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When Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Christian School in Los Angeles went up in flames on January 8, Armenian families living in the tight-knit neighborhood of Altadena also lost a lifeline to their homeland. 

Located in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles. Sahag-Mesrob was one of about a dozen Armenian schools in L.A. offering a faith-based education. Founded in 1980 by the Altadena’s Armenian evangelical community, the school serves more than 180 students from preschool through middle school. 

It was one of the L.A. schools that burned across the city over three-weeks in what experts said could be the costliest disaster in U.S. history. 

Hovhannes Halladjian, a local pastor, said when the school burned it was like losing a member of the family. But, he said, the community is determined to rebuild in a new location. 

“Sahag-Mesrob Christian School was one of those schools that tried to do its best to teach the Christian and Armenian tradition and Christian values,” he said.   

On the day the Sahag-Mesrob burned, Halladjian said he was in the area helping friends and relatives evacuate when he saw the school engulfed in flames. 

Before he knew it, everything was gone.

Students in preschool through first grade have relocated to a nearby church, while second through eighth graders are temporarily holding classes at an Armenian cultural center in Pasadena. 

GoFundMe campaigns and fundraisers have been launched to support the school’s relocation effort, but rebuilding will be a long, difficult road. 

Ed Haroutonian, whose children attend Sahag-Mesrob, called the loss of the school heartbreaking.  

Haroutonian, who serves on the school’s board of directors, said Sahag-Mesrob was a center of culture and religious faith for Altadena’s Armenian community. 

“Having two kids in private school is a big sacrifice for us, but it’s worth every penny to have our kids in,” a place, Haroutonian said, where students “learn what our faith is about and our culture.”

Although it is Christian, Sahag-Mesrob is a non-denominational school with no affiliation to any church. Its mission is to provide an education within an Armenian heritage and cultural setting.

Vania Agojian, whose daughter Zoey attends Sahag-Mesrob, said she decided to send her daughter to the school because of its legacy, community, and religious foundation. 

“A lot of these public schools, when there’s like so many students, sometimes they lose touch with the kids,” Agojian said.

She said Sahag-Mesrob is more than just a school, but a place where generations of Armenians have built a community.

“In Zoey’s class right now…I knew their parents when (they) were that young,” Agojian said. “It’s just really neat to see generations of students that have come through.”

She said the fact that Armenians have experienced genocide because of their religious beliefs has strengthened their commitment to preserving their faith, traditions and religious-based education.

The community has suffered more than just the loss of its school. The wildfires destroyed vast swaths of Altadena, including residential blocks where many Armenian families lived, Agojian said. 

“I know at least a dozen families at Sahag-Mesrob, if not more, [that] have lost their homes,” she said. “We have students who have lost not only their school, but their homes, their safe havens.”

This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

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