PASADENA, Calif.—Join City representatives on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. for an open house and tour of the Jefferson School campus at 1500 E. Villa St. This event is hosted by the City of Pasadena in coordination with District 2 Councilmember Felicia Williams and will feature kids’ crafts, food and games, police and fire vehicles, fire extinguisher demos, resource tables, and free COVID-19 and flu vaccinations.
The Jefferson School, which was closed in 2020, is now home to a new Pasadena library facility, fire department training center, and the police department’s Police Activities League (PAL) and Explorer Program facilities.
“This is a great event to reactivate the campus, bring the community together, and highlight a successful collaboration between the City and Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) to provide more services to families and residents,” says Councilmember Williams.
The new Jefferson Branch Library offers children and teen services and will be open to the public Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 2 to 6 p.m. beginning Tuesday, Nov. 1. Hours will expand in the future. Library activities will include storytimes, youth programs, and teen volunteer opportunities. A Homework Help drop-in program will start in 2023. Special collections available for checkout include educator and homeschool collections, board games, video games, book club kits, Chromebooks and hotspots, early reading kits with a focus on equity, jigsaw puzzles, juvenile Spanish materials, mental health kits, sensory storytime kits, and STEAM kits. The library also houses the Office of the Young Child and Teen Mental Health information centers. During the open house, the library will highlight special collections and materials for checkout, demonstrate STEAM kit materials for tweens and teens, distribute take-home art kits for all ages, crafts for families, and baby gym play space for children ages 0 to 5.
Jefferson is also the new home of the Pasadena Police Department’s PAL and Explorer programs. PAL is a nonprofit, youth crime prevention program that uses educational, athletic and other recreational activities to promote positive bonds between police officers and Pasadena youth. The Explorer Program provides young men and women, ages 14-21, an opportunity to work with the police department and serve the Pasadena community.
Pasadena Fire Department utilizes their portion of Jefferson as a training center. The fire department has converted several classrooms into training labs dedicated to emergency medicine and fire/rescue simulations. Two classrooms are used for continuing education and in-service classroom training. Additional classrooms are used for office space, separate male and female locker rooms, and a wellness/exercise room. The department uses the outdoor grounds for hands-on training, including vehicle extrication, hose and ladder operations, as well as scenario-based evolutions. Included at the site is a “pump pod” that allows for water to be recycled during various exercises, significantly reducing water waste. The facility is also being used for recruit fire training academies, where recruits receive classroom and drill ground training, and education to become full-fledged Pasadena firefighters. In fact, 14 of the department’s newest firefighters completed their academy training at Jefferson.
For more information, contact District 2 Liaison Darla Dyson at ddyson@cityofpasadena.net or (626) 744-4742.
