Pali’s transition into the Sears Building

For additional information about Pali’s transition into SM, read the sister article HERE

After the LA fires, Palisades Charter High School (Pali) has found a new home in the Sears building near Samo.

Emmanuel Lopez/The Samohi

Located at 302 Colorado Ave., the Sears building will now accommodate around 2,500 displaced Pali students.

Pali was forced to move to online learning in early January after the fires destroyed over 40 percent of the school’s campus. The doors of the Sears building were officially re-opened on April 22 for Pali students to resume in-person learning, after being online for over two months. The new facility, called ‘Pali South’ is located on 4th and Colorado in Downtown Santa Monica, near Santa Monica High School.

Pali ASB Treasurer, Nathan Hall (’26) reflected on the unexpected troubles of online learning.

“While we went back to online I hung out with my close friends everyday and the 12:00 dismissal was amazing, but it’s the people that you’re not close to that you don’t think about,” Hall said. “Being back in person I’ve been able to hangout and talk to people that I didn’t get to see at all while we were online learning. Not to mention, of course, it’s nearly impossible to learn a damn thing online.”

Above the entrance, where a neon green sign once read Sears, it now says Pali High in bold blue lettering. The Sears building was a former department store which opened in 1947 and closed 70 years later in 2017. The building was opened soon after World War ll to capitalize on the consumer demand that ensued.

In the renovated building, about 90 classrooms were constructed, with teachers trying to make this new situation feel like their home campus. The new location, however, is quite different from the original Pali High. The Sears building is completely indoors, whereas Pali had hallways that were mainly outdoors (similar to most California schools). None of these classrooms have doors and most have no windows. There are also no permanent bathrooms, only facilities brought into the parking lot.

Ronen Hayempour (’26) expanded on the issues of not having doors for the classrooms.

“The current open layout can be really distracting as it’s easy to hear noise from the other rooms or get interrupted by people passing by or even looking in,” Hayempour said. “Some teachers have started using curtains to block out distractions, but it’s not really the same. Having actual doors would make classrooms quieter, help us focus better, and give both students and teachers more privacy.”

The Sears building has been empty and unclaimed since the store closed. The space is 100,000 square feet and was converted in about one month. A design plan was mostly concrete by mid-March and a construction crew worked constantly to get these students into their new building.

Leedor Hatzav (’26) expressed how he thinks the space could be improved for the future.

“In the Sears building on the first day they weren’t exactly prepared for 2,500+ students to go on campus. The hallways were jam-packed with people. I was waiting with a crowd of 50 people just to get out through the one door. Just navigating through this many people was the worst part,” Hatzav said.

Lauren Ades (’27) also had issues with the overflow of students.

“The building is just not big enough for everyone. I have waited in a 15 minute line to get to class and then been late, everywhere you go it’s a mess,” Ades said.

Hall gave some of his ideas on what the Pali administration could incorporate to make the building feel more welcoming.

“I think we need more greenery or something to make the building a little less gray and depressing,” Hall said. “Obviously they need to work on the overcrowding, but I understand the difficulty as the simple fact they found a place for 2,500 kids in such little time is a miracle.

The first few days, students also had issues with

WiFi due to internet blackouts. Many teachers had to plan around the WiFi blockages and schedule all tests to be entirely on paper.

“One of my teachers joked that it felt as if we had returned to [the] 1890s, learning without even a chalkboard to write on,” Hall said.

Many students, including Hayempour, believe that the administration at Pali could be more understanding during the current circumstances.

“I think the Pali administration could offer a bit more lenience. While it hasn’t been a big issue for me personally, I know a lot of people who are struggling with the transition,” Hayempour said. “The workload and expectations are difficult for us, and easing up a little during the adjustment period, or offering more support, could really help people get used to the changes.”

To help foster a stronger feeling of community and normality, teachers decorated their rooms and the building was transformed into a multi-floor space, usable for students. Although it’s not an exact replica of the original Pali, students were still appreciative to have an in-person space.

“I mean the teachers they were able to have I don’t know how many classrooms, but a bunch of classrooms throughout each floor. It felt like an actual school, they had nice chairs, nice desks, air conditioning, a lounge area with chairs and a TV, and there’s a cafeteria outside,” Hatzav said. “The teachers were very welcoming, they all gave us free water bottles on the first day which was really nice. The colors were very similar to back at Pali, also the big sign in the front made it feel like back at school, just the way they designed it.”

The transition into the Sears building has been a very complicated process. Pali is putting in extensive work to try and improve an otherwise unimaginable situation. The results of this effort will be seen in the months to come.