PCSD

When the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena and Pasadena in January 2025, four public charter school campuses were devastated, disrupting learning for more than 1,300 students and families. Many of these families were already navigating economic hardship, and the loss of school facilities created an urgent need for stability. For these communities, schools are more than buildings; they are essential anchors of support and connection.

We are deeply grateful to our longtime partner ExED, with support from the Walton Family Foundation, for their grant supporting Blueprint’s Rebuilding Safe Schools After Eaton Fires initiative. This investment allows us to support fire-impacted charter schools as they work toward safe, stable, and permanent learning environments.

The schools supported through this initiative are:

• Alma Fuerte Public School
• Aveson Schools
• Pasadena Rosebud Academy

Why This Support Matters

The fires intensified long-standing challenges in Los Angeles County’s charter school facilities landscape. High costs, limited options, and complex public funding processes make it extremely difficult for charter schools to secure permanent facilities without expert support.

Families lost homes. Students lost classrooms. Without coordinated assistance, the risk of long-term displacement for these schools was real.

How the Grant Supports Schools

This grant enables Blueprint to provide hands-on, practical support using our proven facilities development model, starting with funding navigation.

First and foremost, the grant funds consultants to support each school’s Proposition 2 application, along with guidance from Blueprint on other state facilities funding opportunities, including the Charter School Facilities Incentive Grant (CSFIG). These processes are complex and time-intensive. Blueprint’s team and consultants act as an extension of school leadership, managing technical details so school leaders can stay focused on their students.

In parallel, Blueprint supports schools in evaluating facility options—whether through leasing, acquisition, or shared-use arrangements—and coordinates pro bono architectural support to reduce early planning costs and accelerate decision-making.

Impact and What’s Next

In the short-term, the schools will:

• Begin the process toward permanent facility funding and/or secure long-term space
• Restore access to safe, stable learning environments for 1,345 students
• Benefit from early architectural and planning support at no cost

Longer-term, this work will lead to permanent school homes.

This project is about more than rebuilding facilities. It’s about restoring stability, continuity, and confidence for students, families, and communities.

With Gratitude

This work would not be possible without partners who understand that recovery means investing in people and communities, not just buildings. We are honored to partner with ExED along with the Walton Family Foundation for their continued commitment to equitable, long-term solutions for students and schools.

Photo: Aveson Schools

After 15 years of relocating across Alameda County, Yu Ming Charter School is celebrating a significant milestone in our facilities journey this year. We now own two more permanent campuses that will serve our community for generations to come.

Since our founding in 2010 as California’s first dual-immersion Mandarin charter school, finding stable facilities has been our greatest challenge. Even as we earned multiple National Blue Ribbon and California Distinguished School honors, ranking in the top 1% of California public schools across student demographics, we have had to move students no fewer than ten times in 15 years. Each relocation disrupted commutes for hundreds of families traveling from 37 cities across four counties.

This year marks the beginning of a more stable chapter. With the purchases of our Adeline campus, a former school site in Oakland, and our Carolyn campus, a former church property, we are finally able to set deeper roots in the communities we serve. While we still need one last permanent site, these campuses mean that our students are no longer in borrowed space and that we can continue planning for the future with more confidence.

We deeply appreciate the ongoing partnership with Blueprint, our non-profit real estate partner, who has stood with us since 2018. Blueprint helped guide negotiations on both property purchases and navigate a complex process we could never have managed alone. They saved us countless hours and allowed us to stay focused on what we do best: serving students well.

The demand for our program has remained high over the years, with approximately 2.5 applicants per kindergarten seat and over 1,000 students enrolled this school year. As students move through grades each year, this added capacity is an investment in our ability to ensure reliable, continuous access to a rich TK-8 Mandarin immersion education for students across Alameda County, including those from historically underserved communities who have often faced barriers to high-quality schooling.

Ultimately, these campuses are a direct continuation of the whole-child, global citizens education we offer to students and families across the county. They strengthen our mission by creating permanent environments where all students can flourish socially, emotionally, and academically. After years of instability, these campuses give us a stronger foundation to focus on what matters most: educating the multilingual global citizens who will build a better tomorrow.

Author’s Note

This blog is written by Emily Wood, COO, Yu Ming Charter School. Emily is a former Head of School and longtime educator, she brings deep experience in school operations, personalized learning, and whole-child education. Emily is passionate about creating stable, student-centered environments where children can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Photography by Jerry Yoon Photographers