Shelby Valley High School
Encyclopedia
Pike County, Kentucky
Pike County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 65,024. Its county seat is Pikeville. Pike is Kentucky's largest county in terms of land area. Pike County is the 11th largest county in Kentucky in terms of population preceded by Bullitt County and...
.Situated on 33 acres (133,546.4 m²) of flat land in the gently rolling hills of eastern Kentucky, Shelby Valley is well equipped to fulfill its mission of serving as the gateway to the future for its students. There are 597 students currently enrolled in grades 9-12. Located approximately ten miles south of Pikeville on US 23, the school receives students from three elementary schools and two middle schools. The area is rural and sparsely populated.
In 1990, school administrators realized that creating a strong tradition was one of the most vital undertakings they would encounter as they planned to open a newly consolidated school. Two schools with rich history and strong community support were about to merge and become one—Shelby Valley High School. The two schools, Dorton High School and Virgie High School, had both been in existence for several decades. Uniting the two very different student bodies would require great effort. Twenty million dollars was spent on this rural mountain community populated by generations of Appalachians, so they could have the same education advantages as students everywhere. The student body was to be made up of young men and women who held strong values and the desire to rise above the poverty that plagued so many in the region.
During its existence, the school has gone far in reaching this mission. Nearly 3,000 students have graduated and gone out into the world seeking to fulfill a wide variety of dreams. Doctors, lawyers, bankers, teachers, as well as a host of other hard working and productive citizens, have joined the American work force. The school can even boast an Air Force Academy graduate, as well as a Harvard University graduate. Shelby Valley’s success has been founded upon expectations.
History
Shelby Valley is the result of the consolidation of Virgie and Dorton High Schools.The current principal is Greg Napier, assisted by vice principal Mike Tackett.
Shelby Valley won the 2010 Boys' Sweet Sixteen tournament in Lexington, Kentucky.
Elisha Justice, of Dorton and from SVHS won Mr. Basketball in 2010. The school's logo was conceived and designed by Artist/Designer Mickey Glover in 2001.
The school song was written in the first year the school opened by Class of 1991 graduate Darren Branham.
Student activities
The school has excelled in sports of both sexes. Some sports include basketball, football, soccer, cross country, track, various academic teams, marching band and volleyball. Also there is a cheering section, the Blue Crew, which has won several awards.In 2008, the Marching Band made it to the KMEA State Finals, making it the only the second Marching Band from Pike County to earn this distinction.
In 2009, the Boy's Basketball team won the All "A" State Championship, defeating a #1 ranked Elliott County in the process. Junior Guard Elisha Justice was elected to the Herald Leader's First Team All State, Elisha was one of only 3 Juniors elected to the First Team.They also made it to the second round of the Sweet 16 before falling to the hands of Elliott Co.
In 1990 the varsity football team made KHSAA history as the first team ever to make the state playoffs in its first year of existence.Known as "The Crunch Bunch" the team finished with a 7-4 regular season record that stood for nearly ten years as the schools winningest season until it was finally bested.
In 2010, the school won the 2010 PNC Bank/KHSAA Boys Sweet Sixteen basketball championship. the first school from Pike County to win the title and also the first team in the state to win the Sweet 16 and the All "a" State Title in the same year. The next season Shelby Valley returned to the Sweet Sixteen but lost in the first round to Christian County.