Students will reunite under one roof at a 26,000-square-foot campus at Colorado Avenue and 26th Street. The new site places the school minutes from local parks and cultural venues
After 10 months of classes held in tents, park pavilions and borrowed rooms, students at Westside Waldorf School will return to a permanent campus when a new Grades 1–8 facility opens Dec. 1 in Santa Monica’s Colorado Center district.
The Jan. 2025 Palisades Fire completely destroyed the school’s original Pacific Palisades campus, forcing the independent Waldorf school to scatter its roughly 200 older students across temporary locations while its early childhood program continued at an existing Santa Monica site.
Beginning next month, those students will reunite under one roof at a 26,000-square-foot campus at Colorado Avenue and 26th Street. The new site places the school minutes from local parks and cultural venues that will be incorporated into the curriculum, school officials said.
The campus includes an 8,000-square-foot main building with a central courtyard designed to echo the outdoor gathering space lost in the blaze. A middle-school wing and administrative offices are also housed in the facility. The school’s early childhood program for children ages 0–6 will remain at its current O’Neill Campus on 15th Street, about five minutes away.
“When we walked into this space, we knew immediately. This is where we’ll heal,” said Anjum Mir, the school’s co-coordinator, in a statement. “Our students have shown incredible resilience through ten months of upheaval. Now we get to give them back what every child deserves: a beautiful, stable place to learn and grow.”
While the building is ready, the classrooms are largely empty. The fire destroyed handcrafted furniture, musical instruments, art supplies and thousands of books. School leaders have launched what they call a “modern barn raising” fundraising campaign to refurnish the campus and recreate the warm, nature-rich environment central to Waldorf education.
“We’ve come so far, but we need help bringing these empty classrooms back to life,” said Dave Chan, a member of the school’s board of trustees, in a statement. “Whether you’re a parent, neighbor or simply someone who believes children deserve beautiful spaces to learn, your contribution matters.”
Donations are being accepted at donorbox.org/rebuild-westside-waldorf.
