ARCADIA– The new school year has only recently started and the Arcadia Unified School District is already making the grade. Of the more than 10,700 school districts situated across the United States, Arcadia Unified ranks in the top 1 percent of the best school districts in America, according to Niche.

Influential school and neighborhood review website, Niche.com, recently released its 2019 Best School Districts lists. Segmented into national, state, and local rankings, Arcadia Unified holds a top spot at each level.

Arcadia Unified School District Niche Distinctions:

• Top 1% Best School Districts in America, California, and Los Angeles

• Top 1% School Districts with the Best Teachers in America, California, and Los Angeles

• Top 1% Best School Districts to Teach in America, California, and Los Angeles

“It’s such an honor to have Arcadia Unified named as one of the best school districts in Los Angeles, and it’s very humbling that our district is also a leader in California and in the nation,” said Arcadia Unified Superintendent Dr. David Vannasdall. “This recognition will serve as fantastic fuel for the school year ahead and is a testament to the incredible team we have here who work with continuous determination to support, challenge, and inspire students to make a positive and profound impact on their world.”

Each of Arcadia Unified’s schools has individually secured top Niche nods as the best schools in Los Angeles. Arcadia Unified’s elementary schools (Baldwin Stocker, Camino Grove, Highland Oaks, Holly Avenue, Hugo Reid, and Longley Way) landed in the top 2 percent of the nearly 1,300 public elementary schools analyzed. All three of Arcadia Unified’s middle schools (Dana, Foothills, and First Avenue) ranks in the top 1 percent of the nearly 500 middle schools in LA. The district’s comprehensive high school, Arcadia High, remains a leader among its peers, making the top 10 list for Best Public High Schools in Los Angeles out of over 400 high schools analyzed by Niche.

In addition to making the Niche grade, Arcadia Unified has remained committed to educating the “whole child” in its 360-degree approach to student support. Last year, Arcadia Unified’s Board of Education committed to providing a full-time school counselor at each of its six elementary schools to help further support and provide proactive approaches 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.

According to Niche, it arrives at its rankings after a rigorous analysis of key statistics and data from thousands of schools and 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 AUSD Digital Communications Internship