History & Tradition of Our District

History & Tradition of our District

The Pulaski Community School District encompasses 176 square miles. The boundaries of the school district, as it exists today, were established when the Wisconsin State Legislature passed legislation that required all areas of the state to be a part of a high school district by July 1, 1962.

Through the efforts of Frank Joswick, the first superintendent of the Pulaski Community School District from 1935 to 1970, and members of the Board of Education in the mid-1950s to 1962, parts of or all of 28 rural elementary schools districts in the area surrounding Pulaski, joined together to form the present Pulaski Community School District. The task of persuading citizens of these rural school districts to join the school district was an awesome and time-consuming task.

HistoryJoswick and members of the Board of Education realized that it was important to have a sufficient student population and an adequate tax base to provide the students with the offerings of a comprehensive high school. They realized that the curriculum of a school district had to meet the needs of all of its students so that each individual could develop his or her "best self". This belief in providing a quality education for all of its students provided the foundation for the philosophy of the Pulaski Community School District, which is the philosophy that still exists today.

The Pulaski Grade School was established in the late 1890s. In the early 1900s, a new building was constructed for this grade school on the site of the present Glenbrook School. Additions were made to that building to create a high school along with the elementary school. Students that attended many of the one- and two-room grades 1-8 elementary schools in the area surrounding the village of Pulaski attended Pulaski High School upon completion of their elementary schooling. Some of these districts joined the Pulaski Community School District before school district reorganization was mandated by the state legislature in the 1950s.

The elementary school districts that made up the Pulaski Community School District were Advance, Angelica, Anston, Cuba, Flintville, Frank Dorn, Good Cheer, Green Valley, Hofa Park, Isaar, Krakow, Kunesh, LaFollette Grove, Laney, Lannoye, Lessor, Little Suamico, Mill Center, Morgan, North Chase, Northwestern, Polandi, Pulaski State Graded, Sobieski, South Chase, Sunnyside, Trout Creek, and Zachow.

Because of the loyalties of the citizens of the many rural school districts, not everyone wanted to become a part of the Pulaski Community School District. Thus, many of these rural school districts were split so that the parts of these school districts joined high school districts surrounding Pulaski. The school districts that received parts of these rural districts were Bonduel, Gillett, Oconto Falls, Howard-Suamico and Seymour.

Although many of the rural elementary school buildings have been torn down or demolished, there still are a number of them standing. Some have been converted into homes, while others are used for storage, or some other purpose. It is an interesting trip to tour the Pulaski Community School District and find these old school houses.

As the school district was developed and the student enrollment grew, it became necessary to construct new school buildings. The original Pulaski Grade and High School was on the site presently occupied by the Glenbrook School. The arch that stands on the north side of the present Glenbrook School is the original entrance of that building. The school was built in 1909, with additions to the building in 1924, 1939, 1942, 1951, and 1955. In 1958, a new K-8 school was built on West Green Bay Street, and that building is still part of the Glenbrook School.

With the construction of new homes throughout the district, an increase in the student population caused the Board of Education to look at sites outside of the village of Pulaski. The Board of Education adopted a policy that if there were 250 elementary children in an area, a new school would be constructed in that area to educate these children.

As a result of this policy, in 1962, Fairview School was built for a K-8 student population. Growth in the Fairview area resulted in an addition to the Fairview School in 1968. This school accommodated the student growth in the northern part of the school district.

Home construction and an increasing student population also took place in the southern part of the school district. Thus, in 1963, Lannoye School was built as a K-8 school, and an addition was constructed in 1968. Joswick guided the construction of these two schools and their additions.

Growth continued in the village of Pulaski and the surrounding area. In 1965, the K-8 elementary school built on West Green Bay Street became overcrowded, so a new K-8 elementary school was constructed on South St. Augustine Street and was named Glenbrook School. The initial construction of this building is the front part of the present Pulaski Community Middle School. An addition to this school was built in 1968. This construction was also under the supervision of Joswick.

In 1970, Joswick retired and he was succeeded by John Wigman as superintendent of schools. This was a time of rapid growth of homes, which continued to increase the student population in the Pulaski Community School District. In the next 11 years, three more schools were built.

In 1973, Hillcrest School was constructed due to the increase of the student population in the southeastern part of the school district.

As the student enrollment continued to grow, it was evident that the existing Pulaski High School could not accommodate the increasing high school enrollment. Thus, in 1975, Glenbrook School was converted to Pulaski High School with the addition of more classrooms, shop areas, an auditorium, a large gymnasium, and a swimming pool. The old high school became Glenbrook Elementary School.

In 1981, another K-8 school was needed, so Sunnyside School was built in the northeastern section of the school district. All of these new school buildings were under the supervision of Wigman.

In 1990, under the leadership of Steve Koch, superintendent of schools, an addition was constructed to the Glenbrook School. The old school was demolished and a new structure was built in its place.

As the student enrollment continued to grow, a referendum was passed in 1998 to construct a new Pulaski High School and to convert the existing Pulaski High School to the Pulaski Community Middle School. All of the K-8 schools became K-5 schools. This conversion was put in place for the beginning of the 1999-2000 school year.

In 2016, Saputo Stadium opened as Phase I of the Red Raiders Field of Dreams project. The project was paid for through donations, grants and fund-raisers. Saputo Stadium includes a football field, an asphalt track for running events and areas for field events. Soccer games can be played at Saputo. The PHS marching band uses the field to practice its half-time routine. Phase II — which includes two baseball and two softball diamonds — opened in 2021.

Today, the five elementary schools within the Pulaski Community School District are Glenbrook Elementary, Sunnyside Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, Fairview Elementary, and Lannoye Elementary. Pulaski High School and Pulaski Community Middle School continue to educate those who come from these five elementary schools.