Pocatello High School’s new look, unveiled during an open house on Dec. 13, has opened the door to a future in which the area’s most historic school truly fits and can continue to grow.

Whether it’s the high school’s new Thunder the Bison mascot, its newly completed renovation or its growing population of students, recent changes to the century-old institution have all been part of a greater effort to help shape its reputation into one that’s on par with that of its neighboring high schools.

Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees Chairman Dave Mattson, who served more than eight years on the school board, said he devoted much of his time as a trustee to advocating for Pocatello High School. Mattson’s children went to Highland High School, so he calls himself a “Highland guy” who didn’t think much about Pocatello High School until he became a trustee.

“I got on the board and all of a sudden I started feeling sorry for Pocatello High School. I really felt bad about it,” he said. “So during my eight and a half years on the board, I eventually just said, ‘These are kids, too, and we’re gonna do something to make the school better.’

“I really wanted to address the rumors going around that, you know, Pocatello High School is the poor school in the district, it’s worse to go here than the other schools and that the other high schools prosper.”

Mattson is currently serving his last term as a trustee. He ran for reelection but was defeated by a challenger in November. The board chairman said he’s happy, though, that he’s going out on a high note, having seen the Pocatello High School renovation, for which he pushed, to completion.

“If I can say anything about my career on the school board it’s that I looked after Pocatello High School. I helped change the mascot name because it was hurting kids, and we made this renovation happen in the safest, most efficient way possible,” he said. “I feel proud. These people here are good and they deserve the best and I think we’ve done that just by giving all the kids here a better school.”

Lisa Delonas, the high school’s principal, said she is grateful for the school board’s unwavering support and the trustees’ will to make necessary changes to Pocatello High School.

“I profoundly thank our school board for all the really difficult decisions they’ve made in the face of controversy and obstacles,” Delonas said. “They kept that clear vision in mind that we wanted to connect these buildings and create a common area for the kids here, and they did not waver from that goal.”

Delonas said only a few students had seen the completed renovation, but those who had seen it were in awe.

“I was asking a group of students to come help put the classroom furniture together, and as I’m walking with them, all of a sudden there’s nobody behind me,” she said. “I turn around and they’re just sort of stuck in this breezeway. They’re like, ‘Oh my god. This is amazing.’”

The principal called the renovation process, which lasted more than three years and was done in two phases, “an exciting and inspiring journey.”

“Just knowing that our kids get to sit and study and hang out with friends and eat lunch in this beautiful facility, it just makes your heart sing,” she said.

As students adjust to the new wing of the school when they’re able to access it after they return from holiday break in January, they’ll also still be adjusting to their new mascot the district adopted last year.

For Joshua Pollard, a Pocatello alumnus and the designer of the new Thunder the Bison logo that the school chose, all these changes seem to breathe new life into his high school.

“I think most importantly for the students and internally, it gives us something else to be proud of and something else to be excited about,” Pollard said. “Anytime we have something new that we can get excited about, it’s awesome. The addition is amazing. It’s absolutely beautiful. It feels like a new school.”

Hundreds of community members came to the high school on Monday evening to tour the renovated classrooms and hallways and be a part of the Pocatello Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for the project.

“This is a significant day for Pocatello High School,” said Board of Trustees Vice Chairwoman Jackie Cranor. “No matter where you are standing, from the second floor of the glass breezeway to the new courtyard outside toward the back, there are magnificent details surrounding us that are framed to draw us in so we can now appreciate the beauty of this historic icon from new angles.”

Cranor, who is also a Pocatello High School graduate, commented on the historic nature of the upgrades to the school. She said phase two of the renovation connected the two buildings on the high school’s campus for the first time in history.

“We are excited to share this historic occasion,” she said. “(These renovations) truly enrich the beauty, architecture and glory of this historic academic institution, and the vision behind this project will serve to preserve and protect Pocatello High School’s stature at the heart of historic downtown Pocatello for years to come.”