Penn-Harris-Madison is pleased to be able to offer enrollment to non-resident students on a limited basis for the 2026-27 school year.

Families living in neighboring school districts interested in having their elementary children attend a P-H-M elementary school can apply for that opportunity.

The window to apply for available non-resident seats will open Monday, March 2, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. and close on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. 

On March 2 at 8:30 a.m., P-H-M will post the schools, grades and number of seats available for the upcoming school year. Families must complete an online application between March 2 – 20.

The NRS application will be posted on www.phmschools.org/non-resident-student-enrollment/ on Monday, March 2, 2026 at 8:30 a.m.

There is no first-come, first-served advantage. 

At the Monday, November 10, 2025, Board of School Trustees meeting, the Penn-Harris-Madison Board formally approved the 2025–26 teachers’ agreement between the district and the P-H-M Teachers Association. Click here to review it.

“P-H-M is a premier, high-performing school district because of our educators and the academic excellence they provide,” said Superintendent Dr. Heather Short. “This agreement reflects our continued commitment to attract and retain the best teachers for our students and to invest in the people who make our schools thrive.”

Developed through a collaborative process between P-H-M Administration and the P-H-M Teachers Association, the agreement provides an overall base salary increase of approximately 3.45% for teachers. 

The starting salary for new teachers will now be $50,000 (up from $48,370), with the maximum salary increasing to $86,777 (up from $84,204). The salary adjustments are retroactive to July 1, 2025, and extend through June 30, 2026.

Additional highlights of the agreement include:

• A one-time $650 stipend for eligible teachers rated Effective or Highly Effective who served at least 120 school days during the 2024–25 school year.
• A 2% increase in stipends for teachers who coach or lead extracurricular activities, retroactive to the start of the school year.
• A $250 base salary increase for teachers who have earned their Early Literacy Endorsement.

The Board also approved a 3.45% pay increase for classified and administrative employee work groups. 

Employee contributions for the medical insurance premiums will increase a marginal 3%. PHM is moving from a 2-tier to a 4-tier medical plan through our current carrier Anthem. P-H-M will join Anthem’s HealthSync network, offering additional savings to members. The corporation will also provide matching funds for those who choose health insurance Plan “C” in the amount of $600 for Single and $1,200 for the other tiers.

P-H-M’s newest School Trustee Jen Smoker was sworn in Saturday, November 8, 2025 by Board Attorney Jon Rogers.

School Board President Chris Riley and Mrs. Smoker’s family were on hand.

Prior family commitments on November 10th prevent Mrs. Smoker from being sworn in Monday night during the regularly scheduled Board of School Trustees meeting. Mrs. Smoker’s first Board meeting will be Monday, December 8th.

The Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees voted unanimously this morning to appoint Mrs. Jennifer (Jen) Smoker to fill the Penn Township Seat #1 vacancy created by the resignation of Matthew Chaffee in early October. 

A long-time resident and active community volunteer, Mrs. Smoker is a dedicated P-H-M parent of four children attending district schools. Her service and advocacy for students and staff have been felt across the district and throughout the greater community.

Mrs. Smoker currently serves on the P-H-M Education Foundation (PHMEF) Board of Directors, where she has chaired the Grants Committee since 2019. In that role, she helps oversee the process of awarding teacher and school grants that enhance learning, spark innovation, and promote excellence in all 15 P-H-M schools. She also supports PHMEF’s fundraising events and community partnerships that benefit students across the district.

Beyond her PHMEF service, Mrs. Smoker is deeply involved in several community organizations. She serves on the Board of Directors for Granger Community Church, where she helps guide strategic planning and budget oversight; chairs the Grissom Middle School PTO Scholarship Committee, which awards scholarships to Penn High School seniors; and previously served as Board Secretary for Jr. Irish Soccer Club and Development Chair for Girls on the Run Michiana. Through these roles, she has combined her love of youth development, leadership, and service—supporting programs that build character, confidence, and connection.

Professionally, Mrs. Smoker brings two decades of business leadership and creative experience. A graduate of Miami University’s Farmer School of Business, she began her career as an Account Executive for major advertising firms in Detroit and Chicago, managing national brands such as Lincoln/Mercury and Quaker Oats. In 2003, she founded and operated CardCare.com, an online greeting card company she successfully led for 20 years.

“Mrs. Smoker’s commitment to servant leadership and her deep connection to our schools make her an outstanding addition to the Board,” said Board President Christopher Riley. “She has demonstrated her heart for P-H-M through years of volunteerism and community involvement and will bring a strong parent perspective to the table.”

Superintendent Dr. Heather Short added, “Jen’s energy, insight, and collaborative leadership reflect the very best of P-H-M’s Triangle of Success—students, teachers, and parents working together. Her service to our schools and community exemplifies P-H-M Excellence.”

Arrangements will be made with the P-H-M Board Attorney for Mrs. Smoker to take her Oath of Office. She will serve through the remainder of the current term, which expires in 2026. She may choose to run for election to the ensuing four-year term in the November 2026 general election.

Mrs. Smoker was chosen from five applicants. The other four candidates were John “Todd” Douthit, Brandon M. Kastner, William “Matt” Ludwig, and Ryan C. Woodruff (click here for their resumes). Public interviews of these applicants took place during a special board meeting held Tuesday, October 28th. President Riley said the decision to fill the vacancy was a difficult one, as all five candidates would have been excellent choices.

