The Kentucky Department of Education announced that John Hardin High School is among the only 31 Kentucky high schools that have received the prestigious College Success Award from greatschools.org, the nation’s leading nonprofit school information site.

Now in its sixth year, the recognition honors public high schools that excel at preparing students to enroll and succeed in college, as determined by available data in each state.

“We appreciate this recognition,” John Hardin High School principal Mark Wells said.  It is great to see JHHS staff and students receive recognition for their hard work.  I’m tremendously proud of everyone in the Bulldog family.  Our staff and students work hard to reach success even after their time at JHHS is complete.  This validates that our strategies are working and that John Hardin High School is a great place to learn, grow and prepare for life after graduation.”

Kentucky’s recipients are among 1,436 winners in 19 states that have demonstrated successful track records of graduating students who enroll in two- or four-year colleges, are ready for college-level coursework and persist on to their second year. College readiness is crucial for high school students’ future success as companies still overwhelmingly hire candidates with a college degree.

According to the Kentucky Department of Education, the College Success Award is possible because Kentucky is leading the nation in both collecting and transparently sharing information on how students perform after high school, which is valuable information for families, educators and policymakers