{"id":495100,"date":"2026-10-13T22:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T22:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/495100\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T22:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T22:20:08","slug":"punishing-heat-waves-are-becoming-more-common-in-california-most-schools-arent-prepared-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/495100\/","title":{"rendered":"Punishing heat waves are becoming more common in California. Most schools aren\u2019t prepared"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was originally published by EdSource<\/a>. Sign up for their daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Top Takeaways<\/p>\n

Roughly 45% of the state\u2019s K-12 students go to school where there is less than 5% tree canopy in student zones.\u00a0
\nTemperatures are continuing to rise across the state, creating more concern about shade and student health.\u00a0
\nPlanting trees has been found to improve students\u2019 mental health and playground dynamics.<\/p>\n

At Parkway Elementary School in Sacramento, students climb on logs beneath 58 new trees, explore flowering plants and use outdoor spaces as an extension of their regular classrooms.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it didn\u2019t always look that way: the majority of the schoolyard used to be covered in blacktop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A collaboration with Green Schoolyards America in 2024 helped transform a 15,000-square-foot area of the campus, giving life to 58 trees \u2014 from Valley Oaks to flowering Western Redbuds \u2014 and 44 shrubs. The project also included an arborist to care for the trees and resources to help teachers incorporate the new natural spaces into their lessons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That transformation is one of many efforts taking shape across the state to make school campuses cooler and greener as temperatures rise. But an EdSource analysis found that 45% of California\u2019s K-12 students attend schools where 5% or less of the area where students spend time is covered by tree canopy.<\/p>\n

Schools and green-schoolyard advocates say adding trees and natural spaces can do more than provide shade: it can create places for students to play, learn and socialize, and may improve behavior and mental health.<\/p>\n

At Washington Elementary in Berkeley Unified, a decades-old balance between nature and synthetic surfaces has evolved into a playground nestled in a forest. At 122nd Street Elementary in Los Angeles, students planted wildflower seeds as part of a campus transformation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And through CalFire\u2019s Green Schoolyards Grant Program, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced transformations<\/a> at 215 schools statewide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShade is very important, and so that\u2019s why we started it,\u201d said Chamberlain Segrest, the sustainability manager of Sacramento City Unified. \u201cBut it turned into so much more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Efforts across California\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare for California students to attend schools with abundant trees or greenery, an EdSource analysis found.<\/p>\n

About 45% of California\u2019s K-12 students \u2014\u00a0more than 2.6 million \u2014 attend schools where 5% or less of student zones are covered by tree canopy.\u00a0The median, according to a report<\/a> by Green Schoolyards America, is 6.4% coverage in student zones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The lack of shade is even more apparent: 44% of public schools have 5% or less tree canopy in student zones, while 45% have 6% to 15%, and about 11% have more than 15%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Where trees are planted matters, too. Less than half of school tree canopies are accessible to students, while roughly 55% of trees and greenery are located around school perimeters, entrances or parking lots.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAdults like to plant trees for themselves in the places that are in the parking lot and the perimeter,\u201d said Sharon Gamson Danks, the CEO and founder of Green Schoolyards America. \u201cWe know about half the trees in California are planted in places adults use in the parking lot and the perimeter, and the other half of the trees are planted where the kids are, and that doesn\u2019t leave very many.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The average tree canopy in student zones is around 6%, Danks said.\u00a0And many schools across the state are aiming to make their campuses 30% shade or green space.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross all of California, we need more trees,\u201d Danks said. \u201cBut we specifically need more trees where the need is the greatest, where the places the schools are in (are) the hottest environments and have the least capacity to change that themselves financially.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A changing climate\u00a0<\/p>\n

The need for more shade and green space comes as temperatures continue to rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Summer temperatures in California have increased<\/a> by roughly 3% since 1896, with more than half of that increase occurring since the 1970s, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 2,600 public schools, including charters \u2014 more than a quarter of the state\u2019s campuses \u2014 were in areas rated at high heat risk on Aug. 10, the week when many students returned to school, according to an EdSource analysis of CalHeat scores. Nearly 60% are elementary schools, and Los Angeles, Fresno and San Bernardino counties have the largest percentage of schools in such areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As temperatures rise, districts have had to adapt during summer sessions by reducing students\u2019 time outdoors and adjusting physical activities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, experts are concerned that higher temperatures are extending into the fall when schools are fully in session. On Oct. 5, as a heat wave increased temperatures to nearly triple digits in parts of Los Angeles and the Bay Area, nearly half of California\u2019s public schools \u2014 about 4,900 \u2014 were in areas the state had rated heat risk as high or severe, almost double the number on Aug. 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal should always be to choose metabolically significant solutions, and that means metabolic work that a child\u2019s body is doing to cool down,\u201d said Kelly Turner, a professor of Urban Planning and Geography at UCLA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shade, air conditioning and swimming pools can all help, she said, as can shifting recess times and adding water breaks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of creativity out there that can be done in the short run, because changing the infrastructure and making these big climate changes is going to be challenging,\u201d Turner said. \u201cGiven that, in California particularly, most schools already don\u2019t have the funding they need to make basic safety upgrades. And so, this kind of stuff kind of gets kicked down the road.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Better behavior, less bullying\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond keeping kids cool, adding trees and greenery to campuses can provide a wide range of benefits, including more opportunities for play, as well as improved schoolyard dynamics and student well-being.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren that have things to do tend to be happier and less in need of pestering other children to entertain themselves,\u201d Danks said. \u201cSo, if you have a green schoolyard, there are many opportunities for kids to engage in positive activities. And so, you find them engaged in those things, and they aren\u2019t as interested in bothering the other kids.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In turn, she said, bullying goes down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Map: California schools with little tree cover, more low-income students face higher heat risk<\/a><\/p>\n

More than 800 California public schools face a triple burden: 5% or less tree canopy, more than 70% low-income students and elevated heat risk. Explore our interactive map to learn more.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lisa Smith, principal at LAUSD\u2019s 122nd Street Elementary in West Compton, said the addition of trees and more options for outdoor play has helped reduce conflict. At some schools, antisocial interactions and bullying were found to have dropped 40% to 50%, according to a study<\/a> published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have kids out there playing card games, just sitting down, talking with their friends, enjoying it during recess and lunchtime,\u201d Smith said of the $340,000 project, which also included field testing. \u201cAnd so, it actually alleviates a lot of behavioral issues, too, because kids now have things that they want to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Green spaces can also give teachers new opportunities for outdoor learning, from lessons about the environment to activities focused on social and emotional learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At LAUSD\u2019s Eagle Rock Elementary, students sit in a circle on tree stumps, passing a talking stick that gives each child an opportunity to share any worries they may be experiencing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It can be anything from \u201csomething at home, or something in the big wide world,\u201d the teacher tells them, before pointing out a conflict between a hawk and crow \u2014\u00a0a real-time ecology lesson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Greenery and trees can also support students\u2019 mental health\u00a0and give them a greater sense of purpose when they have a role in caring for their school environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of the project, we supplied tools for stewardship: watering cans and trowels and buckets for pulling weeds and gloves. And so teachers started taking advantage of that,\u201d said Ayesha Ercelawn, the associate director of education at Green Schoolyards America, which was involved in the transformation of Parkway Elementary in Sacramento.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Social workers began noticing changes in students\u2019 mental health, and teachers said the kids seemed calmer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChange started happening so fast,\u201d Ercelawn said.<\/p>\n

Related Reading<\/p>\n

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