Gov. Tim Kaine recognized 153 Virginia Public Schools with the Educational Excellence Award Tuesday.

Three of those schools are located in the Valley.

Westwood Hills Elementary in Waynesboro, Boyce Elementary in Clarke County and Pleasant Valley Elementary in Rockingham County were all honored.

To qualify, elementary schools had to meet all state and federal achievement benchmarks for at least two consecutive years and achieve excellence goals for elementary reading.

School officials say winning the award is a team effort.

"We have an excellent staff here. We have great parent support, and community and business support. We have a central office that is always teaching us best practice," says Pleasant Valley Elementary Principal Paula Frazier.

Frazier adds the key to success for them is to remember that every individual child counts.