MUSCLE SHOALS — Muscle Shoals High School senior Julie Corsby was overcome with emotion Wednesday as she stood among more than 120 fellow students to pray in front of her school.

The gathering of Christian students spent about 30 minutes before school around the American flag praying for their school, community, country and each other.

“It’s amazing to me that we can do this at our school and our administration allows it when schools all around the country are pushing God out,” she said, her voice breaking. “All you can say is that it’s God. All God.”

Corsby was one of more than 3,000 students at private and public schools throughout the Shoals and surrounding areas as well as southern Tennessee and northeast Mississippi participating in See You At the Pole.

See You at the Pole is a national movement that began in 1990 with a group of Texas students who gathered around their school flagpole to pray. The number of students has grown nationally each year, exceeding 2 million students since 2005.

Some numbers at area schools reached the 200 mark, according to officials with WFIX, a Christian-based radio station. WFIX kept a tally of participants through information called in to the station from participating schools. Hackleburg, in Marion County, and Vina, in Franklin County, each had 200.

Colbert County High School also reported a higher number than usual, with 155 students in attendance at the early morning gathering.

Muscle Shoals High School senior Katori Mobley started the chain of prayers Wednesday praying for his school’s administration, his city and country saying, “I just pray that our country would return to God and his values.”

The school’s principal, Brian Lindsey, said he’s been an administrator at three schools in Muscle Shoals, all of which have supported See You At The Pole.

“At all three schools this is one of the biggest events we have all year,” he said, referring to the number of participating students. “It’s great. We still live in a community that values these students’ right to gather like this. I know this principal prays over this school every single morning, and I’m pleased to see these young people out here doing the same.”

Lisa Singleton-Rickman can be reached at 256-740-5735 or lisa.singleton-rickman@TimesDaily.com.