Beachy Avenue Elementary is located in the San Fernando Valley, one of the hottest areas in Los Angeles County. The campus is almost 80% asphalt, according to L.A. Unified's Greening Index.
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Aaricka Washington
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LAist
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Topline:
Los Angeles Unified School District campuses are facing an extreme heat crisis. Here's what parent advocates and environmental experts have to say about it, and what district officials are trying to do to keep students cool.
Why it matters: Researchers say “schools are some of the hottest places in communities” as a result of how they’ve been built. Most public campuses are covered in asphalt and in areas like the San Fernando Valley, temperatures hit highs well over 100 degrees during different parts of the year. Research shows that heat can negatively impact students’ ability to learn, which results in lower academic performance.
Why now: Last year LAUSD took a big step forward in addressing concerns. In June 2022, district officials allocated $58 million to outdoor education initiatives, including greening. A few months later, then-LAUSD Board President Kelly Gonez authored a resolution calling for Superintendent Alberto Carvalho to develop a plan to ensure school campuses are at least 30% green by 2035. But Gonez says she's still waiting on a final plan.
Third grader Lenny Rodriguez enjoys playing and reading in his school’s yard, but it can get extremely hot outside.
“Sometimes, I’ve experienced heat waves. My feet were burning even when I had my shoes on,” Rodriguez says. “The playground is missing some shade.”
A dire need
Rodriguez’s school, Beachy Avenue Elementary, is in Arleta, near Pacoima and Panorama City. The temperature in these neighborhoods can hit highs well over 100 degrees during different parts of the year. The asphalt in the San Fernando Valley has registered 142 degrees on its surface. But schools all over the Los Angeles Unified School District are feeling the effects of rising heat.
And that hot weather could stretch further into the school year, says V. Kelly Turner, associate professor of urban planning and geography at UCLA and associate director of the Luskin Center for Innovation.
“That's just going to be how it is in the future,” Turner says.
Turner and her colleagues have studied extreme heat and the role design plays in how people experience it. They found that “schools are some of the hottest places in communities” as a result of how they’ve been built.
Campuses all over the district, from West Hollywood to Watts, are asphalt jungles, and fixing it, says Turner, is “not just as simple as putting up trees.”
The indoors are a problem too: Many schools still lack air conditioning.
Turner says it’s important to think about schools as community resources, especially for kids who come from historically disinvested and disadvantaged communities.
“If kids live in a home without air conditioning or a cool place to go on hot days, then come to school, which also lacks cooling inside and shade outside, their core body temperatures are never getting down to safe levels,” Turner explains. “That's going to cause them to have difficulty concentrating … and it's going to be very, very hard for a child to learn in that context.”
It’s not a nice-to-have. That’s not what we’re going for. What we’re going for is that we’re creating environments for students to thrive.
— Robin Mark, Trust for Public Land
Research shows that heat can negatively impact students’ ability to learn, which results in lower academic performance. Conversely, other studies have found that students benefit from time spent in green spaces and that exposure to nature can help kids focus better.
The demand for cooler schools
Parent groups and climate advocates have been trying to bring attention to this issue for years — and many say action has been a long time in coming.
Robin Mark, the L.A. program director for Trust for Public Land, says it’s important for people to understand that greening schools is not a landscaping project, it’s about school infrastructure that supports student learning, well-being and climate resilience.
“It’s not a nice-to-have,” Mark says, “It’s not really cool that the yard is so pretty. That’s not what we’re going for. What we’re going for is that we’re creating environments for students to thrive.”
First graders at Brainard Elementary demonstrate the very lengthy process of lining up, socially distanced, outside.
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Kyle Stokes
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The district's efforts so far
Last year LAUSD took a big step forward in addressing concerns. In June 2022, district officials allocated $58 million to outdoor education initiatives, including greening. A few months later, then-LAUSD board president Kelly Gonez authored a resolution calling for Superintendent Alberto Carvalho to develop a plan to ensure school campuses are at least 30% green by 2035.
