One area high school cracked the top 500 in the state, while two others earned bronze medal status in the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings released earlier this month.

Northwestern Lehigh High School ranked 55th, earning it silver medal status.U.S. News evaluated more than 28,000 schools to determine the top public high schools nationally, and in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Five hundred high schools received gold medals, 2,173 schools earned silver and 3,545 took home bronze in the national rankings.The rankings are based on overall student performance on state-required tests, how effectively schools educated their disadvantaged students, high school graduation rates and how well they prepared students for college based on participation in and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. Schools had to have a graduation rate of at least 68 percent to be eligible for a gold, silver or bronze medal.“For a relatively small school, we are able to offer a rigorous curriculum to all of our students, as well as a wide variety of educational experiences to all of our students,” said Northwestern High School Principal Aileen Yadush.“Our extracurricular programming is extensive for a school of our size and student involvement in both after-school activities as well as community organizations contributes highly to our academic successes. While educators do not choose to become educators for the accolades and positive press, I am so happy that the faculty and staff have been recognized nationally in this report for all of their hard work and dedication to our students. As for our students, we already know that they are amazing so to be able to share this news publicly about their successes makes me a very proud principal and community member.”Jim Thorpe and Pleasant Valley high schools earned bronze medal status.“We are appreciative of the hard work and determination that our students, faculty and staff put forth every day to be their best, with the result of Jim Thorpe Area High School earning the Bronze Medal from U.S. News and World Report for the third year in a row,” said Principal Thomas Lesisko.“Through the Board of Education’s supporting efforts, community members contributing their expertise and resources, and students’ families building nurturing environments, we will continue to build student success. We thank everyone for working together in helping our young people become responsible and contributing adults.”Jim Thorpe Superintendent Brian Gasper said the district is constantly looking to make adjustments based on what it feels will best fit the needs of students and help them succeed.“We continue to review our educational systems to ensure that we maintain high academic standards, an updated curriculum, and advanced technology offerings in order for our students to become well-rounded citizens in a competitive society,” Gasper said.“Of course, we attribute our JTAHS success to the many dedicated faculty, staff, administration, students and parents in our school community.”U.S. News also calculated a college readiness index based on AP and IB exam participation rates and percentages of students passing at least one exam.Northwestern Lehigh led the way in the area with a 30.7 college readiness index, followed by Panther Valley at 11.1, Jim Thorpe at 10.1, Pleasant Valley at 7.9, Lehighton at 6.4, and Palmerton at 5.5.Data for Tamaqua, Northern Lehigh and Weatherly high schools was not available.