Jonathan Valley Elementary School has been named a National Title I Distinguished School. The award is given each year in two categories (1) Sustained Student Achievement and (2) Closing the Gap. Jonathan Valley Elementary School will represent North Carolina as the Sustained Student Achievement school for the state. This places the school among the top one percent of Title I Schools in the nation.

The award is based upon three consecutive years of high academic performance in schools with high poverty rates. During the last three years, Jonathan Valley’s free and reduce lunch rate has been over 50%. During the same time period, the school experienced “high academic growth” and a “performance composite” of students passing state and federally mandated tests at a rate over 90%.

Dr. Anne Garrett, superintendent said, “We are so proud of students, staff and community parents at Jonathan Valley Elementary School. They are a model for teaching and learning in the 21st Century. They have proven that all students, regardless of socioeconomic status, can learn at very high levels.”

There are 1,250 Title I schools in North Carolina. The top ten percent are recognized as “Reward Schools.” Five of Haywood County’s nine elementary schools were recognized as “Reward Schools.” The reward schools are Bethel Elementary School, Central Elementary School, Hazelwood Elementary School, Jonathan Valley Elementary School and Meadowbrook Elementary School. Both Bethel Elementary School and Jonathan Valley Elementary School were also among the top one percent of schools in North Carolina for three consecutive years of high student achievement.

Jonathan Valley Elementary School was selected as North Carolina’s National Title I Distinguished School. This places the school among the top one percent, of the top one percent, of schools in the nation. To put this in perspective, only sixty-seven schools in the nation received this recognition last year. As a National Distinguished School, Jonathan Valley will receive a monetary award of $12,500.

Heather Hollingsworth, principal said, “We are so excited that the hard work of our students, staff and community has been recognized. We believe this award will help us get even better as we have the opportunity to share and visit with other high performing schools. We want people to know that our work is not finished. We know that what got us here will not get us where we want to go.”

Dr. Bill Nolte, associate superintendent said, “We are fortunate to have many outstanding schools. We are one of only two school districts to have National Distinguished School winners in consecutive years, Bethel last year and Jonathan Valley this year. This is another example of how we provide a rigorous education for our students.”