Still Going Strong

Methodist Preschool Continues Programming Following Palisades Fire

By ALEC HARRISON | Contributing Writer

On Tuesday, January 7, Methodist Preschool of Pacific Palisades, affectionately known as MPS, welcomed families back after their three-week winter break. The preschool children, aged 2 to 5 years old, rushed through the school doors at 9 a.m., excited to be reunited with their friends and teachers to share stories of their vacations away from school.

They were also particularly thrilled to begin working in the newly constructed garden-to-table atelier, a beautiful kitchen space that had been designed for the children and was due to be completed that very day. Although a little blustery as the seasonal Santa Ana winds had started, all the children were ready to dive back into work and play.

Methodist Preschool has been a huge part of the Pacific Palisades community, with thousands of families passing through its famous blue doors over the years. The school is attached to the Community United Methodist Church of Pacific Palisades (the founding building in the Palisades), and the preschool was started in 1945. The preschool was due to celebrate its 80th anniversary this year.

Around 10:30 a.m. that day, the school’s administration team began to see smoke coming from the neighboring mountains and soon learned that a wildfire had broken out. It was clear that the fire was spreading fast, and the strong winds exacerbated the situation.

In an abundance of caution, the children’s families were contacted and alerted to come and pick up their children. The school closed, and the children, families and teachers made their way to their cars.

Little did they know that this would be the last time they would set foot on the grounds of their beloved school. Unfortunately, the fire ended up devastating much of Pacific Palisades, and the homes of virtually all of the preschool families. By the following evening, the school building was gone.

“The whole school community was in complete and utter shock,” Methodist Preschool Director Laura Bieber said. “We were all completely devastated about what had happened to our school, to our community and to our families. After the initial shock had passed, our first thought was, ‘How can we get our families back together?’”

Immediately, the administrative team started reaching out to their LA educator network to see if anyone had any space they could utilize. Fortunately, Palisades Preschool of Santa Monica responded to offer a potential space in its facility. By the following Wednesday, Methodist Preschool had set up temporary classrooms, and were ready to be reunited with their families and children.

There were a lot of tears from the parents on that first day, as everyone was seeing each other for the first time since being displaced. The children were so happy to see their friends and teachers after everything that had happened. All the school wanted was to provide stability to their families and children during this turbulent time.

After a couple of months of searching for a new location to house the school while the Palisades rebuilds, MPS has settled in a beautiful location in West LA.

“We were so intent on finding the perfect space, a place that would really uphold our mission, and we truly believe we have found that,” Bieber said.

MPS is now located in a building that was previously a preschool attached to another Methodist Church. After spending some weeks preparing the new facility and creating an outdoor space and garden to uphold the school’s nature-based philosophy, the school was ready to open its doors once again.

“We have only been in the space a few weeks, and although we miss our school in the Palisades desperately, we couldn’t have asked for a better location for our children and families,” Bieber said.

The school is now in the swing of summer, offering its popular summer camp program and ready to welcome its families back in the fall. It has limited available spaces and is able to welcome a few new families in the fall.

“It has certainly been an unforgettable year, but what it has shown us is the importance of community,” Bieber concluded. “When you have a strong and supportive community, like we do at MPS and in the Palisades, you can truly get through anything.”

Anyone interested in touring Methodist Preschool’s new West LA location can reach out to Admissions Director Flynn Aldis at flynn@methodistpreschool.com. Alec Harrison is assistant director of MPS.