Three Utah schools have won a national award for their academic accomplishments.

Beacon Heights Elementary School in Salt Lake City, Enoch Elementary School in Enoch, and Cleveland Elementary School in Cleveland, Carbon County, have all been named 2009 National Blue Ribbon Schools, the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday.

"We are quite thrilled about it," said Sue Heath, Beacon Heights principal. "It's a wonderful acknowledgment."

To win the awards, schools must either test in the top 10 percent on state tests, or, if at least 40 percent of their students come from disadvantaged backgrounds, they must demonstrate dramatic improvement on state or national tests. The schools must also meet annual No

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Nationwide, 314 schools received the honor.

"Some [of the schools] have shown dramatic improvements in places where students are overcoming the challenges of poverty, and others serve as examples of consistent excellence that can be a resource for other schools," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a statement.

At Enoch Elementary in the Iron School District, for example, 88 percent of students tested on grade level in language arts and 92 percent tested on grade level in math on state tests even though more than 40 percent of the school's students come from low-income families. Statewide last school year, only about 79 percent of students tested on grade level in

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language arts and about 66 percent in math.

"We may not quite compete with more affluent schools but we're right up there," said principal Lenora Roundy. "We believe that the status of your income does not mean you have more or less potential."

She said each student has an academic plan at her school, and she credited great teachers.

At Beacon Elementary, only 14 percent of students come from low-income families, Heath said, but the school tested in the top 10 percent of schools statewide. She said the school in eastern Salt Lake City is known for its strong arts program, in which students attend art, music and dance classes, and art is integrated into other subjects as well.

Heath credited dedicated teachers and parents for the school's success.

"I think we have a remarkable faculty," Heath said. "I think it all starts in the classroom with teachers."

To win the Blue Ribbon awards, schools must be nominated by the state superintendent, and then those schools submit applications to the U.S. Department of Education. The winning schools will be honored at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., in November.