Board Meeting Recognitions (Nov. 13, 2023)

At the Board of School Trustees Meeting held Monday, November 13, several individuals and groups were recognized or presented.

Teachers who were recently recognized with the P-H-M Impact Awards were recognized. Everyone was present except for Penn High School’s Dr. Lee Morris. Click the teachers name below to see the growth they helped their students achieve.

• Brian Griman, College Algebra, Pre-Calculus & Trigonometry, and Calculus course at Penn High School
• Tony Krupa, 8th grade Math at Schmucker Middle School
• Melisa Bennett, 2nd grade, Moran Elementary School
• Matt Serge, 3rd grade teacher, Walt Disney Elementary School
• Kara Flanagan, 1st grade, Elsie Rogers Elementary School
• Josh Kelver, 8th grade ELA teacher, Grissom Middle School
• Lexie Banks and Erin Horvath, 5th grade co-teaching team, Mary Frank Elementary School
• Dr. Lee Morris,  9th grade Early College Biology, Penn High School

From September 15 – October 12, Dr. Thacker surprised all the teachers listed above by showing up in the classrooms to present them with the awards. All the surprise announcements are captured in this highlight video below. Click to watch …

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Heather Short, Director of Professional Development & Student Learning Dr. Lavon Dean-Null, and Director of Literacy Ryan Towner were recognized for  recently receiving the 2023-2024 Competitive Science of Reading Grant Notification from the Indiana Department of Education’s (IDOE’s) Literacy Center. P-H-M’s Learning Division applied for the grant and received full funding for $448,148! The money will be used to pay for Science of Reading tools and resources, teacher professional development, and materials from LETRS for teacher training/background knowledge.

Penn High School’s World Languages and Health and Human Services Academies gave presentations. Several students spoke about their experiences with the academy courses and how its helped them in their day-to-day lives and help them decide on future careers. One student signed part of her presentation

Penn High School Senior Bella Bauer gave a presentation on Epilepsy for Epilepsy Awareness Month. Bella suffers from Epilepsy having her first episode in 5^th grade. She now hopes to educate as many students, teachers, and members of the public on Epilepsy and what to do when someone has a seizure. She’s written a book “The ABC’s on Epilepsy.” Bella is also a member of Penn’s Dance team.