The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) is the proud partner of The Thriving School Award, established by the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for California (SEL4CA), in partnership with LACOE, to recognize and highlight excellence in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) implementation in PK–12 schools across California.

The award highlights schools’ commitments to fostering a thriving learning environment through social and emotional learning—supporting academic success and well-being for all students.

On May 20, 2025, 24 schools across California were the first to be formally recognized with the Thriving School Award, including two from Los Angeles County:

• Baldwin Academy, Hacienda La Puente Unified School District 

• Brightwood Elementary, Alhambra Unified School District

See the full list of awardees here.  

SEL equips students with critical life skills, including managing emotions, setting goals, showing empathy, building positive relationships and making responsible decisions. These skills are essential for personal and academic success and are directly linked to: 

• Better grades

• Improved attendance

• Positive behavior 

• Higher graduation rates

This statewide recognition aligns with LACOE’s efforts to lead and support Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (TSEL) across the County. Under the leadership of Dr. Rachelle Touzard, Director of Student Support Services, and with the coordination of Colleen Ferreira, Project Director for Transformative SEL, LACOE helped bring this initiative to life by supporting evaluator training and school walk-throughs as part of the award process.

For more information about how LACOE’s supports SEL, please contact Dr. Rachelle Touzard at touzard_rachelle@lacoe.edu.