analysis by the UCLA Pritzker Center<\/a>, a research center focusing on youth in the child welfare system.<\/p>\nAs recovery continues, Taylor Dudley, the center\u2019s executive director, noted that while some school-based services, such as support for students with disabilities, were initially delayed as schools took account of the losses, they were eventually provided more consistently as schools stabilized. But, she is concerned that students may begin to see other services \u201cdrop off\u201d with time.<\/p>\n
For example, if a student\u2019s home is now safe to return to, the child might be reenrolled at the school they attended before the fire. Dudley noted that a transition of this nature raises many questions for a foster student, who may not have a constant advocate by their side: Who will ensure all their credits will transfer from their previous school? Will their transportation plan be upheld? Will their individualized education plan (IEP) transfer in full, with all services continuing?<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the healing process has continued for students in the area who were homeless before the fires or who lost their homes. Nearly 300 homeless students in Pasadena Unified were enrolled by the first Wednesday in October, known as Census Day, during the 2024-25 school year, according to an EdSource analysis of the state\u2019s most recently available data. About 10,800 were enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District.<\/p>\n
The state initially made it easier for families to enroll their children in new schools by removing the typically required documentation. Jennifer Kottke, the homeless liaison for the Los Angeles County Office of Education, spent months after the fires consulting with schools, working around processes to verify residency and determine which district a student belonged to. Students experiencing homelessness have the right to immediate enrollment at any moment at any school, she said.<\/p>\n
Some families who were suddenly homeless after the fires \u201cwere having a hard time because they\u2019ve never seen themselves as being the ones in need,\u201d Kottke said. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones who provided for those who were in need.\u201d<\/p>\n
These families had previously been \u201cthe givers,\u201d as Kottke noted. Some initially declined resources, from basic hygiene products to computers to food, because they believed other families might need them more, she said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, as the year unfolded, some students in fire zones faced another crisis: immigration raids in the late spring. Both situations, one immediately after the other, targeted students\u2019 sense of safety, said Lisa Fortuna, who chairs the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the University of California, Riverside.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much threat to self and to one\u2019s close loved ones, the people you\u2019re dependent on, the places and things you depend on as your home, as your resources in the community,\u201d said Fortuna. \u201cIt\u2019s a cumulative loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adjusting to the new normal<\/p>\n
Despite a quick surge in counseling and psychological support for students, the emotional fallout from the fires is ongoing. The occasional fire drill or nearby house fire can reignite feelings of fear and loss for students, said Gabriela Gualano, a teacher librarian at LAUSD\u2019s Paul Revere Charter Middle School.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to definitely front-load to the kids: \u2018Hey, this is what\u2019s happening. It\u2019s just a drill. We know you\u2019ve done this before. The district just wants to make sure that we\u2019re able to do this in a timely manner, so we\u2019re going to get through it,\u2019\u201d Gualano said. Some students have developed a dark humor around the fires, she said, while others avoid the topic altogether.<\/p>\n
How schools in the region will mark the Jan. 7 anniversary of the fires varies.<\/p>\n
At Pasadena Unified schools, a moment of silence will usher in the anniversary.<\/p>\n
Some schools in the L.A. Unified area do not have elaborate plans to commemorate Jan. 7.<\/p>\n
Some Los Angeles campuses might opt to plant a tree or take students on a walk, but only activities that heal, said Julianne Reynoso, Pasadena Unified\u2019s assistant superintendent of Student Wellness and Support Services.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Wendy Connor, a retired first grade teacher at Marquez Charter Elementary, said the school doesn\u2019t plan to do anything on the anniversary. Maintaining a sense of normalcy is still the priority, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a collaborative, iterative process,\u201d said LAUSD school board member Nick Melvoin, who represents schools in the Palisades. \u201cI think we\u2019ve done a lot of right by our students, which is most important, but always, always more to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The district is making \u201csure we keep our eye on the ball when it comes to the permanent rebuild,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, teachers say they\u2019ve had to grapple with decades of losses that can\u2019t be replaced. Connor tries to remember what her room looked like, the place where she taught for 38 years when she and her students fled: \u201cSomebody\u2019s backpack is open on their desk; all the chairs are out or pushed around instead of just sitting all straight normal. It\u2019s all wacky.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grieving continues for teachers, she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not things that you can turn to the district and say, \u2018Will you buy me this?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cYou (used to) have samples of every art project all put together in a binder up on the shelf \u2014 and now you don\u2019t have any of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For teacher Tanya Reyes and her family, the past year\u2019s struggles have made her reflect on how the community can best move forward after the devastation. Reyes stressed the importance of remembering \u201cwho the roots of Altadena were.\u201d<\/p>\n
She, her husband, and three children have moved three times \u2014 from one family or friend\u2019s home to the next, and finally into a new rental home roughly six miles from Altadena in Sierra Madre.<\/p>\n
Reyes\u2019 family is slowly coming to terms with what they lost this past year when their home burned, including a daughter\u2019s stuffed tigress. Over the past year, the family\u2019s pet bearded dragon died. But life moves on, and their new space is morphing into a semblance of home.<\/p>\n
As the year progressed, Reyes learned that the recovery process means taking it slower.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel humbled as someone who is a doer and a mover and a goer to really have to sit back and be still,\u201d Reyes said. \u201cThere is a mourning or a grief in my body that I don\u2019t even have awareness of, but it\u2019s showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n
EdSource<\/a> is an independent nonprofit organization that provides analysis on key education issues facing California and the nation. LAist republishes articles from EdSource with permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A year ago, Tanya Reyes watched in disbelief as the Eaton fire incinerated her Altadena home. As her…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":497051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[223480,1582,276,5810,223481,7065,2961,28708,72161,224,5337,517,17254,223482,1085],"class_list":{"0":"post-497050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-attendence","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-eaton-fire","12":"tag-fire-annivesary","13":"tag-housing","14":"tag-la","15":"tag-la-fires","16":"tag-lausd","17":"tag-los-angeles","18":"tag-losangeles","19":"tag-mental-health","20":"tag-palisades-fire","21":"tag-pusd","22":"tag-resources"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115849508350822241","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767723072_114_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n