The Pennsylvania National Guard Associations has announced 51 high schools, including Jim Thorpe Area and Commonwealth Academy Charter School, have earned the designation PNGAS Guard Friendly High School.

The designation and standards were developed by the PNGAS Education Advisory Council to amplify high school best practices for recruiting, information-sharing, and group-formation in high schools for their support of the Pennsylvania National Guard.

The PNGAS Education Action Council is chaired by Joseph E. Dagney, M. Ed., retired master sergeant, USAF/ANG, school counselor, Central MontCo Technical High School. Through his leadership, volunteers from some of the state’s leading high schools, colleges and universities voluntarily review applications, guidelines, best practices and improvement criteria.

For many years, the Education Assistance Program has been the No. 1 recruiting tool for the Pennsylvania National Guard. Since its inception, Pennsylvania has distributed more than $300 million through the EAP so guard members can get college, university and trade school degrees. The EAP provides a tuition benefit equivalent to the yearly tuition rate set by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education so members of the guard can attend one of 488 Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency approved schools. Presently, the EAP is an almost $32,000 tuition benefit for each guard member.

With a total tuition benefit exceeding $72,000, the Pennsylvania National Guard has the strongest state tuition benefit in the nation.