All three Dawson County elementary schools — Black’s Mill, Kilough and Robinson — have been named Title I Distinguished Schools.

Schools that make Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, for at least three years in a row are eligible for the state distinction.

Title I schools have a specific population of economically disadvantaged students and receive federal funding to help educate them.

Superintendent Keith Porter said the distinction “indicates that not only are we providing quality services to the kids, but the students are achieving at a high level.”

Janice Darnell, the school district’s director of student services, said schools that have made AYP for four years or longer receive monetary awards.

“All of our schools have made AYP for seven years consecutively,” Darnell said. “Each of them will get a financial award.”

Darnell said Robinson is classified as schoolwide, which means the entire student population “can benefit from Title I services.”

Black’s Mill and Kilough are targeted assistance Title I schools, which means they “can use the funds for a specific population within the school.”