But Gonez says she is still waiting. The plan was supposed to be given to the board in February.
"We need a systemic approach from the district," Gonez says. "Not to do this in a piecemeal fashion, because we know that's far from sufficient. It requires a really significant transformation in most cases because of the way the playgrounds have been set up. It's not aligned to the 21st century environment our kids live in.”
According to a district spokesperson, the Green Schoolyards For All Plan will be given to the board members in the coming weeks. It will include a prioritized list of the highest-need schools.
Since the pledge to green schools, district officials say they’ve met with stakeholders and experts, updated their data systems to include a pollution indicator and surveyed 349 people about what they think should be prioritized.
District officials say that there have been various greening projects underway that include modernizing campuses, creating school gardens and planting new trees. But the reality is that it will take a lot of money and a lot of time to reach the goals outlined by the Green Schoolyards initiative.
The funding challenge
More than 600 LAUSD campuses do not meet that 30% threshold. Even if the district prioritizes elementary schools, as promised, more than 200 of those campuses are less than 10% green. And some of the schools require infrastructure upgrades before greening can even happen.
We need a systemic approach from the district. It requires a really significant transformation in most cases because of the way the playgrounds have been set up. It's not aligned to the 21st century environment our kids live in.
— LAUSD board member Kelly Gonez
LAUSD secured $400 million from Measure RR to modernize schools, including green efforts, and collected $100 million in other funds.
Funding has also come through partnerships with nonprofit groups and state grants, but it's nowhere near enough. District officials say it’s going to take an additional $4 billion to ensure all schools have enough green space and students are kept cool.
Officials say additional funding might have to come from another bond, which will require voter buy-in.
But even if LAUSD had all the money it needed, it would take decades to complete all of these projects. During a recent school board meeting, member Nick Melvoin estimated it could take up to 15 years to green the top 50 highest-need campuses, based on a district calculation that it would take about three to four years to update around a half-dozen schools.
“We are by no means mission accomplished,” Mark says. “There's a lot of learning on all of our sides about what we can do on a school campus, so that everybody's needs are being met, particularly the students and the teachers."
'Cool' pavement v. trees
While district officials have yet to provide the school board with a final plan for how they will achieve these green goals, some advocates have already questioned how the money is being spent.
For example, some of the ongoing bond investments include $300 million for "playground and campus exterior upgrades" that include the use of "cool pavement" coating that is designed to bring down surface temperatures. But parent advocates like Angelenos for Green Schools co-founder Aleigh Lewis argues that natural spaces should be prioritized.
She says understands the need for pavement for sports and other play but believes trees, grass and other natural surfaces should be prioritized over repaving surfaces with a reflective coating.
“You have all this money and you could do so much more for every school and cool them down,” Lewis says.
A community survey shared with the LAUSD school board in mid-October showed that stakeholders, including parents, teachers and students, want to prioritize trees and shade structures over other cooling efforts.
Gonez says there is room for all of it. Some schools have asked for the specialized cool pavement as part of much needed repaving but she agrees that the district “can't just do that alone.”
One small step to a greener school yard
Beachy Avenue Elementary, where Lenny Rodriguez goes to school, now has a new “reading garden” where students can sit outside in a cool, natural space. There are two blue circular platforms with a stretch of grass in between, and new trees that, once they are full grown, will offer shade for students.
Beachy Avenue Elementary's new reading garden is one of the first initiatives toward greening the school to meet the district's 30% goal by 2035.
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“I think this project is really helping our schools get better with shade on global warming,” Rodriguez says. “So, overall, I think this is a good thing for us in this district. We’re going to grow up with it.”
But that garden was five years in the making, notes Beachy Principal Lisa Dachs-Ornelas. She says she called on Gonez, her district board member, to help secure more than $100,000 for the reading garden.
And, still, there’s so much more that needs to be done. According to the district’s Greening Index, Beachy is almost 80% asphalt.
“It is very hot out here and the kids sometimes don't play," says Dachs-Ornelas. “They'll go under a shade and then they'll just socialize with a friend because it's too hot to play kickball on the asphalt.”
