SUCCESS VALLEY - The school bell at Citrus South Tule School rang loud and far to commemorate the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the one-room school house on Success Valley Drive in Porterville.
Today the site is a magnificent combination of historical memories and visions for the future with Porterville Unified School District's addition of S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) labs including the Future Ready Lab and Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab.
Representing PUSD were superintendent Nate Nelson, Board President Lillian Durbin and Vice President Donna Berry.
Nelson said Citrus began as a journey in 1874 as a humble school serving the south fork of the Tule River. In 1932, Citrus joined the South Tule to give birth to what we know now.
Danny Hull visited on Friday as a former student of the small Citrus South Tule schoolhouse. At 73 years old he fondly remembers the school but had to leave in 3rd grade due to environmental circumstances.
"We lived where the old Bartlett Park is, said Hull. "When they decided to build the lake obviously we had to move.
The Success Dam Project was authorized in 1944 and began in 1958. Hull attended during the mid-50s.
Hull said technically there were two room because there was a partial wall separating first, second and third from fourth, fifth and sixth grades with 25 to 30 students of different ages all placed together, Hull said he didn't think anything of it.
"You're a kid and I didn't have anything to judge it on," Hull said. "It was a nice school, teachers were great. They were more like grandmothers."
Gordon Plaisted, S.T.E.A.M. Instructor and Coach, runs the Thinkabit Lab as well as visits schools throughout the district.
"Fourth graders come up twice a year. So they come up Day 1 and they are introduced to my animatronics and my 3-D printer and all the cool stuff that's in here," Plaisted said. "Then they come back in six weeks and between that time they choose a person from history that has made a difference in society and have to research that person."
After that students have to write a script and do voice over work, where they use professional recording equipment to record their voice over. They have their voices loaded on to the computers.
"They do a full program on our animatronics and at the end of the day they get to present their final project," Plaisted said. "We mix research, we mix writing, we mix the science of robotics, mix math into. We really try to do the whole S.T.E.A.M cycle with this lab."
In the new age, Citrus South Tule is a vessel for the future.
Cynthia Brown, Director of PUSD Pathways, said. "As the Director of Pathways for Porterville Unified School District, we are honored to be a part of CST history," she said. “As you know, for the past 17 years, we have been developing and implementing our district wide system of high school, college and career pathways. We have created a unique blend of history and modern learning; all within one remarkable location.”