National History Day® (NHD) announced April 20th that the NHD program in Indiana has nominated Discovery History teacher Tanner Givens, for the 2021 Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award in the junior division of the NHD National Contest.

Each of the 58 NHD affiliates across the country may nominate one middle school teacher for this award, and Mr. Givens is the junior division nominee from Indiana. This award is sponsored by Patricia Behring in recognition of the pivotal role teachers play in the lives of students.

To be nominated for this award, NHD states that Mr. Givens demonstrated commitment to engaging his students in historical learning through innovative uses of primary sources, implementation of active learning strategies to foster historical thinking skills, and participation in National History Day. 

One national winner in each division will be selected by a committee of experienced teachers and historians, and announced on Saturday, June 19, 2021, at the NHD National Contest Awards Ceremony to be held virtually due to COVID-19. All nominees will receive $500 as a result of their nominations, and the two national winners will receive $10,000. Click to read more about NHD, and the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award.

This afternoon P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker surprised Schmucker Middle School 8th grade teacher Mrs. Wendy Schuster with the news that she is the district’s 2021 Secondary Teacher of the Year. Dr. Thacker was joined by Schmucker Principal Dr. Lavon Dean-Null, Schmucker Assistant Principals, and other members of P-H-M Administration; they all walked into the classroom shortly after her Social Studies class had begun surprising her with the news. Mrs. Schuster’s students gave her a thunderous round of applause when Dr. Thacker announced the news. Click to watch the video below

Schmucker Assistant Principal Lucas Fry and Chief Operations Officer Aaron Leniski were especially pleased with the news because Mrs. Schuster taught them both when she was a teacher at Grissom. Click to see the full photo gallery below.

Mrs. Schuster joined P-H-M in 1990 as a teacher at Grissom Middle School and worked there through the 2011-2012 school year teaching both Language Arts and Math. She then moved to Schmucker where she’s taught both Math and Social Studies. This is her 31st year of teaching in Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation. She received her bachelor’s in education from Indiana University-Bloomington, and a Master’s of Science degree in Elementary Education from IUSB.

Mrs. Schuster is known as a teacher who strives to build “community” among her students (in every class) and among her co-workers in Schmucker Middle School. “Wendy takes the time to celebrate even the smallest moments in her room,” said one teacher who nominated her for the award. “She consistently pushes her students to embrace one another and share successes within our community.”

During a challenging school year of many changes impacting what a normal school day looks like due to COVID-19, Mrs. Schuster leads the “Sunshine Committee” for the school staff. She is in charge of organizing special recognition and celebration days for everything from marriages to birthdays, while also heading up supports for staff members who were sick or who had lost a loved one. Mrs. Schuster had to get creative at creating and maintaining the sense of community among her fellow staff members while also keeping social distancing.

“One of the hardest things about dealing with COVID,” said Superintendent Dr. Thacker, “is that we haven’t been allowed to gather like we used to do. For safety reasons, we have had to wear masks hiding our faces and smiles. So it’s especially important now more than ever, to reach out to each other and let people know how much we care. Wendy Schuster’s kind and cheerful attitude has been just what her students and colleagues have needed.”

Mrs. Schuster also works on a committee of teachers that decide the Advisory topics for students. Advisory period is held for the first 30 minutes of every school day, like a homeroom. It gives middle school students a core group of classmates and a teacher to start their day with, again helping to build that sense of community. “At Schmucker, Mrs. Schuster helps set the greatest example for what community building and positive culture building could and should look like within a classroom,” said a teacher who nominated her for Secondary Teacher of the Year. “Not only is she innovative with her own ideas, we also know that she can support counselors and administration in our new ideas. Whenever we want to try something new or pilot a new program, we turn to Wendy for her expertise and willingness to go the extra mile.”

Other programs Mrs. Schuster is involved in include Schmucker’s annual Veterans Day program and a mentor to the school’s “Shine Girls Group.”

On the topic of teaching, Mrs. Schuster says her teaching philosophy is the following … “It is important for teachers to know that being a good teacher is really very simple. It all revolves around respect and rapport. When you invest time into your students and they know that you care about them, it takes care of many discipline issues in the classroom and most students will naturally be motivated, engaged, and willing to challenge themselves in learning.”

