Both North Oconee High School and Oconee County High School have received the GreatSchools “College Success Award” for college achievement among their graduates. GreatSchools, a national nonprofit, selected Oconee County as the only county system in Northeast Georgia to have schools selected for this honor.

“We appreciate this commendation, which acknowledges the commitment – systemwide – of teachers, support staff, and leaders at all levels to prepare students for post-secondary success,” said Superintendent Jason Branch. “GreatSchools has recognized that our students achieve excellence while enrolled in our system and while in college, and we appreciate the hard work of our students and the support of their families, in addition to our faculty and staff, in reaching this level of excellence.”

This is the first type of honor to recognize not only college preparedness, but also how well graduates succeed once in college. A total of 814 public schools across the nation were selected for this honor. The award takes into account ACT and SAT scores, the percentage of graduates enrolled in college, the percentage of graduates that do not require remedial courses in college, and the percentage of graduates enrolling in college for the second year.