Pioneer District
The A Pioneer District is a high school conference in the state of Virginia that comprises high schools located west of the southern Shenandoah Valley. The Pioneer District schools compete in Region C with the schools from the A Hogoheegee District, the A Mountain Empire District, and the A Three Rivers District of the Virginia High School League.
Facts about the District
Most of the Pioneer District schools are located in the Alleghany Highlands, though it extends into the Roanoke Valley with James River and Craig County High Schools. This region is probably best known for being the home of or at least nearby five-star vacation resorts such as The Homestead and The Greenbrier, the latter which is in West Virginia.
Although the schools in the Pioneer District are very small in size, most of its members do field teams in most of the sports offered by the Virginia High School League. One notable exception to this is football, with Highland High School not participating because its school only has an enrollment of about 110 students in grades 9–12.
The largest school in the Pioneer District is James River, located in Buchanan, Virginia (with about 467 students), and the smallest is Highland, located in Monterey, Virginia. Due to its size, James River has dominated most of the district's sports in recent years, culminating with their winning of the Group A boys basketball championship in 2010.
Member schools
- Bath County High School of Hot Springs, Va - Team Name: Chargers, School Colors: Orange & Black
- Covington High School of Covington, Va - Team Name: Cougars, School Colors: Navy Blue & Gold
- Craig County High School of New Castle, Va - Team Name: Rockets, School Colors: Royal Blue & White
- Highland High School of Monterey, Va - Team Name: Rams, School Colors: Navy Blue & Yellow
- James River High School of Buchanan, Va - Team Name: Knights, School Colors: Scarlet, Black, & White
- Parry McCluer High School of Buena Vista, Va - Team Name: Fighting Blues, School Colors: Royal Blue & White