A sunny small beach city of 1.4 square miles and home to nearly 20,000 residents, Hermosa Beach sits at the center of Los Angeles County’s South Bay coastline along the Santa Monica Bay.

The town is the very essence of the Southern California lifestyle, with an average of 283 sunny days per year and nighttime temperatures that rarely dip below 50 degrees. With two miles of sandy beach shoreline, Hermosa attracts more than a million visitors to the beach each year.

The small town charm of Hermosa Beach is highlighted in commercial areas like Downtown and Pier Avenue, well known for their many diverse restaurants and local retailers. There are architecturally diverse residences on the Strand, bungalows scattered throughout the town, and multi-level homes with ocean views. Hermosa Beach is within a short commute of many of the largest and best-known names in corporate America in the aerospace, tech, industrial, service and financial fields.

The school district along with its schools, staff, and educators have earned a range of awards, recognition, fellowships, and other honors over the years. Hermosa Valley School has earned the state’s highest level of recognition as a California Distinguished School. Schools earn the prestigious distinction for demonstrating exceptional student performance for two consecutive school years — test scores, suspensions and graduation rates are used as metrics — or for closing the achievement gap between two school years. Along with celebrating high achievers, the goal is to spotlight successful programs and practices that can be replicated elsewhere.