Mrs. Schuster along with P-H-M’s 2021 Elementary Teacher of the Year Mrs. Kathy Shreiner (announced yesterday, Thursday, April 29) will submit applications to be considered for Indiana Teacher of the Year. Both 2021 P-H-M Teachers of the Year will receive a $1,000 classroom grant from P-H-M’s Education Foundation! The 2020 Teachers of the Year will also submit their applications for Indiana’s TOY. Last year during the pandemic, Elementary Title I Technology Integration Coach Jessie Kinney was named P-H-M Elementary Teacher of the Year and Penn High School’s Applied Biology/Life Skills Science teacher Amy Zimmer was named P-H-M Secondary Teacher of the Year. 

A photo album of high resolution JPG files are posted below. To view the images from the photo gallery below, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function. We are happy to provide this service to you, free of charge! If you are a member of the media and you are using these photos for news purposes, please credit Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation.

Every year Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation employees have the opportunity to nominate a classified employee as Employee of the Year. This year the person we honor is being recognized posthumously. Nancy Banks was hired to work as a Teacher’s Aide at Horizon Elementary in January 1996, just a few months after the school had opened in the fall of 1995. Nancy faithfully worked at Horizon for 25 years before passing away unexpectedly on March 26, 2021. Horizon staff nominated Nancy for P-H-M’s 2021 Employee of the Year award before her death.

“Nancy Banks is woven into the fabric of Horizon's culture more than any other employee at Horizon,” said Horizon Principal Amy Fadorsen when she nominated Nancy for the award. “[She] is ingrained in more areas of the everyday functioning of Horizon than anyone else. Her role is, officially, a Teaching Assistant. She tutors, teaches small groups, substitutes for teachers, and excels [at everything] …” Nancy jumped in to do whatever was needed to help out, doing everything from troubleshooting technology to managing drop-off and pickup of 180 cars in the span of 10 minutes. Nancy also led the cafeteria team helping to provide lunches to more than 600 students. Principal Fadorsen noted on the nomination form “she has been instrumental in creating the most efficient way to ensure our students receive their lunches in a timely manner and with a smile on her face. The kids absolutely adore her.”

“P-H-M’s Employee of the Year Award seeks to recognize someone who has demonstrated and represents the qualities all employees admire,” P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker stated. “That classified employee then represents all of the outstanding employees in P-H-M. This was Nancy Banks; her Horizon co-workers admired her for patience, kindness, and dedication to the students and the Horizon school community. She will be sorely missed by those who knew her.”

Along with this award, Nancy will also be recognized for her 25 years with the district as part of this year’s P-H-M Employee Recognition video.

Nancy’s plaque will be sent to her husband Frank. It is something that her husband and two children, Matt and Beth, and their families will surely cherish along with Nancy’s memory.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Banks family and we thank them for sharing such a special woman with the P-H-M family for so many years.

Mr. Seth Molnar to the position of Director of Human Resources effective May 1, 2021. Mr. Molnar will be replacing Mr. Mike Lureman who retired the end of April.

Mr. Molnar began his career in P-H-M in 2016 as the assistant principal at Grissom Middle School. While at Grissom, Mr. Molnar led Professional Learning Communities for the school as well as created a RtI system of school wide intervention, restructured the PBIS committee and expectations, as well as created monthly professional development initiatives, oversaw student discipline and was a principal for middle school summer school. 

In July of 2018, Mr. Molnar became the Director of Alternative Education and Special Projects, which included leading Pennway Alternative and Pennway Night School. In this role Mr. Molnar was able to implement Restorative Practices, Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program, and alternate programs and state grants. Mr. Molnar was also the district administrator over programming and staff for Kid’s Club and the English as a New Language (ENL) program. 

Mr. Molnar’s experience overseeing Kids Club and Pennway staff, along with his leadership position as the Director of Alternative Education and Special Projects have helped prepare him to take on this new role within P-H-M. Outgoing HR Director Mike Lureman will be working with Mr. Molnar before his last day before retirement Friday, April 30.

As the Director of Alternate Education and Special Projects, he also served in the role of Middle School Instructional Leader and Due Process Administrator. Mr. Molnar mentored P-H-M’s six middle school assistant principals and led their monthly PLCs in addition to training them on student due process procedures.

