Marlborough’s administration has instituted many policies to support the student body following the Los Angeles fires that cumulatively burned over 50,000 acres in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena, Studio City and other neighborhoods.
After canceling school for the second half of the week of Jan. 6, the School immediately began to take steps to ensure that the campus would be safe for students and staff returning the following week. Director of Facilities and Capital Planning Matthew Riddle used devices that measure air quality on the roof of Marlborough’s main building to determine whether it would be safe for students to attend classes on Jan. 13. Riddle also shut down the School’s HVAC system to flush it, and the facilities team replaced air filters throughout campus to make sure that the community would be free from toxic air indoors.
“That’s what I’m here to do as facilities director, to make sure we have a safe place to learn,” Riddle said. “I like to be able to convey that peace of mind. I’m a parent, too, and I want to hear these things at my kids’ schools.”
To support students who lost their belongings in the fire, the School made the entire week of Jan. 13 athletic free dress. All-School Council and Senior Class Council initiated a drive for gently used uniforms and gift cards to places such as Target, Amazon or restaurants. In total this initiative raised over $4,000. The councils also created care packages for impacted families with gift cards for clothing stores and other necessities. Any items collected in the drive that weren’t needed by Marlborough community members were redistributed to organizations in need.
“That is a testament to the way we partner with nonprofits because we didn’t stockpile our donations,” Dean of Social Justice and Community Partnerships Pamela Wright said. “We aren’t going to stockpile when we know that there is need [somewhere else].”
After the initial drive, the Community Partnerships Department and the administration established “The Hub,” an office that collected uniforms, toiletries and other essentials for impacted students. The administration prioritized making “The Hub” a place for these students to receive clean and high-quality items in an organized and stress-free manner. It will remain open as long as
it is needed and will adapt to fit changing needs.
“We wanted ‘The Hub’ to feel like you were getting the resources you needed in a dignified manner,” Wright said. “These are often folks who are not accustomed to asking for help, they are people who help others.”
In addition to “The Hub,” Dean of Students Kendall Beeman created a SignUpGenius, which is an online platform that allows community members to sign up to purchase various items. Beeman provided a precise list of items students need, such as graphing calculators and textbooks, for parents who wanted to contribute.
The administration focused on supporting students’ mental health by organizing a special schedule on the first Monday back that allowed for an extended Homeroom period. Head of Upper School Regina Rosi Mitchell coined a new term “radical flexibility” to describe Marlborough’s approach to supporting students academically by offering more extensions for schoolwork, assessments and other curricular efforts to reduce school-related stress during this time.
“I was really impressed with our community,” Riddle said. “If you say you’re a community that’s with each other no matter what, then even people that weren’t directly impacted should have felt the need to come together and help serve those that were. I saw that.”
Additionally, All-School Council hosted a potluck to help raise the spirits of the student body. They brought baked goods from home and distributed them during Flex period on the first Thursday back as a show of support for those impacted by the fires.
“I hope that the people who received help, or even were part of the process of creating help, will also remember that when they received help it was presented to them in a very dignified manner, so when they go to help others, they will always have that kind of standard,” Wright said.
