Vinton-Shellsburg High School has recieved recognition as a Project Lead the Way (PTLW) Distinguished School three times since 2017. For the 2020-21 school year, V-S High School was one of just 204 high schools across the U.S., and one of 2 high schools in the state to receive this honor for providing broad access to transformative learning experiences for students. Project Lead The Way is a nonprofit organization that serves millions of PreK-12 students and teachers in over 12,200 schools across the United States. 

The PLTW Distinguished School recognition honors schools committed to increasing student access, engagement, and achievement in their PLTW programs. To be eligible for the designation, Vinton-Shellsburg High School had to meet the following criteria in the 2020-21 school year: 

• Had 95 percent of students take the End-of-Course (EoC) Assessments; 
• Had 25 percent of students or more participate in PLTW courses, or of those who participated in PLTW, at least 33 percent took two or more PLTW courses;  
• Offer and had students enrolled in at least three PLTW courses;  

• Had strategies and procedures in place that support reasonably proportional representation with regard to race, ethnicity, poverty, gender and can support such claims with relevant data.