Mr. Molnar began his career in education in 2002 as a Social Studies teacher and coach at Concord High School. Also holding the position of assistant principal, assistant to the principal and dean of students in the same district. 

He received a Bachelor’s of Science in Social Studies Education from Purdue University in 2001, a Master’s of Science in Integrating Technology in Education from Walden University in 2007 and a second master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Indiana University South Bend in 2016. Mr. Molnar is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Leadership from Purdue University with an expected completion date of December 2022.

Mr. Molnar is a certified trainer in Restorative Practices, ACE Interface, Crisis Prevention (CPI), and Google.

Mr. Molnar’s administrative appointment will appear on the May 17, 2021 Personnel Report and he will be introduced to the Board following approval of the consent agenda.

Dr. Lisa Soto Kile as the new Director of Professional Development and Student Learning. Dr. Soto Kile is the current principal at Elm Road Elementary School and will begin her new position at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.

Dr. Soto Kile began her career in P-H-M in 1992 as a teacher at Prairie Vista. In 1998, she became the Schoolwide Enrichment Specialist and then moved into the Gifted and Talented Coordinator in 2000. Dr. Soto Kile also held the position of Assistant Principal at Northpoint Elementary (2002-2003), Title I Director (2005-2011) and principalships at Northpoint (2003-2005), Madison (2005-2011) and her current role as principal of Elm Road Elementary which she began in 2010. During the 2010-2011 school year, she served a dual principal role leading both Madison and Elm Road Elementary schools.

Dr. Soto Kile’s dissertation focused on balanced literacy programs and the impact on students in Title I schools according to gender, race, and socioeconomic status. This along with her many years of experience in meeting the needs of students in Title I schools will make a positive impact on the culture, environment, and educational experiences for our students and staff.

Dr. Soto Kile received a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Indiana University Bloomington, a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Indiana University South Bend, Elementary and Secondary Principal’s License from Indiana University South Bend, and completed her Ph.D. in Educational Studies, Superintendent’s License from Purdue University. She also holds memberships in many associations including the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, Indiana Association of School Principals, IU South Bend Teacher Education Advisory Board, as well as the National Science Teaching Association. 

Under Dr. Soto Kile’s Leadership, Elm Road Elementary has been an “A” rated school and in 2020 earned the distinction of being named a STEM Certified school by the IDOE. Elm is one of 90 schools in the state to have received this designation.

The P-H-M Board of School Trustees approved Dr. Thacker’s recommendation of Dr. Soto Kile to the Director of Professional Development and Student Learning position at the April 19, 2021 Board Meeting.

Dr. Soto Kile is replacing Dr. Jayson Snyder who had previously held the Director of Talent Acquisition and Development position. Dr. Snyder was named the new Superintendent for Middlebury Community Schools on March 31. His last day with P-H-M is June 30.

Almost a year to the date Indiana schools shut down (P-H-M schools shut down on March 12, 2020), P-H-M teachers and staff got a literal shot in the arm and marked a major step forward in our fight against COVID-19.

On Monday, March 8, 202, Meijer Pharmacy set up a vaccination clinic inside the Main Arena at Penn High School and administered 1,170 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. 

Every P-H-M teacher and staff member who wanted to get the vaccine was able to do so. 

The vaccines were made available under the federal allotment of vaccines through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. The White House announced that the federal allotment would be open to educational staff at schools so teachers and staff could receive the vaccine, especially in states where educational staff had not been included in the first responder group. P-H-M Human Resources reached out to Meijer as word spread that they were working with Indiana schools to set up on-site vaccination clinics.

We are so thankful to the team at Meijer and to EVERYBODY at P-H-M who worked so hard to make this event happen on very short notice. 

Jenni McCarthy, a kindergarten teacher at Bittersweet Elementary said “I honestly have to say that it was fantastic when I found out that we could get them right here at school. I didn’t have to go anywhere. I didn’t have to sign up on any list, I didn’t have to do anything. It just goes to show that Penn-Harris-Madison is a great place to work because they always think of their employees first and are trying to make sure that we are safe to be back in the classroom.”

