For the second year in a row, Russellville High School has made the U.S News & World Report’s list of the Top 25 High Schools in Alabama, coming in at No. 22 on this year’s list – out of 718 high schools in the state.

According to school officials, this is a tremendous accomplishment for RHS, made even more impressive because this list considers socioeconomic factors that might affect rankings, such as the school’s poverty rate – as measured by the percentage of students whose families receive federal government assistance – and the performance of underserved populations, such as the high number of English Language Learners at RHS.

The poverty rate at RHS is 58 percent; the next closest poverty rate of one of the Top 25 high schools is 36 percent.

RHS Principal Dr. Jason Goodwin said this shows the hard work and resiliency of his students, despite adversity.

“We know our students are hardworking, intelligent and are receiving a top-notch education thanks to our dedicated faculty and staff, but it’s great to see this reflected on paper as well,” Goodwin said.

“Many of our students face adversities to learning, such as language barriers and poverty rates, which studies show can negatively affect their performance in school, but our students continue to show their resiliency and how hard they are willing to work to achieve their goals no matter what barriers they might face.

“To me, this says so much about our students and about the quality of education they are receiving here at RHS.”

RCS Superintendent Dr. Heath Grimes said he was excited to see RHS on this list for the second year in a row, which shows the high level of learning that continues to take place at RHS.

“At RCS, we want our students to know they are capable of whatever they set their minds to, and then we provide them with the tools necessary to make their goals possible,” Grimes said. “We know many of our students face barriers beyond their control, and we make it our mission to make sure they are still able to succeed despite those challenges they face.

“We have amazing teachers who are dedicated to seeing their students succeed, no matter what, and we have students who set their goals high and strive to meet those goals,” Grimes added. “All of that is a recipe for success. There is high-level learning taking place in our schools, and being part of this list for the second year in a row shows that.”