July 18, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

SMMUSD Schools Recognized as Top in California and Nation

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has a long history of ranking well among high schools in the state and nation, as well as schools earning state and national distinctions as National Blue Ribbon School, California Distinguished School and Gold Ribbon School.

The trend continued this past school year with the announcement of several awards placing SMMUSD schools once again in the top tier in the state and nation.

U.S. News & World Report, a global authority in education rankings, ranked the top-performing high schools in the state and country in April 2017, placing both Malibu High School and Santa Monica High School in Gold and Silver categories, respectively, out of 22,000 schools reviewed. Malibu High School ranked #279 in the nation and #45 in California and Samohi ranked #606 nationally and #105 in California. These are tremendous accomplishments at both schools. The U.S. News rankings highlight public schools that best serve all of their students, including disadvantaged populations.

The Washington Post ranked Malibu High School #531 nationally in its annual Most Challenging High Schools list in May 2017, based on a formula that includes advanced placement tests divided by the number of seniors who graduated that year.

“Our students, parents, administrators and staff can all be proud of what we have accomplished together for our students,” Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati said. “Our Excellence through Equity plan provides a focused approach going forward toward ensuring that all students have opportunities for success and are college and career ready.”

Edison Language Academy earned a National Blue Ribbon award this past year and was named as a 2016 Star Honor Roll School and STEM Honor Roll School recipient. These annual awards are given by the Educational Results Partnership (ERP) and Campaign for Business and Education Excellence (CBEE) and recognizes public schools that demonstrate consistently high levels of student academic achievement, improvement over time and reduction in achievement gaps. Edison is a TK-5 dual immersion language school that is open to all students throughout the district. Visit the Edison website for more enrollment information.

Santa Monica Alternative School House (SMASH) earned Scholar Honor Roll school designation by ERP and CBEE for recognition of being high performing, without significant 2 levels of low-income students. SMASH is a school of choice open to all students in SMMUSD.

Visit the SMASH website for more enrollment information. Franklin Elementary School was also named a Scholar Honor Roll school by ERP and CBEE. Franklin serves students in a determined boundary within Santa Monica.

“We are proud to be recognized in California and nationally by national media, education and business organizations,” Dr. Drati said. Please visit www.smmusd.org, follow @SMMUSD on Twitter, or like on Facebook.

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