Gonez acknowledges the district is coming late to the climate crisis. Though some LAUSD schools might have been able to add a garden or plant some trees, green campuses haven’t been a district priority, she says, largely due to other issues officials had to handle: overcrowding, aging facilities and the pandemic.
But now that there is some collective attention on the issue from the state and local officials, Gonez emphasizes: “I think we need to do more, and I think we need to do more faster.”
A person holds a pre-revolutionary Iranian flag before the World Cup group stage match between Iran and New Zealand at the SoFi Stadium.
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Robert Gauthier
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Despite an expected ban on Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag at the World Cup, many fans waved and displayed it at SoFi Stadium for Iran's first match against New Zealand on Monday, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
What about the flag: That flag is associated with the monarchy that ruled Iran before the 1979 revolution, and is a common sight at protests against the Iranian government.
The backstory: FIFA had previously indicated that that flag would be banned in its stadiums, as part of its policy prohibiting political messages. As late as Monday morning, a judge ruled in favor of FIFA in a lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court over its flag policy, according to the Athletic.
But on Monday afternoon, some fans entering the stadium were getting in with their flags
Read on... for more about Iran's first World Cup match.
Despite an expected ban on Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag at the World Cup, many fans waved and displayed it at SoFi Stadium for Iran's first match against New Zealand on Monday, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
A person carries a pre-revolutionary Iranian flag before the World Cup group stage match between Iran and New Zealand at SoFi Stadium.
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Allen J. Schaben
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Still, the stands were dotted with people holding a flag similar to Iran's national flag, but bearing a lion and a sun. That flag is associated with the monarchy that ruled Iran before the 1979 revolution, and is a common sight at protests against the Iranian government. Others wore the symbol on their t-shirts and clothes.
FIFA had previously indicated that that flag would be banned in its stadiums, as part of its policy prohibiting political messages. As late as Monday morning, a judge ruled in favor of FIFA in a lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court over its flag policy, according to the Athletic.
But on Monday afternoon, some fans entering the stadium were getting in with their flags. The flag was so present inside and around SoFi Stadium that one merchandise seller Raul Gomez said he had put away the official Iranian flag and was advertising the lion and sun flag instead.
"They don't want the Iran flag," he said, gesturing at the national flag, which displays the emblem of the Islamic Republic of Iran. "That's why I put these away."
One security guard who said he wasn't authorized to speak to the media told LAist that security staff had been letting people in with the pre-revolutionary flag. The guard said that staff did confiscate materials with more overtly political or inflammatory messages.
An official talks with people with pre-revolutionary Iranian flag before the World Cup group stage match between Iran and New Zealand at the SoFi Stadium.
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Robert Gauthier
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Other publications including Yahoo News reported that some fans were turned away at the gates for carrying the flag.
LAist has reached out to FIFA for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Some showed up at the stadium to protest the flag ban. Parisa Heravi, an Iranian who lives in Los Angeles, didn't have a ticket to the match but stood outside near the line to get in, holding a large lion and sun flag and sporting a "Make Iran Great Again" red hat.
Heravi said she was there in part because of concern that the pre-revolutionary flag wouldn't be allowed inside. She said she also came to oppose the Iranian team.
" The players are all part of the government," she said. "They're all the same people, so we don't support them."
Others arrived excited to cheer on Iran's national team, including L.A. resident Art Eftekhari, who runs a YouTube Channel where he follows Iranian soccer. He's such a fan of the national team that he traveled to Tijuana to stay in the same hotel as the players ahead of the World Cup. The team's training camp was moved from Arizona to Tijuana due to the U.S. war on Iran.
" I'm a huge supporter of the national team of Iran, and it's so awesome to be able to go to a game just a short drive from home," Eftekhari said. "It's the World Cup, so it couldn't be any better."
Many fans were seen entering the stadium were getting in with their flags.
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Libby Rainey
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Despite an expected ban on Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag at the World Cup, many fans waved and displayed it at SoFi Stadium.
