Gov. Tim Kaine recognized 153 Virginia public schools Tuesday for earning the Governor's Award for Educational Excellence.

Fifteen schools in the Roanoke Valley and adjacent counties and New River Valley earned the recognition, which is the highest honor of an incentive program developed by the state board of education in 2007 to promote Kaine's K-12 education initiatives.

To qualify, schools must meet all state and federal benchmarks for at least two consecutive years. Additional excellence goals must be met in elementary reading, enrollment in Algebra I by eighth grade, enrollment in college-level course work, high school graduation, attainment of advanced diplomas or career and industry certifications, and participation in the Virginia Preschool Initiative.

"My administration has made it a priority to move beyond merely meeting standards to truly encouraging excellent performance in our schools," Kaine said.

Five of the 15 regional recipients are Franklin County schools: Boones Mill, Burnt Chimney, Callaway, Glade Hill and Lee M. Waid elementary schools. Charles Lackey, the division's superintendent, said those schools have received numerous awards, and most previously have earned the governor's excellence award.

"When you get to a sustained excellence situation, you know you're getting it right," Lackey said.

He attributes the schools' successes to a mixture of great students, parental support, dedicated teachers, strong leadership and a supportive central office staff.

Three Roanoke County schools received the award: Cave Spring and Clearbrook elementaries and Hidden Valley High School. Superintendent Lorraine Lange said she is proud of the accomplishment.

The award "is difficult to achieve, and the staffs at the schools worked hard to go beyond standards," she said.

In Roanoke, Crystal Spring and Highland Park elementary schools earned the honor; as did Andrew Lewis Middle in Salem, Willis Elementary in Floyd County, Cloverdale Elementary in Botetourt County and Forest and Otter River elementary schools in Bedford County.

Three schools divisions in Southwest Virginia received a second-tier award from the board of education. Radford, Roanoke County and Salem schools received Board of Education Excellence Awards for meeting state and federal benchmarks and for making significant progress toward Kaine's achievement goals. Statewide, 15 school divisions received the award.