Gov. Bob McDonnell and the Virginia Board of Education announced today that Mount Daniel School and Thomas Jefferson Elementary are among the schools in the Commonwealth earning a 2012 Virginia Index of Performance (VIP) award for “advanced learning and achievement.”

The Hippos and Tigers will be receiving the Board of Education Excellence Award, a second-tier honor in the VIP program for meeting all state and federal accountability benchmarks for at least two consecutive years. Schools that receive this award have demonstrated significant progress toward goals for increased student achievement and for expanded educational opportunities set by the state board.