Niche, an educational ranking website, ranked Catalina Foothills School District as the No. 2 district in Arizona.
Though no Arizona districts ranked nationally, Tucson area school districts were represented well in the state listing. Half of the top 10 school districts are in Southern Arizona.
Amphi placed third, Vail came in fourth, Flowing Wells took seventh and Tanque Verde rounded out the top 10.
Sunnyside ranked 79 out of 89 school districts the state, while Tucsonβs largest school district, TUSD, came in at No. 34 β behind No. 33 Marana. Sahuarita was ranked No. 48.
The rankings were used to identify schools with exceptional teachers, sufficient resources and a diverse set of high-achieving students who rate their experiences highly.
Factors taken into consideration include academics β which held the most weight β health and safety, culture and diversity, parent and student surveys, teacher quality, resources and facilities, clubs and activities, and athletics and fitness.
The individual categories were graded, with TUSD falling short in the areas of teachers and resources/facilities, each of which earned grades of C. Sunnyside earned Cs across the board.
Though parent and student surveys were taken into account, for Tucsonβs nine major school districts the number of respondents was relatively low, with as few as eight for Tanque Verde and 264 for TUSD, which serves nearly 49,000 students.
The educational ranking website weighs in on a number of issues to include best teachers, best food, best administration, and best outcomes. View national and state rankings and read the methodology at k12.niche.com/rankings
