Palisades Charter High School reopened Tuesday, a little more than a year after it was damaged in the deadly Palisades Fire.
The school, known affectionately as Pali High, stood at 15777 Bowdoin St., serving the Pacific Palisades area as well as parts of Brentwood, since 1961.
Parents, teachers, students and community members held signs with messages of love for Pali High. The school band played music, the school’s dolphin mascot welcomed students back, and cheers erupted from the crowd.
Well-wishers, including a graduate who said he and his mother submitted the name Dolphins as the school’s eventual mascot, were on hand to greet students too.
“Today, we’re welcoming back our students on the first day back on campus since their last day in December a year ago,” Pam McGee, executive director and principal at Palisades Charter High School, said in a video posted on social media. “So very excited to see enthusiasm and excitement for our students and parents as they come back to their home campus.”
Alessandra Santini, the school’s Associated Student Body president, wished everyone, especially the freshmen, a happy first day of school.
“We love you. We’re so proud of you and welcome back,” Santini said in a message also posted on social media.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, who also represents Pacific Palisades, joined the community for the first day back to school. He said he was proud to join the celebration, and that the reopening is a testament to the Palisades resilience and strength.
“I’ve never seen so many high school students happy to come back to schools, and it’s a great day for the Palisades community,” Sherman told City News Service in a telephone interview.
He added that the school is back and the community will be back.
“I was surprised at just how business-like the students were. They were getting to class on time. They had their books in their backpacks, and they were ready to go,” he said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents Pacific Palisades, congratulated the community and students on their return in a social media post, adding that “each step in our recovery is yet another sign of what it means to be #PaliStrong.”
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park, who represents Pacific Palisades, acknowledged the reopening of Pali High during Tuesday’s council meeting.
“I wanted to take a moment and share with you all that we had a very, very exciting morning in the Pacific Palisades as we welcomed students back to campus for the first time in over a year after the Pacific Palisades Fire,” Park said “This was just an extraordinary moment in our community’s recovery and the entire story arc for these young people over the last year has been a journey.”
Park noted homecoming for Pali students will be held on campus Saturday night.
“We note that as the kids are coming back, it’s an opportunity for families to come back too. When we look around at the Palisades, we acknowledge all of the new construction starts, and we are incredibly grateful for all of that progress,” Park said.
“I am also reminded that those are the people who can. There continue to be thousands of families that remain displaced, mired in insurance disputes, paying mortgages on houses they can’t live in and lots they can’t afford to build on,” Park added.
Classes at the grade 9-12 school — whose famous graduates include J.J. Abrams (class of ’84), Forest Whitaker (’79) and Jeanie Buss (’79) — were moved to the former Sears building in Santa Monica after the Jan. 7, 2025, fire.
The school was used as the location for the 2021 Olivia Rodrigo music video for her No. 1 hit “Good 4 U.”