On Jan. 7, a high-wind warning went into effect in cities across Southern California. In the following hours and days, numerous fires erupted across the greater Los Angeles area and damaged or destroyed more than 15,000 structures—including homes and schools. Schools across the region closed in response to poor air quality, increased fire risks, and evacuation warnings or mandates.
However, school officials across the Southern California region were quick to emphasize returns to normalcy and continuity of learning with little regard to students and educators’ mental and physical health.
What happened in Southern California is just one example of what is becoming an increasingly common reality for schools across the country. We are all in the midst of a climate crisis. Climate disasters like this latest deeply impact students, staff, and school communities in ways far beyond the loss of instructional time. The desire to return to instruction or normalcy ignores the realities that school communities face.
We must contend with holistic realities, such as noninstructional impacts—including disruptions to housing, food security, transportation, and economic hardship—as well as consider the possible responses to students, staff, and surrounding communities. Schools are indispensable institutions, especially in resource-stressed areas. Beyond their instructional role, schools act as stabilizing anchors that provide essential services, such as child care, meals, and a structured environment for children. In times of crisis, such as the wildfires in Los Angeles and other climate-related disasters, the central role schools play in many communities positions them as ideal hubs for facilitating support networks and driving recovery efforts.
Both news stories and our own experiences as educators have shown that the initial response from schools after climate-related disasters is often filled with compassion and support. Over time, however, this urgency is overshadowed by a push to return to “business as usual.” As a result, schools may overlook or neglect the ongoing mental and physical needs of students, staff, and communities.
Take the pandemic, for example. The rush to return to school in pursuit of “normalcy” overlooked critical issues, leading to widespread mental health challenges and significant absenteeism among students and staff. It is critical that school reopening plans after crises or disasters address immediate and long-term needs of the entire school community. When we rush back for a return to normalcy with thrown-together efforts, it not only invalidates the immediate devastation of the crisis but also sets us up for further disruption down the line.
To be clear, familiar routines can be helpful and grounding—but only when paired with acknowledgment, resources, and support that address the full extent of the damage. While future crises may bring unpredictable needs, one certainty is that scrambling back to standards-based normalcy is insufficient.
The rush to return to school in pursuit of 'normalcy' overlooked critical issues.
It is also imperative to recognize the disproportionate ways different communities are affected by the climate crisis. For instance, the recent wildfires in Los Angeles have severely compromised air quality, posing a danger to everyone, though particularly some students of color and low-income students, who are more likely to have asthma and other underlying health conditions. Further, the wreckage of a crisis—whether a hurricane or wildfire—far exceeds the initial event, such as through disruptions of personal finances and local economies, damages to mental and physical health, and death. A one-size-fits-all response to these disasters is inadequate. Recovery and reopening efforts must consider the specific holistic health and economic implications of a school community, especially among vulnerable populations, to ensure that schools are both safe and equitable spaces for all.
Responses to these crises must also be trauma-informed. The research of former Surgeon General of California Nadine Burke Harris explains that, while all children exposed to traumatic events are profoundly affected, those living in poverty are especially vulnerable because they are more likely than better-off children to lack consistent, caring, protective adults in their lives to mitigate the impact of stress. This absence of protective relationships increases the likelihood of these children developing toxic stress. Familial and life circumstances often limit the buffering needed to counteract such adversity. And not only children directly impacted by climate disasters are at risk of toxic stress. Children living in poverty or communities with high rates of violence face compounded layers of trauma, which significantly influence their in-school behavior and academic performance. Educators must be mindful of this reality.
There is rightfully immense attention paid to the impact of climate-related disasters on students, but these events also pose significant challenges for educators. Educators, in many ways, function as front line workers, often having to compartmentalize their own fears and concerns for their families and themselves to continue supporting their students. This constant balancing act coupled with the looming fear for their own safety can hinder their ability to deliver instruction effectively. Moreover, it exacerbates teacher burnout and increases the likelihood of educators leaving the profession prematurely. Efforts to return to normalcy for students often overlook or minimize the needs of educators, pushing them back into work mode before they may be ready to fully process and recover.
The current generation of students has witnessed a multitude of climate disasters, both within and beyond the United States. For students outside the most recently impacted areas, part of our collective efforts toward environmental sustainability should include teaching students about climate change, recent climate catastrophes, and their causes, as well as empowering them to ask what’s being done about this and how they can help support those efforts.
Our young people have navigated and will continue to navigate the realities of climate change for their entire lives. Studies have shown that many young people hold fatalistic views about the future of the environment, which can heighten their anxiety, making it essential to engage them in constructive conversations about climate change. It is critical that they feel equipped and empowered to act collectively as change agents. This is especially important as student mental health challenges continue to increase across the country, with 40 percent of students reporting lasting feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2023. By fostering a sense of collective agency and providing opportunities to engage in climate solutions, we can help students combat these feelings, contribute meaningfully to the fight against climate change, and shape a more sustainable future.
