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The Virginia Department of Education recognized 13 Roanoke Valley schools last week that serve a high number of students from disadvantaged households.

The schools, which receive money through a federal anti-poverty program known as Title I, were honored for meeting federal standards, meeting state standards for two years in a row, and for posting average test scores in reading and math that ranked in the 60th percentile or higher.

Four of those schools were in Roanoke County, four in Franklin County, two in Salem, two in Botetourt County and one in Roanoke.

The lesson here is that schools with poorer students are not necessarily low-performing schools, according to school officials.

"It concerns me sometimes that people hear Title I and they automatically think it's a bad school," said B.J. Brewer, Roanoke County's associate director of instruction. "I have run into that kind of thinking over the years and it's not the case at all."

The schools are Clearbrook, Glen Cove, Green Valley and Mount Pleasant elementaries in Roanoke County; Callaway, Glade Hill, Lee M. Waid and Snow Creek elementaries in Franklin County; Breckinridge and Buchanan elementaries in Botetourt County; East Salem and G.W. Carver elementaries in Salem; and Highland Park Elementary in Roanoke.

Many Title I schools use the money from the federal government to hire more staff.

Statewide, 118 of Virginia's 723 Title I schools were honored as "Distinguished Title I Schools." Thirteen school districts, including Salem, also were honored.

Title I schools have been under the microscope since 2002, when the No Child Left Behind law came into effect. Although the law requires all schools to meet certain targets every year, it reserves special sanctions for Title I schools that fall short. In the most extreme cases, underperforming schools would have to replace staff or reopen as charter schools.

At the same time, the number of disadvantaged students has been going up. The number of Roanoke County children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a school system's standard measure of poverty, has doubled over the past seven years.

This year, almost 19 percent of the county's students are eligible. The county also added Glen Cove Elementary to its list of Title I schools, bringing the total to 11 schools out of 28.

"We're seeing a demographic shift," said Glen Cove Principal Jan Nichols. "Our disadvantaged population has increased over the past two years."

Meanwhile, federal support for Title I programs is slipping. A report last year found that 90 percent of the country's school districts participating in Title I programs saw their funding cut or frozen in 2006-07.

"We see the same thing for special education [funding]," noted Salem Superintendent Alan Seibert.

So what's the secret to these schools' success? Principals told me this week that all credited a practice of splitting up their classes into small groups and giving students individual attention to make sure they get the help they need.

"We try to really focus on the strengths of the kids and what their needs are to try to cater to their specific needs," said Karen Pendleton, principal at Clearbrook Elementary.

This allows teachers to know exactly how well their students have mastered the material, which is especially helpful now that Standards of Learning tests are under way.

On Monday, Green Valley Elementary Principal Tammy Newcomb said: "Going into SOL testing tomorrow, I can tell you how many children I have that are right on the bubble."