Ask someone what they love about Lawrence County and you are likely to get a laundry list of responses: the people, the natural beauty, relative location to other cities, small-town atmosphere, diversity of communities or the region’s potential.

But one that doesn’t always make the top of the list, and truly should, is its schools.

Our county is blessed to have tremendous facilities and institutions for education from childhood to “careerhood.”

The seven public school systems, coupled with St. Joseph Catholic schools, all have relatively new or renovated facilities and are constantly working to improve the education provided.

Ironton Middle and Elementary schools recently won an award for their design.

We also have tremendous assets in Ohio University Southern and Collins Career Center, as well as a close proximity to institutions like Marshall University, Shawnee State University and Ashland Community and Technical College.

Our county’s economic development officials often use our schools when working to promote the region and attract businesses. Quality schools can make the difference for business developers.

But all residents should take pride in our school systems and what they help build for our county and our entire world.

A quality education is one of the keys to success in life and our region is well positioned to offer this foundation.