In addition to the over 700 P-H-M staff members who received a vaccine, we also reached out to area schools to make doses available to others as well. P-H-M felt it was important to share any extra vaccines with educators and staff from other school districts and private schools within P-H-M’s boundaries so that no vaccines would be wasted. 

Dr. Jerry Thacker, P-H-M’s superintendent of schools said “…this just has a tremendous positive impact on the feeling the teachers, all school employees and the students have with regards to receiving a vaccine. They know they’re going to be safer, so this is the first step in that. It also gives us a barometer of what we need to be doing in the future with regard to reaching out and making sure that we can get our students back [in person].”

Watch the video to get a fuller sense of what the day was like. Meijer will return to Penn Monday, March 29th to administer the second dose. 

To download high-resolution jpg files from the photo gallery below, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right-hand corner of the photo while viewing it in the Photo Gallery function. We are happy to provide this service to you, free of charge!

Calling all kindergarten through fifth grade students and their families…it’s time for the VIRTUAL Young Author’s Conference! 

Sponsored by the P-H-M Education Foundation, the Young Authors’ Conference is an opportunity to meet and hear from multi-talented children’s author and speaker, Matthew Gollub.  Mr. Gollub has written over 20 picture books and will share his experiences as a writer during his engaging, grade-level presentations.

Participants will also enjoy an interactive music and movement experience with Horizon Elementary School’s very own music teacher, Jon West. 

Mr. West is a seasoned Elementary music teacher in the P-H-M School Corporation in addition to being the Executive Director of a local nonprofit community theater company, The Main Stage Inc.

COST:

• FREE for any K-5 P-H-M Student.

REGISTRATION:

• Students MUST be registered and registration is limited!
• Every student, including multiple students within the same family must have their own registration.
• Register at YAC Virtual Registration.
• Deadline for registration is Friday, February 19, 2021

VIRTUAL EVENT DETAILS:

Saturday, March 6, 2021       

9:00am – 10:30am

• Prior to the conference at the beginning of March, participating students will receive the link for the virtual event and additional information.

• This information will be sent to the email that was provided on the registration form.

• If you have any questions, please contact Lindsay Schirripa at lschirripa@phm.k12.in.us

Special thanks to our community partners who help make events like these possible: 

May Oberfell Lorber, Laidig Systems, Crowe Horwath, Gibson, Teachers Credit Union, Tuesley Hall Konopa, Lake CityBank,  Holiday Coral, EdwardJones – Joel Laidig & Barnes & Noble.

Interested in joining the P-H-M family and inspiring #PHMExcellence?

WHAT:

The 2021 Job Fair is going virtual! All applicants will be contacted by a P-H-M administrator to set up  a time for a virtual interview.

WHEN:

You MUST submit this form by February 19^th, 2021

TIPS:

Since your virtual interview will occur in a place of your choice, here are some considerations that will allow you to make a good first impression!

• Dress for success. Even though you may be in your house, dress as if you were walking into an in-person interview.
• Have your resume in front of you and be ready to talk about your specific experiences & qualifications.
• Test your technology (internet connection, camera & microphone)  ahead of time…we will be using Google Meets.
• Prepare the scene by considering the following:
  • Find a place that is quiet
  • Make sure you have quality lighting 
  • Remove all distractions from your area
  • Be logged in and ready 10 minutes before your interview begins
  • Consider what is in your background, you want the focus to be on you, not what is on the wall behind you
  • Steady Camera (don’t hold your phone / laptop in your hand)
• Be authentic and answer questions honestly!

This email was sent to parents on Thursday, January 7, 2021

Back on November 18 when I notified P-H-M secondary families that St. Joseph County Department of Health (SJCDH) was recommending area school districts revert secondary students from hybrid to virtual, I explained that this would only be temporary to cover the time before, during and after Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays. This was one of several recommendations that SJCDH made in mid-November in an effort to help lessen the impact of COVID community cases on our local health systems. 
 

I shared with you at that time that it was our goal to bring middle and high school students back to school on the hybrid model beginning Tuesday, January 19, pending SJCDH guidance. This week P-H-M Administration discussed secondary students’ return to school with the SJCDH and I am happy to report that they support the return of our middle and high school students to the hybrid model on Jan.19th.
 

