History

  • oldschool

    Surrounded by the silent testimony of history, Ponca School today symbolizes the changing culture of the Midwest over the past 100 years.  Its name echoes that of the rolling hills which enhance its rural setting.  The original one room log-built Ponca School stood on a site donated by Tomas Price in 1871.  Eight students attended the original school.

    The log-built school was destroyed by fire.  Shortly thereafter, a new school was built in which were housed ten grades in one room.  In 1890, an addition was added and in 1899, the building was sold to J.P. Brown.  That building is at present a part of the home of Roy Brown.  The original door of the school is also present in that home.

    In 1899, another one-room structure was built.  In 1903, another room was added, and as time went on, two more additions provided additional space.

    In October of 1959, the old Ponca School located on the current site of the Ponca Volunteer Fire Department on Ponca Road, became a part of the Omaha Public School system.  In 1963 the present Ponca School was built at 11300 North Post Road.

    Ponca has the smallest student population, but serves the largest geographical area in Omaha Public Schools.  With its ties to both the metropolitan Omaha area, plus the pleasures of a rural related environment, Ponca is proud to offer the amenities of a large city school.  Ponca students consistently rank near the top in the city on district and state assessments.

    The raccoon was adopted as the mascot for Ponca School many years ago due to the large number of raccoons in the area.  Walk into the school lobby, take a peek in the principal's office, look at the students' Ponca School shirts, and check out the hallways plus the walls in the library and school gym!  You will see stuffed raccoons, raccoon statues, and pictures of raccoons, both comical and realistic.  In addition to raccoons, deer, opossums, bald eagles, and hawks are just a few of the animals spotted by the students and staff at Ponca school.