Students and teachers displaced by wildfire in Los Angeles have found a new home at a nearby school.
Families and children from the fire-ravaged Palisades Elementary Charter School were welcomed at Brentwood Elementary Science Magnet with open arms, with teaching staff waiting outside the school to greet the new students.
Several schools in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood were destroyed or seriously damaged by last week's blaze.
Parents and kids were excited to resume class with their friends and teachers, giving them back a sense of normalcy, said Cassandra, who dropped off her 9-year-old daughter Skyler.
"We're excited to go back to some normalcy for the kids mostly. I think that's the biggest takeaway today is like they get to go back to school and it's their own classroom and their teacher," she said.
Harper, a student at Palisades Charter Elementary School, lost her home and part of her school, walked in with her father and brother. She was happy to be at her new school, but wished she could have ended her school year in the Palisades.
"Palisades Elementary only half of it burned. So my classroom is still there. I wish I could spend the rest of the school year there, but I'm happy that we were able to come here," she said.
Los Angeles Unified and Palisades staff were in attendance to welcome the new students.
Palisades Charter Elementary Principal Juliet Herman said pupils would have access to resources to help them through the transition.
"For children who lost homes and also lost their school, it's absolutely devastating. And the way that I can help in the way that I can give back is to make sure that those children have a place to go. And even though we lost the physical building, we still have our community," she said.
