The tragic wildfires across Los Angeles County have destroyed thousands of homes, leaving families with nowhere to go. 

That also means thousands of students suddenly do not have schools to attend.

Today, the Manhattan Beach Unified School District announced that its "doors are open" to take in students who have been displaced due to the wildfires.

"Our school administrators and office managers are working to admit all students who are seeking enrollment," says a new statement from district headquarters.

Already, in just a couple of days, more than a dozen students from fire-impacted areas have joined the Manhattan Beach school district.

School districts in Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach are also actively working to enroll students displaced by the fires.

MBUSD recognizes that every potential new student's circumstances are different, MBUSD Board President Wysh Weinstein told MB News. "Each student is in a unique situation, therefore our staff is working on a case-by-case basis based upon the needs and situation of each family," Weinstein said.

New students do not necessarily need to establish residency in Manhattan Beach to qualify, thanks to regulations that allow for transfers and acceptance in new districts in emergencies like the one now facing Los Angeles County in the wake of the fires.

State educational funding will flow to MBUSD to cover the costs of adding to the student population. 

How Displaced Students Can Enroll at Manhattan Beach Schools 

Families seeking to place students at MBUSD schools may find it easiest to simply come to a campus, bringing as much documentation as possible.

Administrators at each campus can help with placements, depending on where space is available at various grade levels. Efforts will be made to place siblings at the same school. Virtually every Manhattan Beach campus currently has capacity to take on new students; some more than others.

And while the district will make efforts to take as many emergency placements as possible, the district will be required to find room for students whose families do eventually establish local residency.

MBUSD has posted this webpage with more information about how to enroll: Enrollment Support for Families Impacted by Wildfires.

For general questions, the district asks families to please contact Kerry Riccio Aguero, director of student services ([email protected]).

People may also contact campuses directly, using the following information:

Families seeking to enroll students are asked to bring any or all of the following documents, if available: 

• Parent’s driver’s license
• Student’s birth certificate
• Proof of current grade-level enrollment
• Any transcripts, report cards, or other school records
• Immunization records and/or pertinent medical records
• Any available current residential documents or information (hotel contract, short-term rental, lease, or information about emergency/temporary housing)
  

These documents may be in hard copy form or digital form. If they are not available, MBUSD staff will work to assist in facilitating the enrollment process.  

Wave of New Students Just Beginning, Could Build for Weeks

While a small number of students already have come into the district within a few days of the outbreak of this week's wildfires, it is surely only the beginning.

MBUSD worked throughout the week to establish procedures and to develop Friday's public statement, formally inviting more students to seek a place in local schools. 

MBUSD Board President Weinstein told MB News that she had just heard a story from current Hermosa Beach Superintendent Susan Wildes, who was an Atlanta-area schools official at the time of 2005's Hurricane Katrina. 

As Weinstein recalled, Wildes said the initial influx of new students from hurricane-impacted areas was almost immediate, but modest in scope. By 3-4 weeks after the incident, however, many more people had formally moved and made decisions about where to establish themselves for the longer term. That's when schools really needed to accommodate larger numbers of new students.

Something similar could evolve over time with Manhattan Beach and other South Bay schools.

Real Estate Pressures, Impacts Projected

It won't just be schools welcoming new students in the wake of the wildfires. Early indications are that the South Bay will be a target area for many people and families needing shelter all of a sudden.

Starting as soon as the morning after the fires first broke out, South Bay real estate professionals began receiving urgent inquiries to help find homes for people impacted by the fires. 

Brokers are hearing from other agents, from local family and friends, and directly from people whose homes were lost in the fires. Many are asking for rental inventory, while some are preparing to buy as soon as possible also. Some homes on the market have been rented or placed under contract for purchase quickly. 

Dave Fratello, broker with Edge Real Estate Agency and publisher of MB News, said in a column Thursday, "It is too soon, but also not too soon, to delicately make a point that seems likely to be important over the next year to three years: More people are going to want, and need, to move to Manhattan Beach." 

"If you're in the market," Fratello added, "as a buyer or seller – or [you] might be – this immediate, unplanned, spike in the need for local housing is a new factor that you'll be contending with, one way or the other, for better or worse."