POUND — The National Title I Association has selected J.W. Adams Combined School in Pound as a National Title I Distinguished School, one of just 100 so honored nationwide and one of only two recognized in Virginia for exceptional achievement in 2017. The association’s Distinguished Schools Program recognizes qualifying Title I schools for outstanding academic achievements of their students and highlights schools making significant improvements on behalf of their students. In place since 1996, the program bases Distinguished School status on exceptional student performance for two consecutive years, closing achievement gaps between student groups and excellence in serving special student populations. Title I is the largest federally funded precollege education program in the country and provides money to school districts across the nation to aid in the education of economically disadvantaged students. Adams Principal Rick N.