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Libby Rainey
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LAist
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Iranians traveled from across the country for the match, too. Amir Navabi came from Georgia. He brought both flags to make sure he could get in no matter what.
"I am a fan. I have the one with the sun, and I have the one with the government logo," Navabi said, gesturing to his gear. "I just want to go and watch the soccer."
Iran’s next match at SoFi Stadium is June 21 against Belgium.
The federal government under the Trump administration restricts SBA loans to immigrant business owners, shutting off an important resource to neighborhoods like Koreatown.
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The LA Local
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Topline:
A new partnership is connecting qualifying small business owners with interest-free loans of up to $50,000.
More details: The Korean American Federation of Los Angeles, KAFLA, recently partnered with the Jewish Free Loan Association to connect small business owners with interest-free loans of up to $50,000 that can be used for startup costs, rent, payroll, inventory, equipment and other business expenses.
Why now: In March, the U.S. Small Business Association changed its eligibility rules, excluding lawful permanent residents and requiring businesses seeking SBA-backed loans to be fully owned by U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals.
The Trump administration’s decision to restrict a vital loan program for small businesses to U.S. citizens has left some immigrant business owners searching for alternatives.
The Korean American Federation of Los Angeles, KAFLA, recently partnered with the Jewish Free Loan Association to connect small business owners with interest-free loans of up to $50,000 that can be used for startup costs, rent, payroll, inventory, equipment and other business expenses.
In March, the U.S. Small Business Association changed its eligibility rules, excluding lawful permanent residents and requiring businesses seeking SBA-backed loans to be fully owned by U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals.
Immigrant entrepreneurs are more likely than native-born Americans to start a business, according to research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nearly 40% of California’s small businesses are owned by immigrants, including 11% owned by undocumented entrepreneurs, according to the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. Nearly 60% of California’s 4.3 million small businesses, 60% are owned by entrepreneurs who are Hispanic, Black, Asian American, Pacific Islander or Native American.
“When times get tough, it’s resources like this that currently aren’t available to our committee that are much needed,” KAFLA president Robert Ahn said during an informational session last week.
Applicants must have steady income and meet certain credit requirements. Those seeking more than $10,000 generally need a credit score of at least 680. The program also requires one to three guarantors, depending on the loan amount.
Business owners can borrow up to $7,500 with one guarantor, up to $36,000 with two guarantors and as much as $50,000 with three guarantors.
Applicants must provide documentation including a recent tax return and proof of business licensing. The program accepts applicants with either a social security number or an individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN.
Rachel Grose, JFLA’s executive director, said the online application takes about 10 minutes to complete. After the initial application is submitted, applicants are scheduled for a Zoom interview with JFLA staff.
Some business owners say the program could help fill a gap in access to capital.
Yong-ho Kim, president of the Korean American Food Industry Association and owner of the Japanese restaurant Arado, said many immigrant entrepreneurs have traditionally relied on bank financing to cover expenses and invest in their businesses.
“But the rules suddenly changed so that SBA loans are only available to citizens. There are many permanent residents, too,” Kim said. “Where are they supposed to borrow money to make up for the gaps?”
Kim acknowledged that the JFLA application process is more demanding than a traditional bank loan because of its guarantor requirements. Still, he says the absence of interest and fees makes it attractive.
Many businesses in the neighborhood, and across the city, are struggling with inflation and higher operating costs, he added.
“It’s very difficult right now,” he said. “Prices keep going up, and I’m constantly thinking about what I need to cut.”
Kim said he personally applied for the program’s maximum $50,000 loan, partly because he needs additional capital and partly because he wanted to experience the process himself before recommending it to others.
Ahn said the partnership grew out of conversations he had with David Horvitz, vice president of JFLA’s board of directors, during a trip to Israel earlier this year.
“We spent a lot of time together in Israel discussing economic issues, particularly the struggles many businesses in Koreatown are facing,” he said.
