National Title 1 Distinguished School Nominee

For the third time in five years, Riverbend Elementary has received recognition as a top-ranking Title I school in North Carolina, as a 2019-20 National ESEA Distinguished School Nominee in the “high performance” category.

The school was honored Thursday for being in the top 1% of Title I schools in the state at the N.C. Association of Compensatory Educators Conference in Greensboro.

The National Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition Program recognizes high student achievement in schools that have substantial poverty rates, high end-of-grade success rates, and significant growth in scores. The program is sponsored by the National Association of State Title I Directors and the United States Department of Education.

Each year, two Title I schools from North Carolina are chosen to represent the state as National Title I Distinguished Schools in the “high progress” and “high performance” categories. This year, Riverbend Elementary met the eligibility requirements for consideration for the National Title I Distinguished School award in the “high performance” category.

Approximately 10 percent of Title I schools in North Carolina are eligible to be included in the Distinguished Schools process; schools in the top 10 percent of those eligible schools – the top 1 percent of Title I schools statewide – are asked to submit portfolios for consideration for the prestigious National Title I Distinguished School Awards.