Monday, January 9, 2023 was the first Penn-Harris-Madison School Board of Trustees Meeting of the new year and following the November 2022 elections.

Former P-H-M Trustee, now Superior Court Judge Jamie Woods swore in new board members Matt Chaffee (Seat 1 – Penn Twp.) and Dana Sullivan (Seat 7 – At Large), along with existing and re-elected members Chris Riley (Seat 6 – Harris Twp.) and Larry Beehler (Seat 5 – Madison Twp.). To see the names of the full Board and their terms, please click here.

The new Trustees were then recognized with their families.

The election of new officers of the Board also took place. In a 5-1 vote, Chris Riley was re-elected President, Ryan McCullough was elected Vice President, and Clare Roach was elected Secretary. Board Member Jim Garrett was not present at the meeting.

Penn-Harris-Madison schools are focused on continuous academic improvement that results in academic success for all students.

Standardized testing, or summative assessment, is one measure of academic success, but it is not the only measure.

In pursuit of providing more comprehensive analysis and to expand upon the data provided by state standardized tests, the Indiana Department of Education publicly launched this week (Tuesday, December 13, 2022) the first iteration of the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard, or Indiana GPS (click here to view the State Indiana profile).

The description of the Indiana GPS dashboard on the IDOE website states “Together, our mission is to empower Indiana’s educators, families, communities, and employers with a learner-centered, future-focused dashboard that displays how our students are building the necessary knowledge and skills—in all grades and in all schools— through the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard, or Indiana GPS.”

The IDOE’s goal is to support Indiana’s goal to educate and graduate Hoosier students who can compete in the global economy. P-H-M supports this goal. Students whether they are going on into higher education, directly into the workforce or enlisting in our nation’s military must be prepared to be successful in life beyond high school. Strong and valuable education of today’s youth results in a knowledgeable and skilled adult Indiana workforce for tomorrow.

A student’s access to early education is an essential first step in their academic and overall development. Measuring kindergarten readiness, as well as a student’s PreK-2 literacy progress can provide key indicators of future success across the K-12 continuum.

We know that effective literacy skills play a vital role in helping students gain a deeper understanding of the world, explore topics in-depth, and seek credible information. At Penn-Harris-Madison, we have a well-articulated approach to teaching literacy based on the five critical pillars: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

All of these components woven together help create a skilled reader. Our daily literacy block incorporates whole-group instruction, small-group (leveled) instruction, explicit phonics instruction, and vocabulary building. 

Our teachers have been trained in order to deliver high-quality instruction that is supported through curriculum resources to meet the needs of all learners. Teachers are in regular contact with parents regarding their student’s progress and instructional goals.

At the elementary level, a couple of the indicators the GPS dashboard measures are early literacy and math growth. See some of P-H-M’s highlights are below; click here to view the full P-H-M GPS profile.

Early Literacy Measures

• Percentage of PHM 3rd graders showing proficiency on IREAD-3: 88.3%
  • • State Goal: 95% by 2027
    • Current State Status: 81.6%, 1 out of every 5 third graders in Indiana is not proficient in key literacy skills

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? 
Students who pass the IREAD-3 assessment by grade three are roughly 35% more likely to graduate high school (as referenced on the GPS information webpage).

Math Growth

• Percentage of PHM 6th graders meeting their individual growth targets on the math ILEARN: 41.9%
  • State Goal: 45.8% by 2030
  • Current State Status: 34.1% of Indiana sixth graders are meeting their math growth goals

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Early mathematics instruction focuses on concrete concepts before transitioning to more complex ideas after grade six. Students who are meeting growth goals at this critical juncture have a leg up on future math and science learning.

Graduation Pathways Completion

While still in its first iteration, the goal of the GPS is to examine Indiana high school’s graduation and post-graduation data with the goal to ultimately measure long-term success of each Hoosier.
 