Founded in 1904, JFLA provides interest-free loans to residents of Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
More information about the program and application requirements is available at jfla.org.
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The Los Angeles Unified School Board is tasked with securing the long-term fiscal health of the nation's second-largest school district.
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Kayla Bartkowski
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
The Los Angeles Unified School Board on Tuesday will consider its options for fiscal stability, and preview its budget for the next school year.
Why it matters: LAUSD leaders say that without change, the district could deplete its budget reserves within a few years. The board recently voted to finalize the elimination of more than 650 jobs.
What might be cut: The two most prominent items on the chopping block involve the district’s signature equity programs: the Student Equity Needs Index, which ensures dollars flow to schools with greater perceived needs, and the Black Student Achievement Plan.
Read on... for more on the programs that might be cut, and what to know about the board meeting.
When the Los Angeles Unified School Board voted in May to finalize the elimination of more than 650 jobs as part of a plan to cut spending, its leaders promised more painful decisions would be necessary.
On June 16, another one of those choices arrives, as the school board will consider a fiscal stabilization plan to address multiple years of deficit spending.
The most recent forecast predicts a $1.3 billion deficit in the 2027-28 school year and a $3.6 billion deficit in the 2028-29 school year. (California requires schools to plan budgets for three years at a time.)
Perhaps the two most prominent items on the chopping block involve signature equity programs: the Student Equity Needs Index, which ensures dollars flow to schools with greater perceived needs, and the Black Student Achievement Plan.
The proposed cuts to these programs, and others, would likely result in thousands of layoffs in the coming years.
In a board meeting on Friday, community members called attention to what they said was a major transgression on the horizon.
“We’ve heard this district talk repeatedly about standing for equity. This is an opportunity for you all to put your money where your mouth is … ,” said Joseph Williams of the advocacy group Students Deserve, who also sits on the steering committee for BSAP. “A budget is a moral document. Please stand with the most marginalized students in this district.”
School leaders say that without change, the district could deplete its budget reserves within a few years.
“Our fiscal stabilization efforts are designed to protect the district's ability to serve students today and in the years ahead,” said Acting Superintendent Andres Chait during a May board meeting.
What is a fiscal stabilization plan?
California law gives county school superintendents the power to intervene when districts are at risk of not meeting their financial obligations. One of these interventions is the creation of a “roadmap” to address a budget deficit, called a fiscal stabilization plan. The Los Angeles County Office of Education advises districts to show what factors are straining the budget and include strategies to reduce spending, increase revenue and temporarily spend reserves or one-time funding.
The board’s approval of the fiscal stabilization plan does not automatically enact all of the cuts the plan proposes. Actions such as eliminating jobs often require further board votes and the plan can be revised throughout the next year.
It’s also possible that additional state funding, including revenue from investments in AI, could offset some of the proposed cuts.
What is the Student Equity Needs Index?
The annual fund known as SENI is distributed to LAUSD schools based on several factors, including academic outcomes, rates of chronic absenteeism and the health and levels of violence in surrounding communities.
SENI debuted in 2018, offering school principals discretionary funding to target interventions toward students with the greatest needs. Originally $350 million, the board doubled SENI in 2021 while flush with COVID relief money — which is now gone.
“Reducing and eliminating SENI means fewer everything,” Griselda Perez, a mom of two current LAUSD students, told the board on June 12. “Counselors, tutors, less mental health and destruction of the progress that we fought for a decade ago.”
What is the Black Student Achievement Plan?
The Black Student Achievement Plan is a $125 million fund distributed primarily to schools that serve higher numbers of Black students. The LAUSD board voted to create BSAP in 2021 with the goal of closing gaps in academic outcomes between Black students and their peers.
Mariah Williams, a new graduate of San Pedro High School attending UCLA this fall, spoke to the board Friday in her graduation robe. She said she wanted the board to see what investment looks like.
“[Programs like BSAP] provide mentorship, advocacy, college readiness support, mental health support and opportunities that help students succeed,” she said, adding that when schools dismantle such programs, they advance an agenda that undermines efforts to improve outcomes for Black students.
