Pocono Mountain School District
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pocono Mountain School District | |||
 PMSD Logo |
Pocono Mountain School District (PMSD for short) is located in The Poconos of Pennsylvania, in Monroe County. The district is split in two: Pocono Mountain East and Pocono Mountain West.
Contents |
[edit] History & Facts
Before the district split in half, one high school served the entire dictrict. The first high school of the district and originally called Pocono Mountain High School, Pocono Mountain East High School is located in Swiftwater, PA, along with Swiftwater Elementary Center (SEC) and Swiftwater Intermediate School (SIS). All three schools share the same campus.
Once the district split, the West high school was built in 2002. Those who attend the West campus attend either Tobyhanna Elementary Center (TEC- Pocono Pines), Clear Run Elementary Center (CREC -Mt. Pocono), or Coolbaugh Elementary Center (CEC -Tobyhanna). Students then all come together and attend the middle school at Clear Run Intermediate School (CRIS- Mt.Pocono) across from CREC. After spending two years there, students are then moved over to the West Junior High School on the Sullivan Trail Campus, across from the West high school. The Class of '2006 was the first graduating class to attend West for the full four years.
[edit] East/West Controversy
Monroe County is between the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. Over the past thirty years, many families from these areas decided to move to the Poconos because the land was considerably cheap. Because of this, The Pocono Mountain School District has more than tripled in size since 1980. In 1999, the school board of the time considered many options to deal with the drastic and steady increase of population. Eventually, the board decided to build a new high school, Pocono Mountain West. The school opened in August 2002. However, the decision to build a new high school did not come without criticism. Many speculate the decision was made due to political reasons, not for the best interests of the students and tax payers. For example, the school district owned much of the land surrounding the Swiftwater Campus. Angry tax payers demanded to know why the current high school could not be expanded, or used as a Junior High for a larger High School. The school board declared that the septic system of the Swiftwater Campus could not handle any renovations or new buildings. However, the district is currently building a new elementary school on grounds, proving this statement to be fallacious. Furthermore, the district has never built a school more than two stories tall. Many speculated that the current East High School could not have increased height due to the area fire trucks not being able to reach above two stories. Contradicting this theory, the new Mount Airy Lodge, located in the same township as the Swiftwater Campus, is six stories tall. The builders of the West High School needed to add a new wing before the school was operational. In addition, the Senior High School only held grades 11 and 12 before the district split. Once West was built, however, grades 9-12 occupied Pocono Mountain East (which was previously Pocono Mountain Senior High School). The halls and rooms were just as crowded due to two additional grades in the building, forcing many to wonder the purpose of building Pocono Mountain West. On the day it opened, Pocono Mountain West was already over maximum student capacity, holding grades 9-12. In fall 2005, a Junior High School was built across from Pocono Mountain West High School, which holds grades 8 and 9 of the West side of the district. This made many tax payers ask "why build a school that isn't big enough to occupy its students, thus forcing tax payers to pay for another new school three years later?" Lastly, the district is not divided properly into "east and west" terms. Jackson Township, PA residents, who live on the west side of the district, go to Pocono Mountain East. Likewise, residents of Coolbaugh Township, PA, mostly located on the East side of the district, attend Pocono Mountain West. Areas of Mount Pocono bordering Tobyhanna Township, PA (where the West High School is located) attend the East High School.
[edit] Mascots
The entire district was originally home of the Cardinals. However, when it was determined that a new school would have to be built, another squad was then needed. The Cardinals still remain at the original high school, the East high school. Barrett Elementary Center, Pocono Elementary Center, and Swiftwater Elementary Center are also cardinals. PM West is home to the Panthers. The Cardinals are red and white, and the Panthers are blue and silver.
[edit] Athletics
The Pocono Mountain School District belongs to District 11 of the PIAA state divisions. Their local conference is the Mountain Valley conference. Both high schools are Quad A.
