The Outstanding SGV Public Agency award recognizes a public institution that serves its community well. This year, it goes to the El Monte City School District for its work in greening school campuses across the City of El Monte, an inland community that currently lacks a robust and cooling urban forest
The El Monte City School District serves more than 8,000 students from transitional kindergarten through eighth grade across fourteen schools in El Monte. In recent years, the district has become a regional leader in transforming paved, heat-prone campuses into green, living schoolyards that benefit students and the wider community.
Working with ActiveSGV and the Trust for Public Land, the district launched the Living Schoolyards effort to bring nature back to its campuses, with support from the state's CAL FIRE Green Schoolyards program. A 2023 grant of nearly $6 million transformed the Cortada, Gidley, and Shirpser campuses, which sit in neighborhoods identified as heavily-pollution-burdened by the state of California. The project added outdoor classrooms, expanded tree canopy, and nature-based play areas for more than 1,300 students, helping to cool campuses, clean the air, and support student physical and mental wellness as well as academic performance.
The district's commitment reaches beyond a single grant. At Norwood Elementary, the Norwood Greening Project will remove asphalt and add trees, green space, and stormwater features, with support from a $9.8 million award from the Los Angeles County Safe Clean Water Program. The District has also joined a regional leadership institute on living schoolyards, working alongside peers in Southern California toward a shared goal of 30 percent tree canopy on school campuses.
Celebrate the El Monte City School District’s tremendous greening work at this year's Noche de las Luminarias, ActiveSGV's annual awards ceremony and gala. It will be a warm evening of community and recognition for the people working toward a more sustainable, equitable, and livable San Gabriel Valley. Every ticket also helps support ActiveSGV's work across mobility, climate, health and wellness, and parks and greening.
Spend the evening with us on Thursday, September 17, 2026, from 6 to 9 PM at the Grapevine Arbor in San Gabriel. You can learn more about the event and reserve your tickets in advance. We would be so glad to see you there.
