Since 2006, the National Center for Urban School Transformation has been giving recognition to the top eight urban grade schools in the nation with the annual America’s Best Schools Award.

According to their website, criteria include evidence of academic proficiency and high academic proficiency rates for every ethnic or racial group represented in the school. Criteria also include high attendance rates and low rates of out-of-school suspensions for students.

Additionally, only schools with non-exclusive admissions qualify for award consideration. In 2023, the award-winning schools are Danbrook Elementary School of Anaheim, Calif.; Feaster Charter Middle School, Chula Vista, Calif.: Hanna Early College High School, Texas’s Brownsville Independent School District; Jess Harben Elementary, Richardson, Texas; Northwest Early College High School, Canutillo Independent School District, Texas; Patrick Henry Preparatory School, Manhattan, NY; The Caton Elementary School PS 249, Brooklyn, NY; and World Languages Institute, Fort Worth, Texas.

Nearly all of the schools receiving awards had a majority of Hispanic students, with five schools having a percentage of 80% or higher. The three exceptions to this were Caton Elementary School, where, black and Hispanic students comprised 41% and 42% of the student population respectively, Patrick Henry, with 57% Hispanic students and 33% Black matriculation at Jess Harben.

A common theme among the school receiving awards seems to be a sense of camaraderie between students, teachers, and the surrounding community.

Danbrook Elementary School, which was voted Orange County’s Most Improved School in 2013, refers to itself as a family and touts a deep connection between pupils, faculty, parents and the surrounding community.

Likewise, Jess Harben, which boasts of results that beat statewide standards across student demographics, boasts a “special environment” where students and faculty come together in a “positive, engaging learning community,” while Hanna Early College is described as having a “rich cultural heritage.”

Although each of the awarded schools are located in impoverished areas, their respective successes stand as evidence that where there is mutual dedication between instructors and pupils, difficult economic circumstances can be overcome and transcended.