• Percentage of Penn Students who complete graduation requirements: 97.3%
  • State Goal: 95% by 2030
  • Current State Status: 86.4% of Indiana students complete their graduation requirements

• Percentage of Penn Seniors who completed advanced coursework (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Dual Credit) during high school: 75.4%
  • Current State Status: 59.5% of Indiana students complete advanced coursework

• Percentage of Penn Seniors earning Indiana Diplomas above a General designation (Core 40 or higher): 98.3%
  • Current State Status: 90.1% of Indiana students earn Core 40 diplomas or higher

• Percentage of Penn Seniors earning high quality college and career credentials: 11.3%.
  Members of the Class of 2021 who earned either an Indiana College Core (ICC) or an Associates Degree was 11.3%–the graduates who completed one or two years of college were members of Penn’s Early College Academy. In 2021, Penn High School ranked FIRST in the state with the highest number of students earning the Indiana College Core (ICC)! Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, non-Early College students will also be able to pursue an ICC Certificate.
  • State Goal: 60% by 2030
  • Current State Status: 5% of Indiana students earn a college or career credential before graduation, opening doors of future opportunity

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Increased education levels are positively correlated to labor participation, wages, and overall net worth.

COMING SOON:

The second iteration of the Indiana GPS dashboard – which will display all local data, including longitudinal and disaggregated data – is coming soon. Later in 2023, schools will be able to use the dashboard to view authenticated student-level data (not available to the public). 

• PreK-Grade 2 Literacy – Percentage of PreK-Grade 2 students demonstrating progress in essential early reading skills from one year to the next.
• Kindergarten Readiness – Percentage of students demonstrating the skills necessary to be considered ready to start kindergarten.
• Employment & Enrollment – Percentage of high school graduates employed or enrolled 1 year after their expected graduation year. Goal TBD.

Click here to learn more about the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed dashboard.

Click here to view the full P-H-M GPS profile (scroll to the bottom of the webpage to find links to all 15 P-H-M schools–11 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and Penn High School).

Board President Mr. Chris Riley recognized outgoing P-H-M Board of School Trustees Members Mrs. Angie Gates and Mr. James Turnwald. Both Gates and Turnwald were honored with a proclamation and a plaque recognizing their years of service.

Mrs. Angie Gates has honorably served on the Board for six years. She was appointed to fill the Harris Township seat vacancy in March 2016 and was re-elected in 2018. Mrs. Gates has held a couple of officer positions on the Board: Secretary 2018 and 2021; Vice President in 2022. Mrs. Gates also served as the Board’s Legislative Liason and Delegate for the Indiana School Board Association.

As a gift to Penn-Harris-Madison, Angie and her husband Joel Gates donated $6,000 to P-H-M’s Exceptional Education Department to help serve our students with special needs.

Mr. James Turnwald has served one year as a P-H-M Board Trustee. He was appointed to the Board December 2021 to fill one of the two Penn Township Board seats vacancies.

Mr. Turnwald was contested by Mr. Matthew Chaffee for the Penn seat in the November 2022 election and was not re-elected. Mr. Chaffee along with Mrs. Dana Sullivan (At-Large) will be sworn in as the newest P-H-M Board of School Trustees at the January 9, 2023 Board meeting.

Penn High School is thrilled to learn that once again Penn students have been named Lilly Endowment Community Scholars.

The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County announced today the names of four students who have been offered the 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for St. Joseph County. The two Penn students are Zichu Wang and Allison Yu. The other two students who have been offered the scholarship are Jennifer Leon of Washington High School and Cooper VanDriessche of Riley High School. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are chosen based on community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership. Click to read the release on the Community Foundation’s website.

Zichu Wang and Allison Yu are both seniors. Both attended Northpoint Elementary School and Discovery Middle School. In October, both Wang and Yu were also awarded National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist Designation, one of the largest groups ever to achieve the coveted academic status at Penn. Last December as juniors, Wang and Yu were named Rising Stars of Indiana by the Indiana Association of School Principals’ Department of Student Programs. As far as extracurricular and co-circular activities,  Wang plays on the Tennis Team and Yu is on the Model UN Team and is a Freshman Mentor.

Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network (LSN), which connects scholars with resources and opportunities to be active leaders on their campuses and in their communities. Both the scholarship program and LSN are supported by grants from Lilly Endowment to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI).

Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-1999 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling in excess of$486 million. More than 5,000 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception. 

In St. Joseph County since the Community Foundation began administering the Lilly Scholarship in 1998, 33 Penn Scholars have been named accounting for 25% of the total number of Scholars! Last year Penn had four Penn seniors named Lilly Scholars (click to read that story).

Upon learning that once again Penn High School students were selected as Lilly Scholars, Principal Sean Galiher said “We are extremely proud of Zichu and Allison for their academic dedication and scholastic achievements of being named recipients of this prestigious Indiana scholarship. When our students receive recognition of this kind, it is affirmation that Penn High School is delivering on our commitment to provide academic excellence, a wide range of choices for college and career pathways, and opportunities for a variety of student activities that facilitate community involvement and service.”

Awards in St. Joseph County are based on academic excellence, leadership, community service, written essays, personal recommendations, under-representation, and whether the student is the first generation of her/his family to attend college. The Community Foundation received 90 applications from 11 schools, and submitted final nominees to the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, ICI, for the selection of scholarship recipients.

The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are: 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state.

More about the Lilly Endowment

Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company to establish the Lilly Endowment. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. However, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.

Since 1997, Independent Colleges of Indiana has administered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program statewide with funding provided by Lilly Endowment. Founded in 1948, ICI serves as the collective voice for the state’s 29 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ over 22,000 Hoosiers and generate a total local economic impact of over $5 billion annually. Students at ICI colleges have Indiana’s highest four-year, on-time graduation rates, and ICI institutions produce 30 percent of Indiana’s bachelor’s degrees while enrolling 20 percent of its undergraduates.

Interested in attending, please click here to sign up!

Are you a current education major with anticipated graduation in Winter 2022 or Spring 2023? P-H-M is looking for bright, fun and engaged soon-to-be certified teachers to join the P-H-M Family. 

Penn-Harris-Madison prides itself on being one of Indiana’s top academic leaders. At P-H-M our “Triangle of Success,” connects students, teachers and parents bringing about what we call #PHMExcellence (click to read and learn more).

At P-H-M you’ll be joining a family where you are not only supported with year round new teacher professional development, but also continuous mentorship.

P-H-M offers P-H-M has excellent salary—one of the highest starting salaries in the area—along with comprehensive benefit packages, including medical, dental and vision. Click Here for more about WHY you should join the P-H-M family!

At the P-H-M Teacher Job Fair, every candidate is GUARANTEED one face-to-face interview with a P-H-M administrator. 

Interested in attending, please click here to sign up!

It’s important to have both an application & resume on file with P-H-M. Please submit an online application prior to the Job Fair. If you do not have an updated online application on file with P-H-M Schools, a hardcopy of your resume is recommended, but not required.

Questions? Please contact PHMhumanresourcesinfo@phm.k12.in.us

ESS recruits and hires people interested in substituting at P-H-M for the following positions: 

• Teachers

• Educational Assistants

• Teacher’s Aides

Please click here to visit the ESS website, and be sure to type in Penn-Harris-Madison as the location. 

Tonight, Monday, November 14, the P-H-M Board of School Trustees approved 7% increases for the district’s hourly and salary employees. This comes after the Board unanimously voted at the October 10 meeting to approve an overall 7% increase to P-H-M teachers’ base salaries (click here to read more).

Annually, P-H-M Administration works with the teachers’ association to negotiate and finalize teachers’ contracts first before negotiating contracts for the other employee groups. P-H-M employs nearly 1,500 employees. Contracts for the following employee groups were approved at this evening’s meeting: Custodians, ESP, Exceptional Education Professionals, Food Service, Kids Club, Service Technicians and Maintenance, Food Distributors, and Administrators. P-H-M Bus Operators are in the second year of a two-year agreement, thus this group’s pay raise for 2023 was negotiated last year. 

