[October 8, 2025] – To a room full of eager families, faculty and staff, and parishioners, St. Matthew’s Parish School unveiled comprehensive plans for the School’s Fall 2026 return to its Pacific Palisades campus following the devastating Palisades Fire.
Hosted at the School’s temporary campus in Santa Monica, the event, led by Head of School Alley Michaelson ‘02, and the School’s Campus Development Partner Will McGregor ‘02, of The McGregor Group, showcased detailed architectural plans, including visuals of their remediated and enhanced structures and temporary structure developments for the School’s reoccupation of their campus in Fall 2026.
“Today marks an important milestone in our journey home,” says Alley Michaelson, Head of School. “Every single child, Early Childhood through 8th grade, returning to the Bienveneda campus will have a brand-new classroom space. Whether in existing buildings or temporary campus structures, student spaces will be immaculate, reflect our mission and standards, and feature significant upgrades and enhancements.”
The Fall 2026 return to campus is thoughtfully designed to minimize student proximity to construction and preserve the natural beauty and intimate scale that makes St. Matthew’s feel like home. The School’s 2-year-old through Pre-Kindergarten Early Childhood program, as well as the Kindergarten and First Grade, will occupy a new village of temporary classrooms with age-appropriate playgrounds that will be seamlessly integrated into the rest of campus until new permanent structures are built. This strategy allows the School community to function nearly uninterrupted as they redevelop the broader campus.
“We charged ourselves with three main goals: Find the best experts, go above and beyond industry standard testing and remediation, and get us back as soon as possible,” Michaelson shares. “We simply will not take chances when it comes to community health and safety.”
In partnership with two leading industrial hygienist firms, a committee of School Board of Trustees and Church Vestry members was charged with overseeing the testing and associated remediation of the grounds for the last nine months. Testing protocols included over 75 comprehensive samplings of air, water, and soil across exterior grounds and building interiors both before and after remediation, going above and beyond the recommended testing panel. Existing buildings will be refurbished with new flooring, ceiling fixtures, cabinetry, and doors to ensure porous surfaces that are susceptible to toxins have been removed. Additionally, safety and filtering equipment and technology, including HEPA vacuum cleaning, MERV 13 air filters, and local air purification systems and monitors will occupy all interior spaces.
“I continue to be inspired by our bright future at St. Matthew’s, thanks to our amazing community’s resilience, support, and unwavering dedication,” adds Michaelson. “Our future will honor our rich history while creating cutting-edge facilities that will serve generations of St. Matthew’s students to come—providing the academic excellence and safe, joyful learning environment they deserve. This is about more than rebuilding a campus; it’s about restoring the heart of our community.”
While carefully preparing for its Fall 2026 return to the Pacific Palisades campus, St. Matthew’s has invested in its two temporary locations in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles, transforming them into vibrant, inspiring spaces with world-class facilities, where full academic programming continues seamlessly.
Applications for the 2026-2027 School year and information about Admission Open House Events are now available at www.stmatthewsschool.com.