Announcing the 2025 Golden and Platinum Sneaker Awards

Every March, schools participate in the Golden Sneaker Contest. Students record how they get to school each day, and the classroom with the most active and shared transportation gets the Golden Sneaker Trophy (made with donated shoes from the Golden State Warriors). The Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) also presents a Platinum Sneaker Award to the participating school with the most students using sustainable transportation throughout all of Alameda County.

Drum roll, please: the winner of the Platinum Sneaker award is…Lockwood STEAM Academy in the Oakland Unified School District. Congratulations to the Lockwood students, teachers, and staff for an outstanding effort. Special thanks to Safe Routes Champion Rose Chardak for helping make it happen, along with Ms. Brynna Price, whose 3rd- to 5th-grade special education class had an incredible 94% participation rate. 

Way to go, Lockwood STEAM!

The legend of the Golden Sneaker

The Golden Sneaker is one of the most popular events that Transform’s team coordinates for the Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools Program. The trophies aren’t fancy: they’re sneakers spray-painted gold and mounted on a homemade wooden stand. But students know they’re competing for more than a used shoe — it represents the pride to be able to say they supported each other to use the most sustainable transportation. 

Oakland High School students even made a rap video to promote the Golden Sneaker at their school.

Congratulations to every classroom that worked together to compete for the Golden Sneaker and every student who tried a new way of getting to school this year. You are all winners!