| Pueblo County, Colorado Schools |
About Pueblo City Schools
Pueblo's first school building was a one-room adobe hut built near the Fountain River around 1862. As the population grew, additional buildings and teachers were added; in 1866 “School District One” served what was then the north side of town.
The town of South Pueblo was laid out in 1872. In the summer of 1873, “District Twenty” was organized; at that time a one-room schoolhouse was built on South Union Avenue. Additionally, the small districts 22, 43, and 45 existed briefly, but were quickly absorbed into the larger two districts.
The existence of these two school districts in Pueblo gave rise to the oldest high school football rivalry west of the Mississippi River – a game that is still played annually. Pueblo District One's new Centennial High School opened January 9, 1878 with four staff members. Across town in South Pueblo's District Twenty, Central High School opened three years later in 1881 with seven staff members. Central and Centennial met in their first football game in the fall of 1892 – the first football game most Pueblo residents had ever seen. Since then the “Bell Game” has been an annual event drawing current students, alumni and community members together at Pueblo's Dutch Clark Stadium.
Pueblo School Districts One and Twenty were consolidated into Pueblo School “District 60” on March 4, 1946. Once again in 2006 the district underwent a name change when it became “Pueblo City Schools.” As the city has grown, so has the district, which now enrolls more than 18,000 students. More than 140 years of traditions, community support and successes have helped lead Pueblo City Schools as it develops into a world-class school district.