Click here for the process the Board of School Trustees followed for filling the vacancies.

Penn-Harris-Madison Superintendent Dr. Heather Short and district administration presented the tentative teachers’ agreement to the Board of School Trustees during a Special Board Meeting on Monday, November 3, 2025. The meeting provided Board members an opportunity to discuss the tentative agreement and allowed the public to review and comment.

“P-H-M is a premier, high-performing school district because of our educators and the academic excellence they provide,” said Dr. Short. “We want to continue attracting and retaining the best teachers for our students, and this agreement demonstrates our commitment to our staff.”

The tentative agreement, developed through a collaborative effort between P-H-M Administration and the P-H-M Teachers Association, includes an overall base salary increase for teachers of approximately 3.45%.

The starting salary for new teachers will increase to $50,000 (up from $48,370), and the maximum salary will rise to $86,777 (up from $84,204). The School Board will officially approve the agreement at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, November 10.

Salary increases will be retroactive to July 1, 2025, and will extend through June 30, 2026.

Other highlights of the tentative agreement include:

• A one-time $650 stipend for eligible teachers who were rated Effective or Highly Effective and served at least 120 school days during the 2024–25 school year.
• A 2% increase in stipends for teachers who coach or lead extracurricular activities, retroactive to the start of the school year.
• A $250 base salary increase for teachers who have earned their Early Literacy Endorsement.

Director of Human Resources Bob Thompson also shared details on updates to P-H-M’s health insurance. Employee contributions for medical premiums will increase by a modest 3%. The district is also transitioning from a two-tier to a four-tier medical plan through its current carrier, Anthem, and joining Anthem’s HealthSync network—providing employees with additional cost-saving opportunities when using participating providers.

Again the P-H-M Board of School Trustees will officially vote on the teachers’ agreement, other employee group contracts, and the updated health insurance package at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, November 10.

U.S. News and World Report released its “Best Schools” rankings for public K-8 and high schools.

They ranked the best public elementary schools by state. For Indiana, 989 elementary schools were ranked and 483 middle schools.

Data is based on the 2021–2022, 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years.

All of P-H-M’s elementary schools are ranked among Indiana’s “Best Elementary Schools”:

• Northpoint #1
• Prairie Vista #2
• Horizon #37
• Mary Frank #39
• Bittersweet #94
• Elm Road #172
• Moran #175
• Elsie Rogers #297
• Madison #273
• Meadow’s Edge #370
• Walt Disney #385

Two of P-H-M’s middle schools were also recognized:

• Discovery #3
• Schmucker #53

Indiana’s 395 Indiana public high schools were also ranked, and Penn ranked #26.

The U.S. News & World Report analyzed 103,391 pre-K, elementary and middle schools nationwide for their rankings. The rankings use the same methodology for all included grade levels. For each state, schools were assessed on their shares of students who were proficient or above proficient in their mathematics and reading/language arts state assessments. Half of the formula assessed the scores themselves and the other half incorporated the test results in the context of socioeconomic demographics. In other words, the top-ranked schools are all high-achieving and have succeeded at educating all their students. Click here for more information on the methodology.

The highest ranked U.S. public schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best High Schools rankings are those whose students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores on an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions. They reviewed data on 17,901 public high schools. Click here for more background information on their ranking system.

*Update* – This event has been moved from September 18th to Friday, September 19th

ESS hires substitute teachers and aides, along with Exceptional Education Assistant positions.

Can’t make it to one of the Hiring Events listed above. Click here to apply today. Be sure to enter Penn-Harris-Madison in the search box.

Pre-sale tickets for the Mishawaka at Penn Football game are on sale now!

🗓️Friday, Aug. 29

🏈Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

📍Penn’s Everwise/Freed Field

🍔🌭Come early (5:00 – 6:30 p.m.) and enjoy a budget, family friendly meal at the Community Tailgate. Click for more details.

Tickets can be purchased at Penn High School and Mishawaka High School.

If purchasing in person at Penn, enter Door A, which is located on the west side of the building. Upon entering, ask for the Athletic Office. Tickets can be purchased daily from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. until Thursday, Aug. 28. Tickets can be purchased on game day from 9 a.m.- Noon in the Athletic Office.

Tickets are $6 until game day. Game day tickets are $7. These are CASH ONLY transactions!

Click here to purchase tickets online.

Students and Patrons please the graphic below to be aware of the items prohibited from bringing into the Stadium.

P-H-M’s Annual Community Tailgate is a long-standing tradition that brings families, students, staff, and community members together to show their Penn pride. The event is held before the Penn Football home opener and is a chance for everyone across the district to connect, celebrate, and support the Kingsmen.

This year’s home opener will be “The Backyard Brawl” against Mishawaka on Friday, August 29th, 2025. Click here for game ticket info.

Gates open at 5:00 p.m. You must have a ticket to the football game to enter. Once inside the stadium head down to the white tents in the south end zone at the Yeoman Family Plaza.

Friday night marks the 67th meeting between Penn and Mishawaka. Penn leads the all-time series 49-16-1.