We know that our students receive the most ideal instruction through face-to-face learning. It is in our students’ best interest for their academic success and social emotional well being to receive as much face-to-face instruction as COVID health safety precautions will allow. We are in a position to return to hybrid learning because of the following:
 

• The most common contributors to community spread are social gatherings in which COVID safety protocols are not observed.
• In recent local news reports, SJCDH states local hospitals are in a better position now than they were before Thanksgiving and that the post Thanksgiving surge was relatively modest. SJCDH is relatively hopeful that the post Christmas/New Year’s holiday surge will also be modest.
• P-H-M tracks the number of student and staff COVID cases and actively conducts contact tracing on all cases reported to us. We proactively ask students and staff identified as close contacts to quarantine. The cases reported to us are reflected on P-H-M’s COVID Dashboard; a link to the Dashboard is on the homepage of P-H-M’s district website. The Dashboard is updated daily except for weekends, holidays, and district breaks.
• Most secondary parents support their students returning to the Hybrid model for their students’ academic and social emotional well being.
• All P-H-M parents, at all grade levels, have the option to keep their students 100% virtual. 
• We expect a modest number of secondary families will choose to keep their students virtual, which will further reduce the number of students in the buildings and classrooms.

Secondary principals will be asking their parents to return a survey declaring whether their student will remain virtual or return on hybrid. If you are a parent of a secondary student, please look for that email from your building principal and return your responses as soon as possible.

All COVID safety protocols as laid out in the Staff Return to Learn, the District Overview Return to Learn, and building level Return to Learn plans remain in effect. Among our many protocols, masks will still be required along with social distancing of 6 feet or more whenever possible.

Regardless if your child is virtual, in-person or hybrid, please continue to monitor your child’s health every day using this ISDH screening tool. Please do not send your child(ren) to school if they experience any of the following symptoms: fever or chills, sore throat, uncontrollable or new cough or shortness of breath or difficulty breathing (especially new onset), diarrhea, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain, headache (especially new onset of severe headache with fever, or new loss of taste or smell). 
 

Also, please do not send your student(s) to school if they have had close contact with a known positive case, including in your own household, or awaiting test results. When you have a positive case (tested or clinical) in your household, the positive case should self-isolate away from the rest of the family members and the family should remain in quarantine. 
 

We also ask all P-H-M staff members to self-monitor their health and practice these same safety prevention guidelines. We continue to record cases of students and staff who are virtual. Therefore, parents should still report to your school principal if your virtual student has tested positive, and staff should also report if they are aware of a virtual student who is positive.

For more information on COVID-19 & P-H-M’s safety mitigation protocols, please visit our Return to Learn page.
 

Stay healthy and well and thank you for your continued flexibility and partnership as we work to provide the best education possible to your students.
 

Sincerely,

Dr. Jerry Thacker

Superintendent of Schools

CLICK HERE to download and print the secondary hybrid model beginning 1/19/21.

Third grade Prairie Vista Math teacher Amanda Fox was recently notified that she has been named an Indiana finalist for the prestigious national Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) award. PAEMST is the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teaching. The National Science Foundation administers PAEMST on behalf of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. This is the second time a PHM teacher has been honored as a PAEMST finalist. Penn's John Gensic was a Indiana finalist and was a national award recipient in 2017. Click to read that story.

Ms. Fox has spent the past four summers (2017-2020) working with Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Notre Dame on various educational outreach, training, and research efforts funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF grants funded K-6 computer science summer program at the University of
Notre Dame, and her innovative after-school coding classes. Ms. Fox worked to expand the after-school coding courses opening them up to all 2nd-5th graders. In the words of Prairie Vista parent Clare Roach, “She is indefatigable and single handedly brought a love for computer science to an entire school.”

She was among the first cohort of teachers to help K-8 teachers develop age-appropriate curriculum to introduce students to computer science within existing STEM curricula. Notre Dame Professor Michael T. Niemier praises Ms. Fox for mentoring other area teachers as well as working to help create content for K-8 students in various local school districts other than just P-H-M.

Ms. Fox has worked to help transform computer science education at Prairie Vista. She’s also established a northern Indiana chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA). 

National PAEMST award winners are expected to be announced in August.