LOS ANGELES — We’re in the debris removal phase in the Altadena area, three months after the Eaton Fire, and a school that was destroyed has already rebuilt in a new location in what contractors are saying was in record time.

What You Need To Know

  • All 270 developmental kindergarten through sixth grade students have a new temporary space to call their own

  • There are 22 classrooms equipped with everything they need for learning

  • A campus like this usually takes nine months to build, but this campus was built in six weeks

It was the first day of classes all over again for students at Saint Mark’s Academy. New buildings, new classrooms, new materials and a new beginning for students, like sixth grader Kayson Simmonds.

“This new setting is, I always just thought of them as boxes, but when you really get to see inside of them, they feel like classrooms,” Simmonds said.

In January, Saint Mark’s church and school were destroyed in the Eaton Fire. They moved students and staff into a nearby church and then into a temporary space called Strong Hall at EF Academy. Kayson was getting used to all the changes.

“I was obviously grateful when we were at the church. I’m grateful that we had Strong Hall, but this, it just really makes me feel like I’m at Saint Mark’s again,” Simmonds said.

It's a space that Saint Mark’s has turned into what they call the Saint Mark’s Village.

Jennifer Tolbert, the head of school, said a campus like this usually takes nine months to build, but this campus was built in six weeks.

“Record time. Unprecedented and we call it a village because it took a village to get us here,” Tolbert said.“Record time. Unprecedented and we call it a village because it took a village to get us here,” Tolbert said.

All 270 developmental kindergarten through sixth grade students have a new temporary space to call their own. Twenty-two classrooms equipped with everything they need for learning.

“It’s really about the programs and the people that make our school. We are blessed to have an incredible village here with everything that we need, temporarily. And we know that eventually we will build back our full campus and we look forward to that day,” Tolbert said.

Also on campus, there's a touch of home. Colorful lunch tables were some of the only things that survived the flames.

“It really just makes you feel like we’re back at our Saint Mark’s home,” Simmonds said.

Saint Mark’s School leaders said their goal is to stay in the Saint Mark’s Village for the next 18 months, while plans to rebuild at the old campus site are already are being talked about.