P-H-M Administration and the Board of School Trustees mindful that Exceptional Educational Assistants are some of the hardest positions to fill and retain are providing this group the opportunity to be eligible for benefits. EAs work with students with special needs. In order to reward and retain these employees, they will now be able to increase their hours from 29 to 32.5, thus making them eligible for medical, vision, and dental benefits. 

Other notable increases for other groups include increasing the annual clothing allowance for Service Technicians and Maintenance employees from o115 to $325.

All personnel currently eligible for the insurance program will see a five percent (5%) increase to their contribution levels. A vision plan for all P-H-M employees has also been added.

What would make more than 200 elementary students and dozens of Penn High School students show up at school on a Saturday? It would have to be something pretty cool, and there’s no doubt that P-H-M’s new  “Short Circuits” Sphero is cool! Click here to see the full photo gallery below.

Teams of third graders from all 11 P-H-M elementary schools and their Penn Robotics Team 135 coaches/mentors were excited to show off what they had learned about coding, programming, and robotics to their parents, grandparents and family members. 

The idea for Short Circuits came about from a discussion between longtime, now retired, Penn Robotics Team 135 Coach Jim Langfeldt and P-H-M Education Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom.

Current Team 135 Teacher Coach Kyle Marsh worked with Michael Niemier — a Professor in Computer Science and Engineering at Notre Dame — under the umbrella of his National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) grant, which funded Mr. Marsh’s summer work to write the Short Circuits coding program. Co-developer and former P-H-M teacher Jim Langfeldt has also participated in Niemier’s RET program.

During the 4-week after school practices, the Penn students have coached and mentored 3rd grade teams at all 11 elementary schools; one or two teachers at each elementary school are also involved helping to oversee the students.

During Saturday’s celebration, the 3rd grade students will demonstrate for their parents and family members what they’ve learned, including programming the Sphero robots to maneuver through the Penn Robotics student built obstacle course.

Short Circuits is sponsored by P-H-M Education Foundation. Former longtime PHM Board Member Gary Fox, and his wife Tammy, generously committed to a $20,000 donation over four years to sponsor the program. $30,000 was raised at the PHMEF 25th Anniversary Gala to pay for Sphero kits for all the elementary schools.

Penn High School Principal Sean Galiher announced that 15 Penn High School students have been awarded National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist Designation, one of the largest groups ever to achieve the coveted academic status at Penn.

Sakina Al-Fadhl, Ryan Cheng, Tanya Datta, Noah Durand, Hadley Jessop, Eshaal Kizilbash, Gwyneth Lannon, Reagan Ludwig, Derick Shi, Grace Wang, Zichu Wang, Andrew Wolter, Allison Yu, Janet Yu and Madelyn Zavada were named Class of 2023 National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalists by the College board.

Additionally, William Chenoweth, Luke Johnson, Amelia Martin, Benjamin Marvin, Jacob Moehn, Samuel Palmer, Rudra Patel, Sydney Szklarek and Elaina Wright have been named commended scholars by the College Board.

“We are extremely proud of these students and their accomplishments,” Galiher said. “This recognition a culmination of the great efforts of these students including all the wonderful teachers they have had while attending P-H-M schools.”

In each annual National Merit Scholarship Program, about 50,000 academically talented high school students are honored, and 16,000 of them are named Semifinalists. Students who qualify as Semifinalists based on their performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) are the only program participants who have an opportunity to advance to the Finalist level and compete for National Merit Scholarships. About 7,250 of the outstanding Finalists will be chosen as Merit Scholarship® winners in the 2023 competition.

All Merit Scholar® designees are chosen based on their abilities, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies—without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, religious preference, or family financial circumstances. Although all students who become Finalists are outstanding, not all Finalists receive a Merit Scholarship award. Of the 15,000 Finalists in the 2023 program, about half will win an award, and no student will receive more than one scholarship offer from NMSC.

Considerations for selection as a National Merit Scholar include the academic record, the school’s recommendation of the Finalist, a student essay, extracurricular activities and scores on the PSAT/NMSQT.