Headline:

Tagline:

Byline:

PONCA SCHOOL HISTORY

Because it was the first town in the county, Ponca had the first school.  It is District No. 1 and goes back to 1859.

Citizens of Ponca and the school district can be proud of their public school system, which is fully accredited institution of learning.  Graduates from Ponca High School receive a diploma, which certifies that he or she has finished the full course in the Ponca school and may enter a University or college in the nation.

Since their inception, Ponca School has steadily kept pace with the educational needs of the growing pioneer community.  The first school building, in which the handful of pioneer children toiled to master the three R’s, reading, ‘ritin’, and ‘rithmetic, was no doubt built of logs. It was built of subscription, the historian informs us, and stood on the north side of the present day school grounds.  Miss Mary Jones of Elk Creek, Dakota County, was the first teacher.

Six years slipped by and by then, there was a need for a better school so, in the summer of 1865, the first schoolhouse was sold and removed.

A second larger school building was erected on the same site by Reverend Hugh Bearshear, a minister of the Christian faith, who, having no full congregation, employed his talents as carpenter to supplement his income.

After the close of the Civil War, many of the discharged Union’s vets flocked westward in search of new homes and new opportunities.  Many of these men located in or near Ponca, thus increasing the town’s size. The town’s steadily increasing population with more children in school necessitated larger teaching quarters. Therefore, on April 1, 1878, at an election held in Ponca, it was voted to build a new school building at a cost of $3,000. This school house, a large two story from affair with a tower and clock was

completed in September of that year by Leech and Todd. Its main entrance faced east and there was a substantial boardwalk leading from the front door to the sidewalk and was lined with trees.

This commodious building served the town and community as a place of learning for twenty-one years.  Year by year, classes increased in size and classrooms became cramped.

It was from this schoolhouse, in May 1886, thirty years after the founding of the town, that Ponca’s first twelfth grade graduates proudly stepped forth to meet the world.  The students in first class were Mary McKinley, Mary Bigley, Ellen O’Conner and Minnie Skinner Berry.  The next year the class of 1887 had three members, Lulu Beller, George Phiello and Harry Welty.

In 1899, there were no graduates as a year of study was added to the curriculum.  In the spring and summer of that year, Ponca’s fourth schoolhouse was built.  This was a magnificent brick and stone structure with a full basement.  In the basement was located the manual training rooms, a classroom, the furnace and coal bunkers, storerooms, and toilets.  On the main floor was located the first, second, third, and fourth grades, the high schools, and a class or two. On the second floor was situated the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth grade rooms. At the end of the morning and afternoon recesses, the pupils formed by grades outside the schoolhouse doors and marched up the stairs to their various rooms.   A victrola in the lower hall furnished music. The professor’s office was located in the head of the flight of stairs in the tower below the belfry. This fine edifice was destroyed by fire on Sunday afternoon, February 11, 1917. The fire started from wet slack coal in the bunkers situated under the second grade room on the northwest portion of the building. Frozen hydrants hampered fighting the fire and the building was a total loss.

This building was replaced by the one in use now, which was built during the summer and fall of 1917. During construction, school was delayed only two weeks on account of the fire, classes were held in various buildings in Ponca. The first and second grades were quartered in the Baptist Church, the third and

fourth in the basement of the Presbyterian Church, the fifth and sixth in the basement or the Methodist Church, the seventh in the opera house, the eighth in the Masonic dining hall, and the high school in the Lutheran Church.

Classes started up in the new building on January 3, 1918. The new building had a small gymnasium where winter athletics, notably basketball could be held. Concerts and other activities were held there also.

As time went on and enrollment of tuition students gradually increased, the need for larger facilities became apparent. In September 1938, a special election was held on the question of voting bonds for a new auditorium to be built adjoining the schoolhouse.  The bond issue carried easily and that fall the school board entered into a contract with the Public Work

Administration for the erection of a modern, fireproof auditorium.  The PWA, a government agency, put up 45% of the cost of the building and the school district 55%. Construction began in March 1939, and the building was completed late in July.

