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Glendale teachers return to work despite losing homes in Eaton Fire

Glendale teachers return to work despite losing homes in Eaton Fire
Glendale teachers return to work despite losing homes in Eaton Fire 02:15

Leaders of the Glendale Teachers Association say at least 12 of their members had their homes damaged or destroyed in the Eaton Fire

Emily Rogers is one of them. The French and computer science teacher at Herbert Hoover High School lost her house in Altadena.

She decided to return to the classroom Monday.

"I love just seeing [the students'] smiles more than anything, and that's really why I came back to work this week," Rogers said.

She says her family evacuated before any notifications had been sent out.

"We opened our front door and there was a wall of fire," Rogers said.

Related: Nearly 20% of teachers in Eaton Fire zone had living situations impacted, union says

Their family's bounced around staying in hotels and with relatives, with no permanent plans yet.

Even in this darkest hour, Rogers is putting others first.

"It can be very unsettling for kids if their teacher's gone so I wanted to come back for that reason, to keep things stable," she said.

Chris O'Malley is going back to his teaching job at Glendale High School next week.

Every home on his block in Altadena was leveled.

O'Malley says he and his family are doing as well as could be expected. He calls his 8-year-old son "a champ" for how he's handling the situation.

Like Rogers, O'Malley feels the pull to be back in school.

"I teach two pretty big AP courses, and they're a train and we just have to keep rolling," O'Malley said. "When I'm not there, the train doesn't roll, so got to get back and get them ready for the exam."

Hoover High is hosting a fundraiser Thursday after school to help Rogers and the other teachers who were impacted.

The Glendale Teachers Association has posted several online fundraisers on its Facebook page that support GUSD teachers, staff and students.

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