ARCADIA– Arcadia Unified School District remains a leader in public education in the United States, ranking in the top 1%, of the over 10,700 school districts across the nation, according to Niche.

Niche, an influential school and neighborhood review website, recently released its 2021 Best School Districts rankings, and Arcadia Unified has made the grade, achieving an overall  A+ grade district-wide. Segmenting its rankings into national, state, and local categories, Arcadia Unified commands a top spot on each Niche list.

Arcadia Unified School District Niche Distinctions:

• Top 1% Best School Districts in America

• Top 8 Best School Districts in California

• Top 3 Best School Districts in Los Angeles

“Over the past 14 years of serving the Arcadia Unified School District, it’s never been lost on me how truly special a place Arcadia Unified is,” said Arcadia Unified Superintendent Dr. David Vannasdall. “This prestigious recognition is the direct result of each member of our team going above and beyond in countless ways each day to support our students and families.”

In addition to the recognition above, Niche noted Arcadia Unified as being in the top 1% of the Best Places to Teach in the nation, California, and the Los Angeles area. Arcadia Unified also is in Niche’s top five for Districts with the Best Teachers in Los Angeles.

Each of Arcadia Unified’s schools has also individually secured top Niche nods for being the best schools in Los Angeles. Arcadia Unified elementary schools (Baldwin Stocker, Camino Grove, Highland Oaks, Holly Avenue, Hugo Reid, and Longley Way) landed in the top 2 percent of the over 2,200 public elementary schools in Los Angeles. All three of Arcadia Unified’s middle schools (Dana, Foothills, and First Avenue) rank in the top 2 percent of Los Angeles. The district’s comprehensive high school, Arcadia High School, also remains a leader among its over 400 L.A. public high school peers, making Niche’s top 10 Best Public High Schools in Los Angeles list.

On top of receiving top marks from Niche, Arcadia Unified has continued to build on its commitment to educating the “whole child” by providing support not only for academics but also for social and emotional development and lifelong leadership skills. Since the 2018-19 school year, and though not a mandated requirement for local public school districts, Arcadia Unified has had at least one full-time school counselor at each of its schools in its dedication to student mental health and wellness. Likewise, the district also offers character education programs, such as “The Leader in Me” for students in TK-8 grade, and has adopted “restorative practices,” which are techniques geared towards building strong, trusting relationships and community in classrooms and schools. This school year, Arcadia High has also implemented a virtual Wellness Center, which has a full-time counselor solely dedicated to fostering mental health and wellness needs.

How does Niche arrive at its rankings? According to its website, Niche undergoes a rigorous analysis of key statistics and data from thousands of schools, which includes information from the U.S. Department of Education and millions of reviews from students and parents. Ranking factors also include state test scores, student-teacher ratio, student diversity, teacher quality, grade school ratings, and the overall quality of the school district. For more information on the Niche rankings, visit niche.com,  for more information about the Arcadia Unified School District, visit ausd.net.

Photo courtesy of ARCADIA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.