What will the board decide at its June 16 meeting?
The board is slated to vote on the fiscal stabilization plan, and it will also take public comment on a separate budget measure and its Local Control and Accountability Plan. (The LCAP is a state-mandated plan that outlines how the district will support student success.)
What if I have something to say?
The board meets June 16 beginning at 9 a.m. You can watch here, and use the information below to reach out to board members.
Find Your LAUSD Board Member
LAUSD board members can amplify concerns from parents, students and educators. Find your representative below.
Suzanne Levy
is a senior editor on the Explore LA team, where she oversees food, LA Explained and other feature stories.
Published June 15, 2026 8:20 PM
Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard foundation, speaks onstage during the 2026 James Beard Restaurant And Chef Awards in Chicago.
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Topline:
Several Los Angeles heavy-hitters were recognized in the James Beard 2026 awards, the Oscars of the food world, which were handed out Monday night in Chicago. Dave Beran of Seline in Santa Monica won Best chef for California, Providence won Outstanding Hospitality, and Kato won Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.
Why it matters: Similar to the Oscars, winning can lead to an instant boost in reservations and bragging rights. While three of L.A.'s restaurants were recognized, however, the city lost out in key categories like Outstanding and Emerging chef.
Who else was honored: Nancy Silverton won a Lifetime Achievement award, Inglewood legacy restaurant Silver Spoon was honored with an America's Classics award, and L.A. nonprofit, No Us Without You, was awarded Humanitarian of the Year.
Several Los Angeles heavy-hitters were recognized in the James Beard 2026 awards, the Oscars of the food world, which were handed out Monday night in Chicago.
Best Chef in California
Dave Beran, of Seline in Santa Monica, won Best Chef in California. The chef, who got Jeremy Allen White camera-ready for The Bear, said operating a restaurant in disaster-prone L.A. is hard.
"You name the problem every year.... whether it's fires so on and so forth. So to stay culture and goal-focused and believe in what we're doing even though I'm sure there are paths that probably would have been more profitable ... [the award] means a lot," Beran said.
Chef Dave Beran of Pasjoli and Seline in Santa Monica.
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Beran, who also owns Pasjoli nearby, offers a 16-22 course tasting menu at Seline for $295.
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
While L.A. was eclipsed in some key categories, like Outstanding Chef, Emerging Chef and Best New Restaurant, it picked up awards in others. Kato, the one-star Michelin restaurant in DTLA, won the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. Ryan Bailey, sommelier and co-owner, told the audience in his acceptance speech that their vision was all about inclusion.
It was important that "no matter what was in your glass you were raising to cheer, you felt equal” at the bar.
Outstanding Hospitality
Meanwhile Providence, the three-star Michelin restaurant on Melrose that's celebrating its 21st anniversary this week, won Outstanding Hospitality. Co-owner and General Manager Donato Poto joked that in the restaurant world, its longevity puts it "somewhere between middle age and a miracle."
Kim Stoler, beverage director at Providence restaurant on Melrose, mixes the Electric margarita made table side.
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With a 1:1 customer to staff ratio, Poto said that exceptional service "is not something that can be scripted or manufactured, but rather is the result of a team united by a shared commitment to care, humility, and excellence."
Other SoCal honors
In a ceremony that was part celebration and part a passionate plea for recognition of the role of immigrants in the food industry, the contributions of other Angelenos were also honored.
Silver Spoon, the legendary soul food restaurant in Inglewood, was recognized with a James Beard America's Classics award, given to "locally owned restaurants with timeless appeal."
Local icon Nancy Silverton was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award. However, she said, “This award doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere … because I have nowhere to go. And mark my words I will be back there to receive my lifetime achievement award 2.0. “
A local nonprofit, No Us Without You, was awarded Humanitarian of the Year. Started by chefs Othón Nolasko and Damián Diaz to provide food relief to hospitality workers during the pandemic, six years later, it's pivoted to also serve food at home to families affected by ICE raids.
