Tag: Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)

PACIFIC PALISADES—On April 22, the City of Santa Monica welcomed 2,500 Palisades Charter High School students to their temporary Pali High School in the old Sears building located at 302 Colorado Avenue. This was the first day back to in-school learning for the students since the fire devastation.

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) members posed for photographs at the students’ temporary Pali-High site on opening day.

Santa Monica Mayor, Lana Negrete made the following statement in a press release that can be viewed in full text on the City of Santa Monica webpage:

“I’m thrilled to welcome students and families who have endured so much over the past few months, and it was so special to see the smiling faces of students and teachers arriving this morning to our city.

It is amazing to be able to play a part in bringing the Pali High family together again at this new campus and I hope it brings them a sense of normalcy and comfort as our region continues to rebuild and recover”.

California Governor, Gavin Newsom welcomed students and faculty back to school as well:

“I’m happy to welcome the administrators, educators and students of Palisades Charter High School back to in-person learning. While this home is only temporary until we can get them back to their regular site, the partnership and collaboration between state and local officials to get this new site up and running shows the spirit of our recovery. This is an important step forward for the Palisades community as we rebuild and rise together.”

Community Development Department Director Arminé Chaparyan, spoke on the opportunity to make use of unused space:

“It has been a monumental effort to bring a school with these many students so quickly to a city center. We are honored to be able to support wildfire survivors and, show how we can think creatively about Santa Monica’s commercial spaces.”

The students will be in their new-to-them location for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year.

By Sharon

WOODLAND HILLS—On Tuesday, March 12, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) became aware of an internet shooting threat aimed at Taft High School located at 5461 Winnetka Avenue. Los Angeles Police Department (LASD) officers responded to the scene at approximately 9:00 a.m.

The Los Angeles Unified School District sent out a mass voice message to parents informing them that the social media message was not believed to be a viable threat.

“We take the safety and security of our students and our campus very seriously. All statements that raise concerns about the safety of our campus are immediately and thoroughly investigated to ensure the safety of our students. The district will continue to evaluate their safety procedures to ensure the safety of the school community.”

Multiple reports indicate one of the posts said, “School is going to get shot today around 4th period. Stay tuned.” A random photo was accompanied on one of the posts that showed a gun resting on someone’s lap.

Students reportedly went into panic mode when seeing the social media threat posts on their cell phones. Students were seen scaling the chain-linked fence and leaving school.

During the late morning hours of March 12, the Citizen App for Loss Angeles posted video footage on the X social media site Taft Charter School depicting a large police presence, and a long line of parents lining up on Winnetka Avenue to pick up their children.

This is an ongoing investigation. Both the LAPD and the LAUSD School Resource Officers are still looking into the matter.

By Sharon