Board chair Jeff Stumbo, teacher Jessica Newsome, Director of District Wide Services Tonya Williams, Principal Greta Thornsberry, Assistant Principal Kathy Shepherd and teacher Alesia Meade attended the National Title I conference in Nashville in January.

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MARTIN — May Valley Elementary earned a rare distinction recently, when it became one of 69 schools in the country to be designated a National Title I Distinguished School.

Title I is the basis of No Child Left Behind and the National Title I Distinguished Schools Program recognizes schools for the outstanding academic achievement of their students. To earn the designation, a school must either have “exceptional student performance” for two or more consecutive years or show that it is closing the achievement gap between student groups. May Valley was selected under the latter category.

Supt. Henry Webb congratulated the school.

“The board team and I congratulate the team of kids, staff and leadership at May Valley Elementary, as once again they set the bar for excellence in our district, in our state and now in our nation,” Webb said.

In addition to May Valley, another Kentucky school, Pilot View Elementary in Winchester, also received the honor.

According to a statement on the National Title I Association’s website, “These schools demonstrate a wide array of strengths, including team approaches to teaching and learning, focused professional development opportunities for staff, individualized programs for student success and strong partnerships between the school, parents and the community. What makes National Title I Distinguished Schools’ stories especially powerful are the documented student achievement gains that have resulted from their innovations.”