Raleigh County ranks first in Jennings Randolph Award-winning schools in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) — West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner traveled to Raleigh County to present five high schools with the Jennings Randolph Award for Civic engagement last week.

Jennings Randolph Award-winning schools must have a student-led endeavor to register to vote at minimum 85 percent of their eligible senior class. Only thirty schools statewide have qualified to obtain this prestigious recognition for the 2023-2024 academic year.

For the current school year, Raleigh County has emerged as the leader of all 55 counties with the most Jennings Randolph Award-winning schools in the state.

Those schools receiving the honor include:

• Woodrow Wilson High School
• Shady Spring High School
• Independence High School
• Greater Beckley Christian School
• Victory Baptist Academy

Jennings Randolph Award-winning schools also give recommendations for student leaders instrumental in the voter registration effort to receive the special designation of Honorary Secretary of State (HSOS). Students selected for this honor receive special recognition during the award ceremony and the opportunity to visit the State Capitol as guests of Secretary Warner during the legislative session.

The Jennings Randolph Award, created by the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office in 1994, celebrates the legacy of the late U.S. Senator Jennings Randolph, considered “the Father of the 26th Amendment.” The Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, was passed in 1971.

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