All San Diego schools re-opened after being closed for six days due to the fires. Meanwhile, in Poway one of the schools most affected by the fires reopened yesterday. For the campus community it was a time to begin the healing process. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis reports.
For the first time in a week, students at Westwood Elementary got to do what kids do best -- run, play, laugh and giggle.
But behind all these smiles, there is a sober reality. Close to 90 families here still don't have a home to go back to. Despite that, almost everyone turned-up for class -- including moms and dads.
Davis: I just need to talk to people and I think that's been really important to me.
That's Bobby Davis. She spent the morning chatting with other parents in the school auditorium. Davis lost her home in the fire. So did Barbara Chapell-Brown, who's also the school librarian.
Davis: I have the same home for all the years I was growing up. Even now when I go to Rochester New York, and I walk up the stairs to my home, its home -- my children don't have that anymore.
But she and other parents say they are grateful the school is open this week, and the district has sent counselors to help everyone cope with the loss. Counselor Jacobethem Tahapary says even though its tough, its really important to get back to school.
Jacobethem: We're creatures of habit and I think the sooner you give folks opportunity to get back a sense of normalcy, a sense of routing, a sense of familiarity, the better. I mean the sooner you do it -- the better.
Tahapary says the real work comes in a few weeks, when the shock fades away and depression, frustration or fear sets in. He says kids don't express those emotions -- instead they act in the form of a belly ache, behavior problems or the silent treatment.
Principal Mike Mosgrove says teachers have been trained to spot the warning signs and be honest with their own emotions.
Mosgrove: It’s important to show the human side with kids as well. They need to know we're human beings we're going to be upset at times as well but what we want to model is the way process and work through things. I think that helps them be more resilient.
And for Barbara Chapell-Brown that means making sure her son's school life is back on track. She and her family are staying at a hotel across town. But for the next few weeks she plans to drive her son to the neighborhood bus stop.
Campbell-Brown: This morning, I drove him over to that site, even though my house is burnt up, I had to put him on the bus that he is familiar with because that is what he knows -- so it was important that I didn't take him out of his routine, because he has already been displaced.
Westwood is part of the Poway Unified School District, where more than 340 families are still displaced, and 20 teachers have lost their homes.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
