National PTA Awards School of Excellence Honorees and Middle Ground Grant Recipients

National PTA Awards School of Excellence Honorees and Middle Ground Grant Recipients

ALEXANDRIA, Va., (Aug. 1, 2026)-National PTA is pleased to honor 321 local PTAs and schools from across the country as 2025-2027 National PTA Schools of Excellence for building partnerships between families and their school that are enriching the educational experience and overall well-being for all students. National PTA is also pleased to award 20 local middle school PTAs with the association's 2026-2027 Middle Ground Program Grant of $3,500 each made possible in collaboration with the New York Life Foundation as part of National PTA's Healthy Minds initiative.

Additionally, National PTA is pleased to recognize the following three top Schools of Excellence with its 2026 Phoebe Apperson Hearst Award-the highest honor presented by the association to celebrate strong, effective family-school partnerships:

Phoebe Apperson Hearst Outstanding Family-School Partnership Award
Burton Elementary School PTA (Huntington Woods, Mich.)

Phoebe Apperson Hearst Family-School Partnership Award of Merit
Will Rogers Elementary School PTA (Santa Monica, Calif.)
Redding Elementary School PTA (Redding, Conn.)

"Strong partnerships between families and schools are critical to student success-academically, socially and emotionally," said Dr. Bill Datema, president of National PTA. "As a new school year gets underway, we're proud to honor the 2025-2027 Schools of Excellence and the 2026-2027 Middle Ground Program Grant recipients for their work building family-school partnerships that make a real difference for students."

National PTA's School of Excellence program is a year-long commitment to strengthening family-school partnerships. PTAs and schools gather feedback from their communities and use it to build data-driven action plans that improve family engagement and make a lasting difference for every child.

National PTA and the New York Life Foundation collaborated to launch the Middle Ground Program Grant funding dedicated spaces in middle schools for students navigating grief and loss. Inspired by the New York Life Foundation's graphic novel Lost in the Middle, these spaces offer students storytelling, creative expression and peer connection so no child feels alone in their grief. Grant recipients also receive tools to become Grief-Sensitive Schools through the New York Life Foundation's Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative.

"Through Schools of Excellence, Middle Ground and our other programs, National PTA is committed to giving families and schools the information, resources and expertise they need to build strong partnerships, navigate challenges together and support student success all year-round," added Howie Berman, MA, CAE, executive director of National PTA.

Enrollment is now open for the 2026-2027 School of Excellence program. The deadline to enroll is Oct. 15. For more information about the program and to enroll, visit PTA.org/Excellence. For more information about the Middle Ground program and Healthy Minds initiative, visit PTA.org/TheMiddleGround and PTA.org/HealthyMinds. Read about the work of the 2026 Phoebe Apperson Hearst Award recipients at PTA.org/Hearst.

About National PTA

National PTA® comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health and welfare of children and youth. For more information, visit PTA.org.