Bogue Chitto Attendance Center in the Lincoln County School District was among 57 schools honored by the Mississippi Department of Education Friday for academic achievement or progress during a ceremony at the Central High School Building in Jackson.

MDE staff recognized schools that have earned the title of High Progress, Gold Ribbon, High Performing or Distinguished under federal Title 1 guidelines as “Champions of Change.”

Bogue Chitto received one of the Title I Distinguished awards, which are presented to the top 20 schools in the state for “exceptional school performance for two or more consecutive years,” according to MDE.

The Distinguished recognition also honors schools that have made effective strides in closing the achievement gap.

“We recognize that accomplishing this level of achievement or progress doesn’t happen by accident,” said Dr. Kim Benton, interim deputy state superintendent for instructional enhancement and internal operations.

The federal Title I program provides funding to schools across the country for students at risk of failure and living at or near poverty. The goal of funding is to provide students with a fair and equal opportunity to meet challenging academic standards and to help school districts close the achievement gap.

The High Progress status was awarded to 23 schools around the state. High Progress schools have demonstrated the greatest gains in closing gaps. These schools represent the highest 10 percent of schools that have improved their QDI scores overall in two years.

Gold Ribbon status was awarded to six schools for their efforts to rapidly improve student performance in their schools.

Eight schools earned the High Performing status because they have demonstrated the greatest gains in closing achievement gaps among students and improving student performance for three consecutive years, and 20 schools earned the Title 1 Distinguished Schools status for exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years and for effective strides in closing the achievement gap.

Two schools were announced as National Title 1 Distinguished Schools – South Forrest Attendance Center in the Forrest County School District and Walton Elementary in the Jackson Public School District.