Poland Middle school

The first school house in Poland was built in 1795. It was a log building in a clearing near the Baptist Church on what was then called Newport Street. The first school teacher was Mr. Silas Barker from Massachusetts. He was very rough in his punishment of disobedient pupils. The second school house was halfway between Swezey Hill and Poland. The third was on Cold Brook Street near Mr. Forrest's house. The next was a frame building near the third school house. The fifth was also on Cold Brook Street. The sixth and seventh were the same building. The sixth building was, at first, like the others, one room, then it was two rooms. This building was built by Slyvanus Clemens and "had a belfry with a good bell, as well as blackboards, a globe and outline maps for the teaching of geography". This building was remodeled in 1874 and again in 1878, when the seating was rearranged, a platform added and the whole building greatly improved. When this building was erected on South Main Street, there were no buildings on that side of the street from the school building to the Howe farm. The baseball ground was in the pasture where the Baptist Church now stands.

In 1902 the school became upgraded and there were four teachers - - two for elementary and two for high school. The school then was rated as a middle-high school with the privilege of completing two years of high school. The school day did not end at 4:00 P.M. and night sessions were necessary.

Full centralization took place in 1934 and the present school was opened in 1936 at a cost of $247, 000. The centralization of schools opened up opportunities for wider learning and sports not available before. Twenty-one schools were in the centralized system in 1936. They included Gray, Poland, Cold Brook, Bull Hill, Hurricane, Wilmurt Corners, Russia, Worden's Corners, North Star, Pardeeville, Shawangunk, Grant, Cave, Whitehouse, North Gage, Wilmurt, Gravesville, Ohio, Brayton's Corners, Squires and Bromley. Ten of these schools remained open at first for grades one through six. Three more schools, Walker Road, Coldwell, and Poplar Tree, were added and of the total only three, Whitehouse, North Gage and Upper Wilmurt, remained open until 1962.

Poland Central once had the longest bus run in the state. It is a total of 70 miles a day and picks up pupils from PisecoLake and the nearby area. In 1936 there were four buses for student transportation. At present there are twenty-two buses, one station wagon, and several feeder lines which cover seventeen bus routes. Close to 33, 800 transportation miles are driven each month.