The new auditorium, with a regulation basketball floor, stage, and side bleachers, was dedicated with appropriate exercises in August 1939. Ponca, after a lapse of twenty years when the opera house was discontinued about 1919, again had an adequate public meeting place.  This fine auditorium is in use throughout the year and is inestimable value to the community.

Kindergarten classes were started in   1944 with ten students enrolled.  A     hot lunch program was added in 1960 serving most students each day.

August 14, 1973, the citizens of the district approved a bond issue to build an addition consisting of a gymnasium with seating for 1,100, a stage, dressing rooms, a business classroom, a home economics classroom and a shop classroom.  This project was completed in 1974 at a cost of $295,000. The final payment on the bond was made in July 1993.

From the spring of 1886, the year the first student graduated until today, there have been over 2,500 graduates from Ponca High School.  The smallest graduating classes were in 1887 and 1894 when only three students graduated.  The largest graduating class to date numbered 48 in 1940.

Reorganization of the past years has increased the size of the district considerable.  Class 1 or rural districts which have joined entirely or in part to the Ponca District include Wellenstein #166 in 1971, West Union #23 and Jones #26R in 1975, South Creek #8 in 1976, Waterbury #C-2 and Silvercreek #19 in 1977, Woodland #4 in 1984, Martinsburg #54 in 1987, and Dakota County #6 (Willis) in 1991.

Beginning in 1989, all students from Willis were contracted to Ponca, and that facility housed lower elementary students because of crowded conditions.  When Willis joined the district in 1991, approximately $15,000,000 was added to the tax base.  As part of the agreement to join, the Ponca Board of Education increased its members from six to nine, thereby, providing representation from the Dakota County area. In January 1996, the Board voted to reduce the number back to six members to be elected at large.

In the early 1990’s the Nebraska Legislator required all residents of C 1 Nebraska school districts (K-8 schools) to affiliate with a school district affiliated with Ponca increasing not only the valuation of the Ponca School District but also added to the enrollment.

October 19, 1993, the citizens of the district approved a bond issue in the amount of $1,100,000 to build an elementary addition on the current site consisting of ten classrooms, a library, and administrative offices.  Completion date for the addition was November 1994. With the completion of this elementary addition, all students were housed in the main facility and the Willis property was sold back to the original property owner.

During the summer of 1994, an industrial technology building was constructed one block south of the school.  The previous shop area was remodeled and now is used by the instrumental band department.  Also that year, land to the west was purchased from Mr. and Mrs. Stan Leigh for use as an elementary playground.  Remodeling and renovation of the original facility is underway.  The facility is becoming ADA accessible, energy efficient, computer networked, updated to meet fire code and other regulations.

In May 1996, the school district acquired approximately eighteen acres of land from the Judie Davey family.  This land is located east of the present football field and is being used for a practice facility for football and track.

The weight room was built in the summer of 1999. It is a 40x30 (approximately) room equipped with free weights as well as aerobic machines, which include a treadmill, stationary bike and stair machine.  The patrons of Ponca

Public School are welcome to use the room and the equipment and it is open several evenings a week for the public.  The room has air conditioning so it can be utilized throughout the year.

The classroom portable was ready for occupancy in August of 2000.  This unit has two air-conditioned classrooms and is equipped with restrooms for each classroom.  It houses the fourth and fifth grades and allows for additional space in the elementary school for growth and provides space for a full-time kindergarten program.  Ponca has had an every-other day for many years.  Kindergarten students who attend everyday will be better prepared for first grade and have a better chance to be successful throughout their school careers.

In June of 2002, a facilities study committee was formed to study the current facilities and make recommendations as to future plans.  The committee felt that community members needed to visit the facilities and various groups were invited to tour the school.  Senior citizens, the Ponca Fire Department, members of the Community Club, local business people and various other individuals attended these tours.  The facilities committee recommended to the school board during the fall of 2002 that the board begin to take the necessary steps to investigate the building of a new junior-senior high school.  The committee explored possible building sites and urged to the board to begin architect interviews.  Those interviews were held during the spring of 2003.

