California schools survive wildfires
By Carol Chmelynski
11/11/03 -- The fires that roared through Southern California for more than a week threatened several schools, but none was damaged. The fires burned nearly 750,000 acres in five counties. Twenty-two people were killed, and nearly 3,600 homes were destroyed.
In San Bernardino County, which suffered the most disruptive fires, "none of our schools suffered structural fire damage, which is really phenomenal," says Christine McGrew, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County education office, which serves 33 K-12 school districts.
Rim of the World High School, in San Bernardino County, "was really threatened but the firefighters were very determined to save schools," McGrew says.
Some 450 homes in the Rim of the World Unified School District were destroyed, and schools won't reopen until Nov. 13. "The fire came right up to the edge of the road where our transportation yard is," says board President Bob Gladwell. A command center was set up nearby where firefighters ate and slept.
"I can't tell you enough about the heroes we have. Seven or eight of our employees stayed at the command center the whole time," Gladwell says. "Sharon Rogers, our transportation director, got a call from a neighboring private school saying they couldn't get out. She drove a bus and evacuated the school herself while the flames were raging around her. She also helped the elderly shut-ins and got them out of harm's way."
The San Bernardino City Unified School District, serving 50,000 students, was closed for a whole week, while the Bear Valley Unified and Hesperia Unified school districts were each closed for three days.
Two of Hesperia's schools -- Hesperia High School and Sultana High -- were used as evacuation/donation centers.
"There was a huge outpouring of generosity from the community with truckload after truckload of supplies," says Robert McCullum, assistant principal of Hesperia High.
The Red Cross contracted with the district for food service, and "district personnel from the superintendent all the way down provided the lion's share of personnel, working 18-hour days" at the two high schools, McCullum says. "There was a lot of teamwork. It's one of those experiences I won't ever forget."
Because the governor declared San Bernardino County an emergency disaster area, "we will not be losing the $25.6 million that we would have lost for students not being in school that week," McGrew says.
"The waiver also means districts are not required to make up instructional time, which is great," she says, "but it just means that school officials will have to ramp up their instruction to ensure students get the required instruction necessary to pass standardized tests."
McGrew says staff members of the San Bernardino education office took toys to children at the emergency evacuation centers, and Rim of the World set up temporary offices where staff could pick up paychecks.
"While their own homes were in danger, the staff's thoughts, first and foremost, were how they could take care of the students and the other staff," she says.
The San Diego Unified School District, along with most of the 38 other districts in the county, were closed for five days.
A hotline set up by San Diego Unified -- to address such issues as air quality and when classes would resume -- got 1,000 calls an hour, says district spokesperson Steven Baratte.
The district opened temporary child care facilities at 10 middle schools to help families affected by the fires, and 24 child development centers for children as young as 2. The district provided food and certificated staff.
San Diego school officials have not yet determined how to handle the missed class time, Baratte says. Options include extending the school year, lengthening the school day, or seeking a waiver.
In Ventura County, the Simi Valley Unified School District was closed for two days, and Moorpark Unified School District was closed for three days,
"There was lot of firefighter, police, and sheriff traffic, and that meant parents weren't able to get to work," says Ventura County Superintendent Charles Weis. "The county was dealing with unhealthful air," so the district cancelled outdoor activities."
"There was no damage to schools in Ventura County, not even financial damage, because the area was declared an emergency," says Weis.
Moorpark High School is next to a city park where a command center was set up, and firefighters used the school gym and classrooms to sleep and shower for nine days, says Moorpark Unified School District Superintendent Frank Depasquale.
"Our students baked cookies and put thank-you posters they had drawn on fences so firefighters would see them coming in and out of the command post. It meant a lot to them," he says. "The firefighters offered to pay the district for using the facilities but we refused."
"In some areas the fire burned right down to the playground, and six houses were lost in Moorpark, but other than smoke there was no damage" to the district's 10 schools, Depasquale says.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest in the state with some 746,000 students, had no school closings and was not directly affected by the fires, although there were "air quality issues," says spokesperson Ellen Morgan.
In other districts served by the Los Angeles County office of education, five semi-rural districts -- Gastic Union, Saugus, Sulfur Springs, New Hall, and William S. Hart -- "closed for a few days for various reasons including smoke, health concerns, and transportation problems," says spokesperson Rick de la Torre.
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| Reproduced with permission from the 2003 issue of School Board News. Copyright © 2003, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789. |