Awards &
Recognition
This is what
success
looks like
At Sutro, we have a proud track record of academic achievement. Below are a selection of honors we have received over the years.
A California Distinguished School
Sutro was one of only 5 schools in SFUSD to be recognized as a 2023 California Distinguished School by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
The California Distinguished Schools Award celebrates exceptional schools, districts, teachers, and classified employees for their innovation, talent, and success in supporting students.
The California Distinguished Schools program recognizes schools for their excellent work in one of two categories: closing the achievement gap and achieving exceptional student performance based on assessment scores, chronic absenteeism rates, suspension rates, and socioeconomic data. Nearly 6,000 public and charter elementary schools in California were eligible, but only 350 were honored with this prestigious award.
Elementary schools are selected for this award every two years.
Exceeding State Standards
In 2024, Sutro students performed 40+ points above standards in ELA and Math grade-level assessments. Additionally, more than 75% of our English language learners made progress towards English language proficiency or maintained the highest level that year.
The California School Dashboard is a powerful online tool created by the California Department of Education. The dashboard is designed to help communities across the state access easy-to-read reports that display performance information for TK–12 schools and districts across the state.
We made the Honor Roll!
For the past 3 years (2023-2025), Sutro has been recognized as a California Honor Roll school!
The Honor Roll recognizes top public schools that have outperformed their peers in closing achievement gaps, particularly among higher-poverty and historically disadvantaged student populations.
The Honor Roll is the only school recognition program in California based solely on objective student achievement data. The data comes from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) English Language Arts and Math Assessments.
Only 21% of eligible schools statewide made the Honor Roll list for 2025.
2025 Niche Best School
Sutro has been nationally recognized as one of the Best Schools in America by Niche, the country’s leading college and school search platform. In their 2025 rankings for Niche Standout Elementary Schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sutro was ranked #4 out of 85 schools!
This prestigious ranking reflects our exceptional performance across numerous factors analyzed by Niche including academic performance, extracurricular activity opportunities, data from sources like the U.S. Department of Education, and user input from current students, alumni and parents.
Title I Academic Achievement Award
Sutro received the Title I Academic Achievement Award three times (2009, 2011, 2014) for demonstrating success in significantly closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students, before the award was discontinued in California in 2017.
