Verbena High School was honored by U.S. News and World Report in its most recent rankings of the “Best High Schools in Alabama.”

Verbena received the Bronze Medal, meaning it met a national standard of excellence.

VHS was the only Chilton County school to receive the recognition, and did so for the second consecutive year.

“It’s really good for our students and our faculty that we’ve made that accomplishment two years running,” Verbena Principal Carla White said. “We’re striving for excellence here at Verbena, and it’s showing in what we’re doing.”

The Bronze Medal was awarded based on overall student performance on state exams and the proficiency on state exams among typically underperforming subgroups.

According to the rankings, Verbena scored 62.2 on the State Test Performance Index, and had 30.4 percent of disadvantaged students at the proficient level compared to 46.7 percent of non-disadvantaged students.

Below is how other county high schools fared in the categories used to determine the Bronze Medal winners:

•Chilton County High School scored 69.1 on the State Test Performance Index and had 27.8 percent of disadvantaged students who are proficient compared to 48.1 percent of non-disadvantaged students.

•Isabella: 59.3, N/A, N/A

•Jemison: 54.8, 23.4 percent, 37.6 percent

•Maplesville: 53.3, 27.4 percent, 30.2 percent

•Thorsby: 46.8, 18.9 percent, 34.6 percent