Peralta and Lincoln elementary schools received Title I Academic Achievement awards this month, along with four of the city's public charter schools: American Indian Public Charter, Berkley Maynard Academy, Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy and Oakland Charter Academy.

The award recognizes schools that achieve outstanding test scores while serving a socio-economically disadvantaged population with many students who are learning English. It's given only to schools that receive federal Title I money, as authorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Title I is the single largest federal educational program for K-12 public education.

The award was announced Feb. 11.

Out of more than 9,000 schools in the state, more than 6,000 are part of the Title I program. Just 3 percent of this group received the achievement award, according to the Oakland Unified School District.

In Oakland, all the schools other than Lincoln were recognized for the first time. Lincoln was the only school in Alameda County, and one of just 35 in the state, to be nominated for a National Blue Ribbon School Award.

Peralta Principal Rosette Costello said her school's strong grounding in the arts is the foundation to its success. The arts help kids "to observe, to think, and to wonder... [and] to develop creative and resilient approaches to problem solving in all aspects of their lives."

The arts also provide a bridge the community, as students make quilts for hospitals and displays for transit boxes, she added in a prepared statement from the school district.

Peralta used to be "a site that many families avoided." According to the school board, it's now a model of active and involved parents and "one of the most sought after schools" in Oakland.

All the winning schools have student bodies where at least 40 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. At Lincoln Elementary, nearly 80 percent of the children qualify for these lunch programs, and many students speak languages other than English at home.