ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the evidence of excellent and equitable learning results. Since 2006, the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST) at San Diego State University has been identifying, celebrating, and learning from high-performing elementary, middle, and high schools. From the beginning, the award program was designed to identify schools that achieved both excellent and equitable learning results. The majority of schools awarded have been elementary schools; however, NCUST has awarded elementary, middle, and high schools with varying grade configurations. Even though schools presented different challenges, programs, and practices, all of the schools presented strong evidence that they were achieving excellent and equitable learning results. NCUST also required applicants to present strong evidence of academic success for English learners and students with disabilities. Leaders promoted the attainment of excellent and equitable learning results by helping teachers and other stakeholders establish a few key school characteristics.
