LACOE wins Golden Bell Award for COVID-19 Response and Communication Efforts for LA County Schools

SAN DIEGO, CA – On Thursday, December 1, 2022, the California School Boards Association awarded the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) a Golden Bell Award in the category of “Innovation in the Time of Crises” for its COVID-19 Response and Communicationefforts for LA County Schools. From March 2022 to June 2021, LACOE, in partnership with other county departments including the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), remained adaptive, agile and responsive in order to share timely and accurate information on COVID-19 as well as provide services and resources to the 80 school districts across LA County. 

"LACOE’s COVID-19 Response & Communication Program would not have been a success without the leadership of district partners, tremendous efforts of educators, and dedication of students and families to return to safe in-person learning,” said Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools, Debra Duardo. “Guided by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health and supported by the Los Angeles County Board of Education, we found areas for quick action and innovation, while keeping a keen focus on the educational and social-emotional needs of our children. Thank you to everyone who helped students stay safe and continue to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic. This Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association recognizes not only LACOE but all of you who helped keep our children safe.”

Various LACOE departments and county-wide agencies came together during a global pandemic to ensure education remained accessible and impactful for the students of LA County. LACOE worked in partnership with LACDPH to make vaccines, tests, and PPE available to all schools across the county. Information was continuously shared with education leaders via conference calls and e-communications channels to accommodate the ever-changing landscape of COVID-19.  

The communications efforts included toolkits with customizable flyers, email templates and social media assets. In addition, LACOE launched an accompanying social media video campaign, LACOE’s Spotlight Series. The video series highlighted and humanized the pandemic with interviews of students, school nurses, school administrators and parents sharing their experience as they returned to in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The successful integration of all of LACOE's response efforts both supported school districts directly as well as provided critical information for districts to share with parents, students and staff. 

The CSBA Golden Bell Awards®promote excellence in education and school board governance by recognizing outstanding programs and governance practices of school boards in school districts and county offices of education throughout California. Golden Bell Awards reflect the depth and breadth of education programs and governance decisions supporting these programs that are necessary to address students’ changing needs.