Although district officials signed the contract to initiate the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program in February 2020, it was initiated in the fall and has gone “pretty well” so far, said Portage Area Elementary School Principal Jennifer Pisarski.

Students earn Portage PRIDE points whenever their positive behavior is observed by a teacher or a guidance counselor, Pisarski said. Signs posted throughout the school outline desired behavior in different settings, such as classrooms, the cafeteria, buses, the playground, restrooms, hallways, the school office, nurse’s office and during school events.

They can redeem their PRIDE points for trinkets or supplies at the school store or save their points for larger prizes, like ice cream with the principal.

“Our suspensions are down pretty significantly. Our demerits are down,” Pisarski said. “Kids seem more excited and they seem more happy and positive, like they’re really working hard to try their best and make good choices to earn those points.”

Cyber academy

Noel said the district spent nearly $600,000 for outside cyber education costs last year. In order to address a need for parents who feel their child is better served through a cyber program, the district established the Portage Area Cyber Education academy, which has about a dozen students this year, he said.

School board member Jason Corte said he’s happy the district created its own cyber academy so students can remain with the district and reduce the cost on taxpayers, but he hopes more students will choose to attend the district’s brick and mortar schools to “see the benefit of actually attending here.”

According to executive secretary Denise Moschgat, Portage Area is a great district because the teachers and staff members know each of the students on a more personal level.

“We are a small, close-knit community, and we not only know them, we also know their families. That way we can always give them the best education based on their needs,” Moschgat said.

The district also completed a bleacher restoration and locker room project last year at the Portage Area Football Stadium.

Above average

In testing standards, the district was above the state average in every academic discipline on state assessment exams at the elementary school and the junior-senior high school, Noel said.

At the elementary school, 70.4% of students placed proficient or advanced in English language arts on state assessment exams, 16.5% above state average; 65.1% place proficient or advanced in math, 24.9% above state average; and 89.8% placed proficient or advanced in science, 30.6% above state average and 6.8% above the state’s goal of where all districts should be by 2033.

At the junior-senior high school, 67.5% of students placed proficient or advanced in English language arts, 13.6% above state average; 42.2% of students placed proficient or advanced in math, 2% above state average; and 61% of students placed proficient or advanced in science, 1.8% above state average.

Pisarski said teachers are given professional development opportunities to keep up with the latest trends in education and to have an updated curriculum. She said they “pour their heart and soul” into their lessons.

“They provide enrichment and reinforcement when needed. They make sure (the students are) ready,” Pisarski said.

This year, Noel said Portage Area students will take their state assessment exams online for the first time.

“We’ve always been a paper and pencil school, so we’re going to move into that mode of state assessment delivery,” Noel said. “At some point it’s going to be required and what we’re doing is sort of a pilot this year.”

‘A holistic approach’

Other new additions to the district this year include a STEM classroom at the elementary school and an e-sports program at the junior-senior high school, Noel said, adding Portage Area takes “a very holistic approach” to create the best possible outcomes for students to succeed.

“When you do that and you create that framework and you get things working to follow the framework that you’ve established, you’re going to get the results that you want,” Noel said.

Noel said the district plans to pursue energy-based projects this year, replacing the junior-senior high school’s boilers through an escrow project and constructing a solar field behind the elementary school to save money.

The solar field is expected to save the district approximately $3.2 million in energy costs over a 30-year contract.

School board President Kathy Hough said she’s served on the board for 38 years and is passionate about providing every student with an opportunity to succeed with their education and anything else they want to take part in.

“I feel like I’m Ms. Education, and I enjoy being that lady of education,” Hough said. “As a small school district, we are as competitive as we can be, and I’m always proud of my school.”

The state of the district is strong, but there’s always room for improvements, Noel said, adding students have an “excellent opportunity” to receive a quality education at Portage Area.

“I like where our district is. I like the framework that we operate by,” Noel said. “I think we’re giving kids the opportunity to realize what it is they want to do, get on the path they need to get there and we’ll do everything in our power to help them achieve that.”