Learning With Leaming

Story by Adam Leaming, Ponca City Public Schools / Contributing Writer

I wanted to present my top ten moments from the last 2021-2022 school year. I’m nearing my first full year on the job with Ponca City Public Schools. I thought I would break down my personal milestone moments from the 21-22 school year. Number seven will shock you! Haha, I’m kidding, but now you’ll for certain read number seven.

10) Starting in my new role as Executive Director of Operations. It was a tall task stepping into a brand-new position in a large fast-moving organization. My first day I was welcomed with donuts and greeted with warm smiles, but it was instantly down to business. My first day we started with Superintendent’s cabinet and the happenings of the district. It was incredibly humbling how large the responsibility felt on day one, but I knew instantly I was back home. for what we could do with these funds to bring these incredible ideas to life. Little did I grasp the true extent of how impactful this bond would be in this position. I meet multiple times daily to plan and track these projects. At the time of publication, you can look around at most of our sites and witness some kind of improvement happening. I have come to understand first hand that behind each of these projects, is a team of professionals dedicating hundreds of hours of work to carefully plan and bring ideas to reality. To compound matters, we try and rush these projects to complete them over the summer which can create its own fair share of challenges. None of these enhancements would occur without the support and encouragement of the community we serve. Thank you, Ponca City, for continuing to reinvest in your schools.

9) Touring POHI. I had really never ventured deep into our high school. The first time I was being shown around the High School I felt lost and in awe of the vastness of the High School. I was shown ornate features of the high school and how the school has evolved in style and function over the last 100 years. I remember thinking I was transplanted to an entirely different community with its own unique names and acronyms. The Howell, Anderson, Commons, Retro, MSB, P-building have all found their way into my daily vocabulary. If you’ve never had the opportunity to take a tour of our high school, you’re missing out. It’s truly one of the gems of our community.

8) Installation of our video board and turning it on for the 1st football game. The video board was tucked into a locker room when I first started. I use the term “tucked,” very loosely. I had no idea of the scale and scope of that new scoreboard for Sullins stadiumuntil they had cranes brought in to install it. Wow! That scoreboard is definitely a prominent addition to Sullins and brought a whole new level to the spectator experience.

7) Passing the bond issue. When the bond issue passed in October, I was filled with pride for our community and was very excited 6) The flooded lawn of Howell. One beautiful January Sunday, my wife and I woke up and thought we would tackle the grocery shopping for the week very early in the morning. As we left our home and traveled on Overbrook to 5th Street, I pointed out how much water was on the road, which was odd, as at that time we were in a drought in our area. I was commenting about how sad someone was going to be that they had developed a water leak overnight. As we neared the high school and I was mentally checking off the properties that the water was not coming from, I grew more alarmed as we neared the high school. Sure enough, the front lawn of the Howell was literally underwater. There were ducks on the corner of 5th and Overbrook. We had a water line that decided to fail under the lawn and it bubbled and flowed all night long. Our Sunday plans were changed as I scrambled to get Stolhand’s to rescue the high school. Thankfully they made quick work of the leak and now I have a newfound respect for how much water can come out of a water line overnight.

Next month, I will bring you my final 5. Until then Ponca City, enjoy your summer and know that we’re working hard to improve your school district and make you proud!