The ongoing aftermath of wildfires, power outages and road closures continues to disrupt daily life for students and teachers at Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD).
All SMMUSD schools are back in-person, but school leaders say students and teachers remain displaced and the effects of the fires are present in the classroom.
“If you don’t feel safe, there is absolutely no way you can retain any kind of information, because you’re in survival mode,” said Claudia Bautista-Nicholas, president of the Santa Monica Malibu Classroom Teachers Association.
Bautista-Nicholas said the emotional toll on students and teachers — along with logistical challenges — is making it difficult to return to normal.
Impact on students and learning
Malibu native Marni Kamins lost her home in the Franklin Fire in December. Her business — which she ran out of her home — also suffered. About a month later, her parents and grandmother lost their homes in the Palisades Fire, Kamins said.
Kamins’ nine-year-old daughter attends Webster Elementary in Malibu and was out of school from Dec. 9 until Jan 6, she said. After returning for a half day, her daughter did not attend in-person classes again until Jan. 27.
Kamins said the online learning offered was minimal — an hour-long call for attendance and a few videos for students to watch. But Karmins said what made online learning a real difficulty for her daughter was eye issues, which makes screen time uncomfortable.
“We just opt out,” Kamins said. “There has been no learning this year, that’s the fact of the matter.”
Malibu High School Principal Adam Almeida said their campus was also impacted by the Franklin and Palisades fires, with 14 in-person days canceled and two days of online instruction between December and January. One of the online days consisted of brief check-ins and office hours, and one full day was held on Zoom.
In preparation for future wildfires, Almeida said the school is working on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to allow for virtual extended school days if in-person classes are canceled.
“It would be more traditional, kind of like it was during COVID,” Almeida said.
Even with online options, Almeida said this does not guarantee students will be able to attend school.
“The challenge is — when we’re dealing with power outages — a large part of our community doesn’t have WiFi,” Almeida said.
With the constant threat of wildfires and power outages, Almeida said the school is exploring the use of generators, especially with Southern California Edison’s Public Safety Power Shutoff plan during dangerous weather conditions.
Challenges for teachers
However, even with generators, there are other complications.
“With so many roads closed, you can’t mobilize many people that quickly,” Bautista-Nicholas said. “We have teachers leaving at 4:30 in the morning to be able to get to work.”
In a survey conducted by Bautista-Nicholas at the Feb. 6 SMMUSD meeting, 46% of the district’s teachers reported driving an extra 30 to 50 miles per day, nearly doubling their normal commute time.
Amidst these long commutes, Bautista-Nicholas said many teachers are coping with stress and personal loss.
“I had 27 teachers that either lost their homes or were displaced longer than two weeks,” Bautista-Nicholas said. “I had a family that was living in a garage of a friend’s house with their two kids, their cats and their dog.”
Despite these challenges, teachers remain deeply committed to their students.
“They are so committed to the kids – their passion for their kids is unreal,” Bautista-Nicholas said.
Bautista-Nicholas also said the psychological toll of the fires is not being adequately addressed.
“Anytime you get one of those alerts on your phone from the wildfires, you immediately go into trauma response,” Bautista-Nicholas said. “I think that has been something that we’re really not talking enough about.”
Support for students
Webster Elementary is offering mental health services to students through the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu. However, Kamins said this is not what younger children need.
“What they really need is play time with their friends,” Kamins said.
Kamins thinks
“My kid is in third grade and they don’t want to talk about their feelings,” Kamins said. “I might even think it’s harmful to be sending my kid to some strange adult to talk about their feelings.”
Despite the closure of Malibu Bluffs Park since the Broad Fire in Nov. 2024, Kamins said there should still be spaces in the city open for children to play.
“Even if Bluff’s park is closed, there has to be some people that think outside the box,” Kamins said.
Malibu High is providing resources for their students to help them process trauma from the fires, including counselors, therapy dogs and even therapy horses.
“For the most part, school is a safe haven for everybody and we want to continue to provide that safe haven,” Almeida said.
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Contact Claire Everbach via email: claire.everbach@pepperdine.edu
