About
The North Pocono School District is a public K-12 educational institution headquartered in Moscow, Pennsylvania, which is approximately ten miles southeast of the city of Scranton. The district serves students who reside in southern Lackawanna County and extreme southern Wayne County.
Buildings
The district currently utilizes five school buildings on three campuses.
- North Pocono High School, circa 2009 (Grades 9-12) on the Covington campus
- North Pocono Middle School, circa 1963 (Grades 6-8), North Pocono Intermediate School, circa 1968 (Grades 4-5), and Moscow Elementary Center, circa 1991 (Grades K-3) on the Moscow main campus
- Jefferson Elementary Center, circa 1979 (Grades K-3) on the Jefferson campus
The district formerly used six other buildings, all of which are now either closed, demolished, or owned/operated by other entities.
- Gouldsboro School, Gouldsboro
- Covington School, Daleville
- Elmhurst School, Elmhurst
- Jefferson School, Mount Cobb
- Henry Drinker School, Madisonville
- Academy Street School, Moscow
History
Prior to World War II, nearly every municipality in Pennsylvania was its own "school district," although some exceptionally small municipalities worked together to provide a consolidated school for their children. Most "school districts" were very small (except for those in larger cities), operated under the authority of a local school board, and took direction from a county-wide superintendent. The local schools employed very few teachers, and housed education for students at all grade levels, often in a single building (and sometimes in a single room). After World War II, with the rise of the Cold War, it was clear that the breadth and depth of education needed by all American students to keep the United States both safe and globally-competitive would need to increase dramatically. This would require more specialized teachers and higher-tech facilities. Small municipalities could not shoulder by themselves the cost of this new approach to education; as a result, the small municipalities joined together to form "joint" school boards, with each municipality providing one member of its school board to serve on the new joint school board. This is how, in the 1960's, the North Pocono School District took shape. The founding of the North Pocono School District was a joint effort of the Lackawanna County municipalities of Clifton Township, Covington Township, Elmhurst Township, Jefferson Township, Madison Township, Moscow Borough, Roaring Brook Township, Spring Brook Township, and Thornhurst Township, as well as the Wayne County municipality of Lehigh Township. To this day, the district continues to serve students who reside in these areas.
In 1963, the first building of the North Pocono School District was opened at 701 Church Street in Moscow. Originally, it served as a junior-senior high school for students in grades 7-12, with the local municipalities' existing school buildings continuing to serve elementary students. In 1968, the second building, also at 701 Church Street in Moscow, opened as a middle school to serve the younger students from the high school and some older students from the various elementary schools, thus creating more room for a growing population in all buildings.
Over the years, the small, local elementary schools faced a two-fold problem. First, they were not designed to deliver the type of education that was being demanded not only by government leaders, but also by parents. Second, as they aged, the buildings became expensive to maintain and difficult to bring into compliance with new building codes. Gradually, they were replaced by the Jefferson Elementary Center, opened in 1979, and the Moscow Elementary Center, opened in 1991. The last of the original schools to close was the Academy Street school, located in the Borough of Moscow. It closed in June 2009. That coincided with the opening of the current North Pocono High School on the Covington campus, which saw the former North Pocono High School on the Moscow main campus become North Pocono Middle School, and the former North Pocono Middle School on the Moscow main campus became North Pocono Intermediate School.
Programs
The North Pocono School District is an award-winning district with a long history of academic and extra-curricular excellence. A well-rounded education has always been a priority of the district, with emphasis placed not only on the traditional core subjects of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, but also the arts, humanities, and public service. North Pocono's employees and programs help students to achieve their potential, while also providing opportunities to find and follow their passions. From the earliest grades, students experience research-proven curricula targeted to rigorous academic standards, frequent progress monitoring, and data-driven interventions from highly-qualified teachers. The classroom experience is augmented by extra-curricular programs that include PIAA athletics, science competitions, law competitions, student government, business competitions, trade competitions, and charitable/service organizations.
Motto
The district has long held the motto, "We are North Pocono proud!" This is a statement of the reverence we have for our students, our school, our community, and the accomplishments of them all. North Pocono students accomplish great things, both before and after graduation. Our alumni go on to distinguish themselves in communities across the world in the trades, the armed forces, the sciences, the humanities, law, business, and public service.
Mascot
North Pocono athletic and extra-curricular academic teams are all represented by a fierce and noble warrior...the Trojan.
