Waldorf News

From the Editor

Two Waldorf schools have seen their campuses lost to the fires in Los Angeles. In addition to losing their schools, many students, families and faculty have faced loss of their own homes and displacement.

The articles below are in each school’s own words, which are far more eloquent and heartfelt than anything I could have written. -David

Pasadena Waldorf School

By Stuart Brawley, from the Pasadena Waldorf School’s GoFundMe page

Thank you to the incredible outpouring of support for the Pasadena Waldorf School and Altadena community. We are grateful for every donation and message. We have a long way to go to reach our goal but we are a strong and united community that will recover and rebuild with love, determination, and spirit.

We are so thankful that our 2nd campus, the McComb Campus where our preschool and high school programs live survived, and we thank everyone who helped make that a reality by fighting off embers and putting out hotspots until the fire had passed.

Our Machris Mariposa St campus is a total loss. Not one building survived. Scripps Hall, the main school building was on the National Register of Historical Places.

We hiked from Devil’s Gate Dam into NW Altadena yesterday because we had to take care of a couple of things at the Mendocino Campus Administration Building.

Before we got there, we stopped by the Machris Mariposa Campus to pay our respects. When we arrived we noticed that Scripps Hall was still smoldering. Fire crews are all through town putting out hot spots. They came in from Altadena Drive to address the hotspot and we got to talk to them for a bit.

I could see the weight of this disaster wearing on the captain’s face and he was being so sweet about the loss of this beautiful campus. He worked both the Paradise and Bobcat fires, and I can only imagine the level of destruction that is always in front of him. He wanted all of us to know that he was sorry for what we were going through.

They offered us a chance to help put out the fire, which was very therapeutic to get to do. That phrase we all use when we’re problem solving “just putting out some fires” hit home today as we knocked it down. You have to start somewhere.

We told them about the beautiful school sign that had somehow survived, and they helped us cut it off the fence, and then they gave us a ride to the Mendocino Campus to deliver it to safety.

Though the drive was short, it gave me enough time to think about this transitional point. Moving the sign isn’t about leaving the Mariposa Campus behind – it’s about moving something to safety so we can rebuild. This sign is us.

This sign is our teachers, our students, our staff, our parents, our alumni, our friends, and our town. Despite everything, we are still here, and we will grow again. It might not feel possible yet, but brick by brick, we will lay a new foundation.

Please support our recovery: gofund.me/4b143542

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Westside Waldorf School News

Jan. 10:
Westside Waldorf School in Pacific Palisades, suffered a profound loss when its McComb Campus was destroyed in the Palisades Fire on January 8.

This historic building, along with its beautiful courtyard and spiral of classrooms, has been a cornerstone of Waldorf education, nurturing countless children and families in the Westside of Los Angeles since January 2007.

The entire campus for grades one through eight, including the woodshop where the heights of every student have been lovingly marked on the wall, has been lost.

As the remaining fires burn out, we will assess the damage to the Early Childhood structures that are still standing.

Jan 10:
We are overwhelmed by all the amazing support that keeps coming in!Desks and chairs have been delivered to our Santa Monica early childhood campus from our sister school Highland Hall Waldorf School.

Thank you to all the parent volunteers from Highland Hall and to our faculty, staff, board, and community members. We love you.

Jan. 11:
Westside Waldorf School is resuming classes starting this Monday, January 13.
We are fortunate that our Santa Monica Early Childhood Center has space to house our Palisades nursery, kindergarten, and lower grades children, and we have access to a temporary location in Mar Vista for our upper grades.

During a crisis, children need regularity and safety with their friends, teachers, and routines. Likewise, parents need space to take care of themselves and their families.

We feel especially grateful that we can provide these safe spaces for our community, and we remain dedicated in doing so.

Please consider a donation to support our school’s reopening efforts. donorbox.org/wws-palisades-fire