Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1533049
" E V E R Y O N E I S R A L L Y I N G around and supporting each other and I'm just glad I can do my part," says Car- olyn Grumm, second grade teacher and member of Arcadia Teachers Association. "I just felt lucky that there was a way I could help." For eight years, Grumm has helped lost and injured hikers as part of the all-volunteer Sierra Madre Search and Rescue team — a commit- ment that saw her thrust into a leadership role in ongoing rescue efforts for the Eaton Fire. Grumm said her team was originally called to help with evac- uations related to the Palisades fire and were enroute when the Eaton fire broke out and required their immediate assistance. At first, Grumm says the team helped evacuate seniors with mobility issues, providing initial response and support in their home area. Her role then shifted when all eight of the Los Angeles area's search and rescue teams converged on the Pasadena area to do search and recovery and assist with the effort to reopen neigh- borhoods. Grumm was assigned a leadership role in a command post set up at the Rose Bowl, where she would work for the next 10 days helping guide a multidisciplinary team of 60 from a litany of public agencies through heavy 12-hour days. " This was a massive event and not like anything we normally do, so it was like building an airplane while we were flying it," Grumm says. "I was able to develop procedures for how we were going to handle repopulating areas." Grumm's class at Baldwin Stocker Elementary School was under the care of her mother, a retired teacher who volunteers there every day, while Grumm was "helping with the fire." Her students know about her volunteer job and Grumm says they are proud of her work. "I hope they kind of feel part of what I did. It's good for them to know what volunteerism is and the importance of giving back to your community," Grumm says, noting that her school was closed for three days. "Hopefully my classroom is a safe and comfortable place for them to come back to. Having familiarity and routine is comforting for kids." Grumm has felt supported by her union and her school dis- trict, saying that she has felt the power of community on a large scale, with people across the state asking how they can support and help. "I hope [my students] feel part of what I did. It's good for them to know what volunteerism is and the importance of giving back to your community." —Carolyn Grumm, Arcadia Teachers Association "Everyone in the area knows someone, had some- one staying at their house or had to take showers at a friend's place. Even if you weren't impacted, there's so much going around and everyone is helping out where they can," she says. "I feel very supported by my school and my union. I feel that people are here and ready to help." Teacher serves on search team in Sierra Madre The Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team; Grumm stands behind the van's open door. Grumm in her classroom pictured with her mother Coyla Grumm, a retired teacher who volunteers there every day. 33 M A R C H 2 0 2 5