Prairie du Chien marks 130 classes of graduates
By Correne Martin
The first graduating class of Prairie du Chien High School, in 1887, included five young women, all named Mary—the five Mary maids. The school’s 2017 class of senior graduates totaled 77.
This year marked 130 years of graduating classes for Prairie du Chien Schools. The average class size has been 110 to 120.
A proclamation was signed by the board of education in April 1886, after a referendum passed approving a free high school to be provided with nine different courses of study. Twenty-seven pupils were prepared to enter. The paperwork was examined and sent to the state in June 1886.
In the beginning, the city school system had four ward schools, one of which still stands: the Old Rock School, located at the intersection of Marquette Road and East Parrish Street.
The first high school actually stood on the present B.A. Kennedy grounds; it was very Victorian-looking, according to the current school board President Christine Panka. Then, in 1916, a two-story, brick building was constructed in its place, costing $92,000. The building became occupied in 1918, and the last high school class to graduate from there was in 1963.
The current high school was built in 1963, under the tenure of John C. Mulrooney, when he became district administrator after B.A. Kennedy died. It cost $775,000, according to the 1963 yearbook, and opened in September that year. Only one addition has been added since; also, within the last 10 years, the high school’s former courtyard was filled in.
“It’s interesting to look at the plans. Where the little gym is now, there was supposed to be a pool,” Panka noted. “There was supposed to be a large auditorium built then, but the Little Theatre was a compromise because the public didn’t want all of those amenities. There’s been a lot of conversations about how the Little Theatre and little gym were named.”
From 1963 until 1998, the current B.A. Kennedy building served pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students.That year, upper elementary and middle school students moved into the new Bluff View Intermediate School.
“The cornerstone was mostly completed in 1997, but they didn’t move in until ‘98,” Panka said.
Around the late 1990s/early 2000s, the middle of the B.A. Kennedy facility was knocked down and two new additions were created.
The district’s debt from the Bluff View construction was retired in the fall of 2016. That set the framework for another voter-approved referendum, allowing for the current districtwide contruction.
“The cool thing is, when you look at the construction, there’s always been this ongoing sense of progression for Prairie du Chien Schools,” Panka stated. “We’ve also been consistent over the years in that 80 percent of our budget has always been salaries and benefits. Clearly, it’s an investment in our future.”
Regardless of whether they were called Prairie Dogs or the Blackhawks, students over the years have been provided a rich and rigorous curriculum of math, science, English, history, art, foreign language, athletics and other extra-curriculars.
“Personally, I consider school infrastructure as important. Healthy vibrant schools create healthy vibrant communities, or vice versa,” Panka said, “so when you’re constantly changing with the times, I think it shows vitality.”
One of the things the Prairie du Chien School District has done to stay with the times was develop a virtual school online academy, which is a great tool for local homeschoolers who also want their children to participate in athletics and other enrichments such as physical education, band, choir, etc.
“The board realizes the schools are an integral part of the comunity. The enhancements that were approved (via 2016 referendum) are recognition that we need to have these improvements not only to continue to evolve for our students but also to enhance the quality of life for all of those in our community,” Panka added.
Looking ahead to the future, early education is one area of the district that has caused enrollment to soar, according to Panka. That happens to be one of the educational segments that grew under retiring Administrator Drew Johnson’s tenure. In addition, the online academy, K-12 foreign language offerings and the district’s fund balance have grown with his direction. In fact, the fund balance went from $100,000 to $1.8 million in his years.
“At a time when other schools were cutting, we were adding programming,” Panka said, pointing out the introduction of a trap shooting and string instrument clubs, to name a few. “It’s important to us all to recognize quality of life for our students, staff and teachers.”
Vintage pictures from the past 130 years can be found on the PdC Schools Board of Education Facebook page. Also, a video slideshow is available for viewing at https://drive.google.com/a/pdc.k12.wi.us/file/d/0B_-5T0bR06Mjck40OW9nYzE....
Any community members who might have pictures or other historic articles of interest to share with the district for display or retainment purposes are encouraged to contact the district.
