since the fire broke out. They were greeted with pomp and circumstance, and some parents were teary-eyed at the fact that they were bringing their kids back to their school.
Overall, though, the feeling in the air was excitement.
“Everybody’s happy to be back,” said one father of a 6-year-old student named Leon; the boy just pointed at the school building when he was asked what he was most excited to see on his first day back.
Also emotional on Tuesday morning was Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Alberto Carvalho.
“This is the pure definition of happiness,” Carvalho told KTLA 5’s Ellina Abovian. “We promised the Palisades community that we would rebuild and rebuild better, and nine months later, here we are, welcoming kids back to their school.”
“A lot of people have heard of the phoenix rising from the ashes,” he continued. “The Seagulls of Marquez have risen from the ashes. It is a fantastic day for our community.”
Click here to donate to a fundraiser set up to help assist Marquez Charter School with ongoing wildfire recovery efforts.
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