They were squirming inside.

"You guys came just to hear me talk, right?" teased Principal Rick Ross.

"We came to see the mayor get a pie!" someone answered.

And so he did on Friday, laughing and taking ineffective swipes at the mess dripping from his face. By the end of it all, students had smashed 10 whipped-cream "pies" into the faces of Covington Mayor Butch Callery, Ross and Michael Devers of Lexus RiverCenter, the school's business partner.

Ninth District's test scores were that good this year. Until now, no school in the Covington district had broken 70 for an overall score on the state's annual tests.

If Ninth District could do it, Ross promised, he'd take a pie for every point above 70.

"I'm thinking 72, 73," he told the crowd. "It came back 80.4. That is a 30-point jump over four years."

Ninth District is located a block from public housing, and about 60 percent of its students live at or near the poverty line.

Like the other five elementaries in Covington, it faces all the challenges of teaching children with difficult lives.

Since 2000, when Jack Moreland became superintendent and began overhauling instruction, the reading scores of the six elementaries have improved at three times the statewide rate, spokesperson Bill Weathers said.

As a district, Covington still ranks second-to-last statewide.

But Ninth District stands out, with an overall score ranking 400th out of 737 elementaries in Kentucky.

"The teachers worked hard to teach us more," said Autumn Hall, 10. "For writing, we went to school on Saturday."

Besides the extra tutoring, Ninth District follows a reading program known as direct instruction. Students are divided by ability into 32 small groups. They read aloud together, following instructions from the teacher. They are tested often and moved to other groups as skill levels change.

The idea is to ensure that all children feel successful in their groups, teacher Sheila Yeary said.

Before taking his pies Friday, the mayor led the children in reciting the school's motto.

"We succeed!" they shouted in unison. "No exceptions. No excuses."

E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com