On Friday August 29th at approximately 5:30pm, an accidental electrical fire destroyed the building housing Pasadena Waldorf School’s first and second grade classrooms at their historic campus on Mariposa Street in the foothills of Altadena. Everything inside the classrooms from desks and chairs to art supplies, handcrafted items, books, the school’s sound system, and more were also lost. The fire department responded immediately and further damage was contained to that building. Fortunately, no children were on campus at the time and no one was injured, but the start of school was delayed.
The school’s parents immediately came together to replace the one-of-a-kind handmade items that are unique to the Waldorf curriculum. The school’s faculty and staff worked quickly and efficiently with the goal of welcoming back students to a safe campus just two weeks later. Working parents had to quickly find childcare and the PWS Parent Council jumped in to organize after-care workers and alternative venues for the children.
Thanks to outreach from PWS parent and a phone call made to general manager Craig Sloane at Altadena Country Club, by Five Acres CEO Chanel Boutakidis, the Altadena Country Club offered their space for childcare needs with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Five Acres. According to Parent Council Co-Chair Peter Listro, “we could not have done this without the Boutakidis family and the Altadena Country Club. We tried every local venue we could think of, and then this generous offer came through that could serve more than 18 children for 5 days.”
After a particularly emotional opening-day “Rose Ceremony” on Monday September 15, all the children returned to their regular classes. School Administrator Douglas Garrett stated that, “the entire Pasadena Waldorf School family has been deeply moved by the outpouring of support to help us though this challenge. We are truly blessed by the people who make up our wonderful community and equally grateful for the help offered by our extended local community. It was a particularly generous and helpful gesture that The Altadena Country Club opened their doors and their hearts to our students to provide a venue for childcare so that our working parents had a place for their children to be while their school was made safe and ready for their return.”
Despite the loss of two classrooms, the school was able to reorganize spaces to accommodate all students, and plans are now underway to replace the destroyed building and create two new classrooms that will be even better than before. Pasadena Waldorf School’s high school, located a few miles away on the campus of William Carey International University, was unaffected by the fire.
For more information about Five Acres, visit http://www.5acres.org/.
For more information about Pasadena Waldorf School, visit http://www.pasadenawaldorf.org/.
