P-H-M Excellence

Superintendent Dr. Heather Short fists bumps a student

P-H-M is widely recognized as the premier school district in northern Indiana and has a reputation for excellence. When you see #PHMExcellence on our social media accounts, we’re highlighting an example of excellence. With 15 schools and nearly 11,000 students, academic excellence is taking place all across our district.

Excellence Happens Here!

“These results reflect the exceptional work of our teachers, students, and staff. We remain deeply committed to ensuring every child reaches their full potential, and this data shows that our efforts are paying off.” ~ Superintendent Dr. Heather Short

Excellence with ILEARN

With the release of Spring 2026 ILEARN scores, P-H-M is among Indiana’s top performing public school corporations:

  • P-H-M is in the Top 5%
  • P-H-M students outperformed the state average by 21.5 percentage points in English Language Arts (ELA) and 18.2 points in Math
  • Ranking of Indiana public schools that passed both ELA and Math:
    • Northpoint and Prairie Vista Elementary Schools are in the Top 10
    • Discovery Middle School is #2
  • P-H-M 8th grade ELA performance is 71%, while the state is 44%. That puts P-H-M 27 points above the state
  • P-H-M 8th grade Math scores are 24 points above the state average
  • Penn High School’s SAT pass percentage ranks #8 in the state for SAT scores–20% above the state average
  • Penn students 2025-2026 Biology ILEARN scores were 24 percentage points higher than the state average–71% Penn students passed vs. 47% at the state level
  • Among Indiana’s largest public school districts, P-H-M ranks #1 in the state for the percentage of Free and Reduced Lunch students passing both ELA and Math.

Excellence with IREAD

  • PHM’s overall Spring 2026 IREAD pass rate was 94.7%, 6 percentage points higher than this year’s statewide overall passing rate of 88.7!
  • Five P-H-M elementary schools achieved an outstanding 95% or higher passing rate, including one Title I school.
    • Prairie Vista Elementary: 98.8% pass rate
    • Horizon Elementary: 97.7% pass rate
    • Northpoint Elementary: 96.9% pass rate
    • Elsie Rogers Elementary: 96.4% pass rate (Title I school)
    • Bittersweet Elementary: 95.9% pass rate 
  • Five other P-H-M elementary schools had pass rates above the State average, with four of those scoring 90% or higher, including three of P-H-M’s Title I schools:
    • Moran Elementary: 94.8% pass rate (Title I school)
    • Walt Disney: 94.4% pass rate (Title I school)
    • Elm Road Elementary: 93.1% pass rate (Title I school)
    • Madison Elementary: 90.5% pass rate
    • Mary Frank: 88.9% pass rate 
  • Statewide, results show that 88.7% of Indiana’s third grade students demonstrated proficient reading skills on the IREAD assessment. This is an improvement of nearly 1.5 percentage points over results for the 2024-2025 school year, the second-largest single-year increase since the assessment began (click here for more information on state results in an IDOE news release).

Excellence at Penn High School

  • Penn High School’s 2025-2026 SAT pass percentage ranks #8 in the state for SAT scores–20% above the state average
  • Penn High School’s graduation rate is 97%
  • Penn High School is #1 in the State for college credentials earned. The IDOE honored Penn in Fall 2023 with the Excellence in College Readiness Award along with a $250,000 grant!

The IDOE’S Graduates Prepared to Succeed Dashboard provides student-focused data to empower Indiana’s educators & families with information on how we are preparing our students for college and career success. Click here to view P-H-M’s GPS Report Card.

Click here to see our #PHMExcellence brochure highlighting the 2025-26 School Year.

High Performing Indiana School District

The 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Schools rankings reinforce Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation’s reputation for academic excellence across all grade levels.

Northpoint Elementary and Discovery Middle School rank #2 in Indiana, Prairie Vista Elementary ranks #3, and Penn High School ranks in the Top 7% statewide and #1 in the South Bend Area.

Overall, five P-H-M elementary schools rank in the Top 10% statewide, and all three middle schools rank among the Top Third of Indiana schools.

These rankings also place four P-H-M elementary schools in Indiana’s Top 4% and eight of the district’s 15 schools in the Top 10% statewide, demonstrating a strong tradition of academic achievement from elementary school through graduation.

Indiana elementary school rankings are out of approximately 1,020 ranked  public, charter and magnet elementary schools

  • Northpoint #2 – Top 0.2%   
  • Prairie Vista #3 – Top 0.3%   
  • Horizon #36 – Top 3.5%  
  • Mary Frank #38 – Top 3.7%   
  • Bittersweet #94 – Top 9.2%   
  • Elsie Rogers #187 – Top 18.3%  
  • Moran #285 – Top 27.9%
  • Meadow’s Edge #304 – Top 29.8%
  • Walt Disney #321 – Top 31.5%
  • Elm Road #360 – Top 35.3%
  • Madison #417 – Top 40.9%

Indiana middle school rankings out of 514 ranked public, charter and magnet middle schools

  • Discovery #2 – Top 0.4%
  • Schmucker #58 – Top 11.3%
  • Grissom #170 – Top 33.1%

Indiana high school rankings out of 404 ranked public, charter, and magnet & STEM high schools

