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Pineville Superintendent Russell Thompson celebrates with the PHS student body after announcing they were the 2nd highest rated high school according to their KSA cumulative rating. (Photo courtesy Jon North)

Superintendent Russell Thompson speaks to an assembly of students during the school's celebration on October 4. (Photos by Jay Compton)

Amon Couch, the executive director for PRI, was the special guest speaker at Friday's assembly.

The school provided free cookies, decorated with an A+ to hand out to every student for Friday's celebration of reaching attendance goals and doing well on KSA scores.

The school provided free cookies, decorated with an A+ to hand out to every student for Friday's celebration of reaching attendance goals and doing well on KSA scores.

The Mountain Lion mascot gets the students excited for Friday's volleyball game.

Senior Kamryn Biliter wins a point at the net during the Lady Lions' win over Berea.

Senior Ava Arnett goes up for a spike during Friday's special daytime volleyball match against Berea.

Pineville Independent School held a celebration on Friday, October 4, for surpassing their attendance goal of 94% for the year as well as their outstanding performance on the Kentucky Assessment scores.

Pineville High School posted the second highest overall rating in the state and reached Level 5 or Blue, the highest level possible. The Middle School improved to a Level 4 or Green and showed significant increases in Reading and Math scores as well as improvement in Science, Social Studies and Writing. The Elementary improved to a Level 3 or Yellow with increased scores across the board.

The celebration included a home volleyball game against Berea at 1 p.m. with free cookies and drinks for all the students.

“I appreciate everyone being here. It’s exciting, exciting times here at Pineville. I could not be prouder of you all, our student body, our staff, our teachers. I cannot say it enough, you all are amazing!” Superintendent Russell Thompson said to the assembly in the Lions’ Den gymnasium.

He then introduced special guest speaker Amon Couch.

“He’s worked with the Kentucky Department of Education, he’s served as the superintendent of the Clay County School District and the Williamsburg Independent School District, he is currently the executive director of Partners for Rural Impact (PRI) that serves 70,000 kids in the Appalachian area,” Thompson said. “Let’s give a warm welcome to our good friend Amon Couch.”

Couch opened by congratulating the school for their achievements.

“I want to tell you how proud I am of you for these incredible test scores that just came out. What you’re doing is you’re showing the rest of the state what it means to be a Pineville Mountain Lion,” he said. “One of the things I’d like to highlight is that there is a direct connection between the work you’ve done in the classroom and your attendance. If you’re not in school you cannot perform to the levels that you all proved to the rest of the state are possible. So congratulations on this 94% attendance rate, too.”

Couch also spoke to the assembly about the importance of showing up for school and what developing good habits can mean for living a successful life.

“By coming to school, by working hard, by keeping a good attitude, by listening to your parents and listening to your teachers you can live a life that is big, that is large. Because here being a Pineville Mountain Lion, it means a lot. That’s what you’re proving to the rest of the state, that it’s a really big deal to wear that maroon,” he said. “Being successful in life is not connected to how big a house you live in, how fancy a car you drive or how much money is in your bank account. Being successful means using the gifts and the talents that God has given you to make the world a better place.

“Here at Pineville you understand that. You understand that it means something to this world when you take that Mountain Lion spirit to the rest of the world and say ‘The world is a better place because there is a Mountain Lion in it.’”

Thompson then closed out the speaking and turned the court over the volleyball teams.

“I think he hit on it. Here at Pineville Independent School it really does just mean more, doesn’t it?” he said. “You all should be proud to be a Mountain Lion.”

The Lady Lions then rallied for three sets to one win over Berea to improve to 19-10 on the season.

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