Emperor Elementary School is a traditional seven-year K-6 elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

, or primary school, located in San Gabriel, California

San Gabriel, California

San Gabriel is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is named after the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded by Junipero Serra. The city grew outward from the mission and in 1852 became the original township of Los Angeles County. San Gabriel was incorporated in 1913...

, in the west San Gabriel Valley

San Gabriel Valley

The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...

 and is part of the Temple City Unified School District

Temple City Unified School District

Temple City Unified School District is the governing public school system of Temple City, California, in the West San Gabriel Valley. Encompassing approximately four square miles, the District includes within its boundaries most of the incorporated city of Temple City, small areas of Arcadia and...

.

Awards

This multi-awarding winning elementary school won the following awards:

• A California Distinguished School
• National School of Character
• Title 1 Academic Achievement School
• California Business for Education Excellence Award

Arson Incident

Around 11:00 PM, on January 11, 2006, a former student purposely started a fire in the school, burning four classrooms and causing over one million dollars in damages. The arsonist also spray painted an insult to the school principal on a wall. Following the incident, the school tried to maintain a normal routine for the students by continuing classes as usual. Counseling was provided if needed to any children in the school.

A $25,000 reward was offered for "information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the arson fire...", $12,000 of which was approved by local law enforcement. The remaining $12,500 was provided by the school board's Special Reserve Fund.

The community helped to raise money to rebuild the school's damaged classrooms, while portable classrooms were used in the time between. The local ValuMart held a benefit fund-raiser, serving hot dogs and other food and donating all money earned to the school. A local McDonald's

McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

held a "McTeacher Night" and donated 20% of the that night's sales to the Emperor PTA Fire Relief Fund. The local Kiwanis Club held a Pancake Breakfast and donated the proceeds of the funds raised to the fire relief fund as well.

External links

• City of Temple City (Official Website)
• Emperor Elementary School (Official Website)
• Temple City Unified School District (Official Website)