Superintendent Joe Kramer said the school has been busy with a number of physical changes to the buildings within the district.

This includes a secure buzz-in system at the middle school/high school building, which was funded by the Pocahontas Area Foundation.

“This security improvement now requires anyone visiting the building during the school day to be granted access prior to visiting,” Kramer said, “creating a safer school environment.”

That wasn’t the only upgrade focused on school safety to happen this year either.

-Submitted photo
The Pocahontas Area Middle School Mock Trial team poses for a photo. The team qualified for state, according to Superintendent Joe Kramer.

“Our district is now using SafeSchools Alert, a tip reporting system that allows students, staff and parents to submit safety concerns to our administration in four different ways,” Kramer said.

Those four was are via phone, text, email and online.

The middle school wing of the building also grew physically with the completion of an addition that added five new classrooms.

Plans for the project were approved in 2017, and Kramer said it was completed in time for the first day of the 2018-2019 school year.

Kolacia Construction, of Fort Dodge, was the general contractor for the project.

Academically, Kramer said students are performing very well. Both the elementary and middle school/high school buildings have reported more than 83 percent proficiencies in math and reading, “exceeding the state average at all levels.”

But he added the schools want to do even better than that.

“Despite the higher than state average proficiencies, the district is striving to improve this percentage as well at the rate of growth compared to other students with similar prior test scores (their academic peers),” he said.

There have also been a large number of successes in terms of student athletics, activities and academics, as well as faculty and staff pursuits.

Pocahontas Area High School was recognized in the 2018 U.S. News and World Report national rankings, earning a bronze medal.

The school’s All Star-T Preschool has also been nationally accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

The All Star-T Preschool also received its level 5 Iowa Quality Rating System Certification, which Kramer said is the highest rating QRS has.

Athletic Director Brandon Ruffridge was also recently selected as the 2019 Northwest District Middle School Athletic Director of the Year.

Kramer said other highlights include the Trendsetters — the Pocahontas Area dance team — taking home several awards at the state dance championships, middle school mock trial qualifying for state, the addition of a Dungeons and Dragons Club at the high school, and the addition of new lights and four new adjustable blackboards for the gym in the elementary school building.

Looking to the future, Kramer said there are a number of initiatives that are either being planned or being discussed.

One of them is an ongoing bleacher replacement project for baseball, softball and football.

The school might also add a new bus barn, because Kramer said there are an increasing number of district buses and there is not enough room for them.

“The board has also discussed the need for an elementary addition to incorporate the preschool within the elementary to provide greater access to services,” Kramer said.

This year has also marked the second of a whole-grade sharing agreement with the Laurens-Marathon Community School District.

Kramer said the transition “has gone very smooth this year,” and both school boards held their first joint meeting in December in Pocahontas.

During that meeting, State Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, met with the board to discuss any potential legislative priorities as well as concerns the boards had.

But according to Kramer, “neither school board voiced any concerns with the sharing agreement at this time.”

Overall, Kramer said the year has been good for the Pocahontas Area Community School District.

“Pocahontas Area has had a great year so far,” he said. “The school climate is positive and the school year feels like it is just flying by.”