March 2025 Student Spotlights – Prattville, Autauga & Elmore County

Every month we compile a list of students doing great things across the River Region.  We have so many talented students in our area.  River Region Parents joins with their families and schools to celebrate their achievements!

The 5th grade gifted students at Pine Level have been working on coding for the past two years. Their coach is their gifted teacher, Mrs. Emily Gregory. This year they put their skills to the test in preparing and competing in their first VEX IQ robotics tournament. The students worked as a team beginning in October to decide on what robot to build for the competition. After many failed attempts and lots of frustration, one student was able to take the materials home and execute a robot. We then began learning about the Rapid Replay Game and practicing matches. The students discussed strategies to improve each week. They competed in the HYUNDAI SCORE tournament on February 6. They were able to advance to the final round and ended up placing 3rd. The team won the DESIGN Award for their notebook and interview. They were one of the youngest teams competing and persevered.

Autauga County Schools officially opened the doors of the new Prattville Kindergarten School following a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce last week. Community and business leaders celebrated the $30 million investment in education alongside current and former Autauga County Board of Education members and district leadership. Every inch of the approximately 87,000-square-foot building was designed with the district’s tiniest students in mind. The state-of-the-art school serves just over 400 students but has the capacity to hold even more! It boasts a STEM lab, gymnatorium, music room, spacious lunchroom, multiple play areas, storm shelter, and 32 classrooms equipped with the latest technology.

The Prattville Intermediate Cougar Choir delivered an unforgettable performance to a packed audience during Winter Wonderland event on December 12th. Families enjoyed an evening filled with entertainment, festive crafts, and games. It truly was a Winter Wonderland!

Congratulations to the Marbury High School varsity basketball teams for being crowned Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 5A Area 6 Champions! Nunu Jernigan and Jamar Brown were named Most Valuable Players. Justice Blackmon, Gabrielle Brown, Jacob Driver, and Jalen Hall were named to the All-Tournament teams. Coach Turner said it best when he said “Happy to be a Bulldog.”

Robotics teams from the Autauga County Technology Center and Billingsley School are headed to state after competing well in local tournaments! ACTC’s Team 13907Y qualified (joining Team 13907F from a previous win this season) along with Billingsley’s Team 72390A – a program first after the team’s inception earlier this year. In addition to qualifying for state, multiple teams earned awards for their weekend performance.
Team 72390A – Wallace State Tournament Champions
Team 13907F – Maxwell AFB Tournament Champions
Team 13907A – Design Award Winners

A group of students from the Elmore County Technical Center attended the debut of the Be Pro Be Proud Alabama semi-truck during February’s state board of education meeting. Students were able to tour inside of the trailer that includes training simulations for various in-demand jobs across the state. The truck will be available to schedule for campuses to share with students statewide starting later this year.

The Rosa Parks bus visited ECTC’s campus in February as a part of Black History Month recognition. While inside seated on the bus, students listened to the history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and impact Rosa Parks made during the Civil Rights Movement.

First year students in the Elmore County Technical Center’s Medical Sciences program worked to perfect their CPR skills in various scenarios including with infants. Each student completed their BLS certification. Through the course participants learn to promptly recognize several life-threatening emergencies, give high-quality chest compressions, deliver appropriate ventilations, and provide early use of an AED.

Students in Ms. Kemp’s 2nd grade class at Daniel Pratt Elementary School started in January working toward a huge goal: to receive a Valentine card from all 50 states! Family and friends of these students reached out to their personal contacts and took to social media to spread the word. As cards began to come in, the class found and pinpointed their origins on the map then displayed them in the classroom. By Valentines Day, these excited students had received a card from ALL 50 STATES plus 5 foreign countries!! They even received a delivery of cookies that were made in Alaska. What a fun way to bring geography and a little love to the classroom in a way these kids will never forget!

Congratulations to Billingsley School’s Alana Jones for being selected to compete in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s North-South Volleyball All-Star game! Alana is a junior Outside Hitter/DS who will compete on the South squad among top volleyball athletes across the state during the AHSAA’s All-Star Week this summer.

Congratulations to Britain Pasley, this year’s Spelling Bee Champion, who spelled her way to victory and moves on to compete at state later this semester! Autauga County Schools held its district Spelling Bee with impressive representation from Autaugaville School, Daniel Pratt Elementary School, Marbury Middle School, Pine Level Elementary, Prattville Elementary School, Prattville Intermediate School, and Prattville Junior High School! Even with tricky words, these students showcased their spelling skills and dedication to growing their vocabulary.

Culinary Arts students at the Elmore County Technical Center participated in King Arthur Baking Company’s Bake for Good program where ingredients are provided for them to prepare two loaves of bread (one to keep, one to share) and cinnamon rolls. Because of this effort, 32 loaves of bread and 25 boxes of cinnamon rolls were donated to the Elmore County Food Pantry.

During January and February, 9th grade students from all high school campuses in Elmore County Schools visited the Elmore County Technical Center to tour prior to registration for courses for next school year.

Autauga County Schools was honored to host Governor Kay Ivey, Dr Eric Mackey, the Alabama Department of Education Superintendent, and the Alabama School Board Members at Daniel Pratt Elementary School to announce Alabama’s historic gains on the NAEP, the nation’s report card. Since 2019, Alabama’s ranking in 4th grade Mathematics has increased from 52nd to 32nd (the highest ever) and Alabama’s ranking in 4th grade Reading has increased from 49th to 34th.

The 4th grade gifted class at Pine Level Elementary was able to attend a STEM Academy at Central Alabama Community College. This innovative program aims to provide hands-on learning, career exploration in STEM fields, and develop essential skills to prepare these students for future educational and career opportunities in Central Alabama. The students learned about bird adaptation and raptors in Alabama. They participated in hands on activities such as dissecting owl pellets and learning about the food chain. Thank you to CACC and Lanark for this engaging learning experience!

Autauga County Schools students celebrated the 100th day of school on January 24 – that’s 100 days of learning, growing, and making memories! The district’s elementary students enjoyed dressing up for a day of mastering math facts and deepening reading comprehension skills designed as fun activities and games.