  • Penn High School #28 – Top 6.9%

IDOE Recognitions and Grants

  • P-H-M received $448,148 from the IDOE for the Competitive Science of Reading Grant! This money will provide valuable resources and tools for our teachers, thus enabling our students to achieve academic excellence. Click here to learn more.
  • The IDOE honored Penn High with the Excellence in College Readiness Award and a $250,000 grant! For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years because Penn High School ranked FIRST in the state with the highest number of students earning ICC (Indiana College Core) or AGS (Associate of General Studies) certificates earned!
  • The IDOE awarded Grissom Middle School with an Educational Excellence Award for Excellence in Academic Gains! This prestigious award comes with a grant with up to $177,000! The Excellence in Academic Gains Award recognizes an individual school that has made the most progress in improving achievement for all students. Click here to read more.

Nationally & Internationally Recognized Schools, Students and Alumni

On September 5, 2026, the district’s first-ever “Kindergarten Kickoff” was featured on NBC Nightly News.

Former Penn High School Wrestling star Sarah Hildebrandt earned a Gold Medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Women’s Wrestling (50kg); she won the Bronze in the Tokyo Olympics. Former Penn Volleyball Star Annie Drews and Team USA Volleyball won the Silver Medal as well; Annie won Gold in 2020/2021.

Fourth grade Horizon teacher Mrs. Julia Rulli’s 2023-2024 school year theme, “You Are Loved,” and her students’ Valentine’s schoolwide initiative caught the attention of NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and NBC Kids Edition. A story featuring Mrs. Rulli and her students aired on February 22, 2024. Click here to watch, scroll to 23:26.

Fall 2022, Penn High School junior Felix Zhang learned that he earned a perfect score, not missing a single question, on the college-level Advanced Placement® (AP®) Calculus AB Exam in Spring 2022—the only student in the world to do so! The media coverage of Felix’s amazing accomplishment made news around the world. He even got shout-out by Trevor Noah on “The Daily Show!” Click for more details and to see the news coverage.

Penn High School has national reputation for excellence is based on its outstanding academic, athletic and fine arts programs. Penn has been featured on national TV network news for students’ ingenuity and creativity! In October 2019, Penn students were highlighted on CBS Evening News for their work on a service learning project that resulted in building an oversized Incredible Hulk Halloween wheelchair costume for a 4-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. The interdisciplinary project brought together art/sculpture students with robotics/engineering students; the lessons taught transcended the classroom.

Award-winning Staff

  • L.A. High, 8th-grade Schmucker math teacher, named Top 3 Finalist for Indiana Teacher of the Year.
  • Penn High School Strength & Conditioning Coach Matt Cates was named 2024 National Coach of the Year by the National High School Strength Coaches Association (NHSSCA)
  • Penn High School Associate Principal Rachel Fry is a Finalist for Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) 2024 District 2 Assistant Principal of the Year.
  • In 2023, IASP chose Penn Principal Dr. Sean Galiher as 2023 District 2 High School Principal of the Year.
  • Walt Disney Principal Dr. Melinda Higginson was IASP’s District 2 Elementary Principal of the year in 2024.
  • Walt Disney Principal Ryan Towner received a 2022 Milken Educator Award for his excellence and innovation in education

College and Career Readiness

With a graduation rate of 98%, Penn High School has supports college and career readiness with its academy structure. Penn High School’s Class of 2024 earned $16 million in scholarships! The academies serve as “smaller learning communities” where students build relationships while engaged in relevant learning experiences.

Instructional Technology

We provide technology-rich learning environments, equipping teachers, students and classrooms with digital tools and resources. We are a 1:1 Technology district. A leader in the state providing devices for all 11,000 students in the District! 

  • Kindergarten students use mini iPads to practice skills and gain proficiency
  • Grades 1-5 use Chromebooks  in the classroom to access classwork and resources
  • Every student in grades 6-12,  about 6,000 students, are issued a personal Chromebook for use at school and home!

Our schools include state-of-the-art science labs, digital production/broadcast studios and high-tech engineering/design spaces. Every classroom is equipped with interactive whiteboards and digital projectors. All elementary schools are equipped with microphones for students to better hear classroom instruction.

Enrollment

Moving to the area and need to enroll your child(ren)? Click here for a one-stop source of all the information you need to register your student(s). Families who live within the district’s boundaries are welcome to go directly to the school to enroll their children at any time or, during the summer months, by coming to the Educational Services Center at 55900 Bittersweet Road, Mishawaka, IN 46545.

Outside of the P-H-M District, but interested in enrolling your child(ren)? P-H-M is the district of choice for parents of more than 1,000 out-of-district students currently attending our schools. Click here for more details on how to enroll if you are out of district.

We continue to admit non-resident students each year in accordance with Board Policy 5111. Once admitted, non-resident students who remain in good standing may continue attending at P-H-M until they graduate high school. There is no application fee or tuition expense. 

Those interested in non-resident enrollment are encouraged to review the non-resident student application process, and take note when the annual application window opens and closes, and at which grade levels openings exist. 

Triangle of Success

P-H-M’s “Triangle of Success” connecting students, teachers, parents.” It is this collaboration and relationships that has lead to our students being college and career ready.

PHM TRiangle of Success Logo