September 19, 2016 marked the 180^th anniversary of the first school being opened in the Carlisle Area School District, the oldest district in the state. The school opened with approximately 800 students in 15 schools and just five months later the district was credited with opening the first high school library in Pennsylvania on January 28, 1837.

Kevin Wagner, Social Studies program chair for the district, said, “We picked [the 180^th anniversary to celebrate] because we knew it was a kind of way where we could connect out with the community and bring some more positive light to the district itself but also education in general because in the past couple of years we have seen some negative attitudes by the general population in terms of education and the way its done and how schools are run.”

He added that it was a way to put a positive perspective on the district and all the good that has been done in the district during its long tenure.

To honor the anniversary, there will be two main events to showcase the displays that are in the Fowler display cases and the history of the Carlisle Area School District.

On November 13, there will be an open house at the high school, in the Fowler Education Center, debuting the kick-off officially. This event will run from 1:30-3:30pm.

March 24 will be a big fundraiser for the Bison Foundation in conjunction with the Cumberland County Historical Society; it will be an exhibition displaying the history of the district, held at the Historical Society (21 N. Pitt Street, Carlisle). The exhibition will begin at 7pm.

In addition to these two events, Wagner has been doing a “Story Corps” interview process with past alumni of Carlisle High School that involves their fondest memories of the district or just stories in general that are told in five minutes or less. Those that have a story to tell and would like to be interviewed should contact Wagner at [email protected].