Pulaski Public Schools - Pulaski PA

This two-story schoolhouse, which cost $1,500, was built in the village of Pulaski in the summer of 1876. It was located next to the Pulaski Presbyterian Church on Liberty Street. In July 1955 the newly formed Wilmington Area School District came into being and a building program was immediately initiated. A hotly-contested debate centered on whether to build a new primary school in Pulaski or New Bedford. Pulaski lost out and the New Bedford Elementary School opened, along with the modern Wilmington Area High School, in September 1958. Full Size

A class photo from the old Pulaski School, which was erected in 1876. (1919) Full Size

Students of the Pulaski School. (c1917) Full Size

In June 1958 the aging Pulaski School was closed for good and that fall about 150 local students were transported to New Wilmington for classes. It was certainly a bitter pill to swallow for Pulaski residents. The old school was bought by the neighboring Presbyterian Church and used for educational classes until it was later razed. (c1940) Full Size

Local residents continued a long and drawn-out fight to have a new school erected in Pulaski. In early 1965 it was finally authorized and property was soon acquired at the end of Shenango Street. Ground was broken on May 13, 1965, and work was generally completed by mid-February 1966. Finishing touches delayed the opening of the Pulaski Elementary School, which cost $248,000, until about six weeks later. In 1992, in an ironic twist of fate, the New Bedford Elementary School was closed during a consolidation effort – while the school in Pulaski was spared closure and remained in active use. (Apr 2012) Full Size

The second grade class from the Pulaski Elementary School in 1978-79. Full Size

(May 2014)

(May 2014)

(Apr 2012)

(Apr 2012)

In late 2016 the Wilmington Area School Board, facing a severe budget crunch, began discussing the idea of closing Pulaski Elementary School. In March 2017 the school board voted in favor of closing the school at the end the current school year. It was officially shuttered on June 30, 2017. The measure was met with resistance and sadness by Pulaski residents. Beginning in the fall of 2017 all elementary-level students from the Pulaski area started attending the New Wilmington Elementary School. The building currently sits vacant. (Aug 2013) Full Size