During the 2003-2004 school years, the school board and various committees continued discussions and examinations of various factors for a new school.  Both an architectural firm and an engineering firm were hired to participate in the studies.  A public meeting was held in November of 2003 with approximately 150 attending.  In January of 2004, the school board voted to proceed with plans for a new junior-senior high school on the land owned by the Curry family.  This site was located south of Ponca and east of   Highway 12.  Detailed plans were drawn anda bond election was presented to the voters in September and was defeated.  A second vote was taken in June and it was defeated. 

The school district purchased a student management system that began operation in August of 2005.  With this system, parents log onto the district’s website on their home computers and through a secure log-in, can view their

children’s grades and assignments in each subject, their attendance and other pertinent information.  The system is very user-friendly and will become a key component in communications between parents and the teachers.

Effective June 15, 2006, the Jackson School District was dissolved and was reorganized with the Ponca School District.  This was a result of legislation by the Nebraska Unicameral which required all Class 1 school districts (those school districts that included only elementary grades) in Nebraska to reorganize with K-12 districts.

As a result of this reorganization, the teachers and staff at Jackson School became employees of the Ponca Public School District.  The three former Jackson School Board members served as an advisory board to the Ponca Superintendent and the Ponca School Board.

2006 – 2007 School Year

The 2006-07 school year saw many changes for the Ponca Public School District. Certified enrollment for the District showed a significant increase to 454 students: 63 students at Jackson; 192 students at Ponca Elementary; and 199 for Ponca Junior-Senior High School. The primary reason for this increase being that this was the first year that Jackson Elementary students were counted as part of Ponca’s certified enrollment to the state. As part of this enrollment figure, seventy-six (76) students are attending the Ponca School District under the enrollment options program. This parent choice program continues to be very positive for our district, and we are pleased to have so many families from beyond our borders entrust us with their children.

The start of the school year saw several new members to the teaching faculty for Ponca Schools. Members of the Jackson Elementary faculty were Staci Hill (Kdgn), Kristen DeWald (1^st/2^nd), Joann Hogan (3^rd/4^th), Tiffany Lamprecht (Music/PE), LuAnn Petersen (Special Education), and Justin Boeve (5^th/6^th). New faculty at Ponca were Mary Husen (2^nd), Carol Ryan (Special Education), and Troy Evans (PE). At the end of the 2005-06 school year, Phil Wineland retired as Superintendent after ten (10) years of dedicated service to the Ponca School District. William Thompson assumed the position as Superintendent, starting in July, 2006.

There were a great number of student highlights throughout the school year. Junior and senior high school activity programs enjoyed great participation and successful seasons. Athletic teams and the performing arts generated continued interest and support from the Ponca community.  In March, the Ponca boy’s basketball team won the school’s first-ever state championship defeating Oakland-Craig for the C2 state title. Ponca was also awarded the C2 Sportsmanship Trophy at the tournament, for the second year in a row.  On May 11, 2007, Ponca High School graduated thirty-four (34) seniors at the school’s 122^nd annual commencement exercises.

2007 – 2008 SCHOOL YEAR

The 2007-08 school year marks the 121^st year of consecutive education under the name of the Ponca Public School District. Serving the communities of Ponca, Jackson, Martinsburg, and Waterbury within the boundaries of the school district, two (2) centers offer educational services to students. Jackson Elementary, with grades kindergarten to 4^th grade, had an enrollment of 48 students to start the year. Ponca Elementary, grades kindergarten

to 6^th grade had an enrollment of 195 students. Ponca Junior-Senior High School, with grades 7-12, started with 199 students. A total of 442 resident and open enrolled students began the school year. This was a decline of twelve (12) students from the previous year’s initial enrollment.

On August 16, 2007, District faculty and staff reported back to work for pre-school in-service activities. Mr. Daniel Fritza, secondary science, was the only new member to the teaching faculty for the new school year.

The Ponca Public School District employees a total of seventy-two (72) people on a regular and part-time basis. In addition, ESU specialists and substitute teachers provide support and services to the children of the District. A breakdown of certified faculty and non-certified staff for the District as follows: