You know football season is just around the corner when Penn Coach Cory Yeoman’s Football Camp is going on! Incoming fourth through eighth graders participated in the camp for some great instruction and fun!

Check out the camp photos (July 11 & 14)! To download and print a 5×7 high resolution picture, simply click on the download button on each image.

2016 P-H-M Teacher of the Year and Top 10 Finalist for 2017 Indiana Teacher of the Year John ​Gensic has been named as a state-level finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST). His application will move on to the U.S. Department of Education for the next round of selection. Mr. Gensic, a Biology teacher at Penn, was a state PAEMST finalist last year as well. He will be recognized this fall at a luncheon to honor the Indiana finalists.

Three P-H-M school teams recently competed in the National TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude Mathematics and Science) Best in Nation Competition. The competition was held in Orlando the end of June.

TEAMS is an annual STEM competition challenging students to work collaboratively and apply their math and science knowledge in practical, creative ways to solve real everyday engineering challenges.

Penn High School sent four groups to the competition. One of the two 9/10th grade teams placed in the Top 10 for engineering written competition; the other placed in the Top 10 for engineering written competition. The 11/12th grade team placed 3rd in prepared presentation and Top ten for engineering written competition.

Schmucker Middle School’s team placed third overall. There were three parts to the competition, a written essay, prepared presentation and problem solving. They won third place in the essay section; fifth in the presentation and interview section; and third in the problem solving section—earning them Top 3 overall! 

Discovery Middle School also finished well, receiving 4th in the nation in the problem solving category.

At the June 26th Board Meeting, existing P-H-M administrators and new hires were introduced and welcomed into their new positions.

• Heather Short, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
• Jayson Snyder, Director of Professional Development and Student Learning
• Sean Galiher, Principal of Penn High School
• Lavon Dean-Null, Principal of Schmucker Middle School
• Kevin McMillen, Principal of Madison Elementary School
• Kent Mikel, Principal of Meadow’s Edge Elementary School
• Ryan Towner, Principal of Walt Disney's Elementary School
• Derrick White, Assistant Principal of Penn High School
• Lucas Fry, Assistant Principal of Schmucker Middle School
• Jean Milfort, Assistant Principal of Schmucker Middle School

Several of the positions were previously announced on June 20 and May 31. The following appointments were new: Derrick White to Assistant Principal of Penn High School; Lucas Fry to Assistant Principal of Schmucker Middle School; and Jean Milfort also to Assistant Principal of Schmucker Middle School.

Mr. White joins the P-H-M administrative team bringing 20 years of experience in the educational field, most recently as Assistant Principal at Riley High School. Before that, Derrick served as Principal of the Navarre Intermediate Center for 10 years. He has also served as an assistant principal and dean of students at John Adams High School. As a teacher, he taught Social Studies at Adams and Jackson Intermediate Center and was a seventh grade Special Education teacher at Navarre. He has participated in the Principals Leadership Academy (IPLA) and is a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and is affiliated with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and worked with Community Foundation of St. Joseph County. Mr. White holds a Bachelors of Science in History and a Masters in Secondary Education from Ball State University, and earned his Administration Certification in Education Administration from Indiana University South Bend. Mr. White brings a wealth of experience in the area of instruction and professional development to P-H-M, participating in and leading a number of initiatives with South Bend Schools.

To fill the two open assistant principal positions at Schmucker Middle School, Lucas Fry will be moving from Penn High School and Jean Milfort was hired from Elkhart Central High School.

Mr. Fry has nearly 10 years of experience, the past six years as dean of students at Penn. Before that, he taught U.S. History, Government and Anthropology for two years. Prior to joining P-H-M in 2011, Mr. Fry was with Mishawaka Schools. He holds a Masters in Educational Administration & Supervision from Ball State, where he also received his B.A. in Criminal Justice and minored in Sociology. Mr. Fry has been instrumental in developing and implementing positive behavior and student engagement initiatives at Penn High School.

Jean Milfort is joining Schmucker from Elkhart Central High School where he was assistant principal. Mr. Milfort has 14 years of experience in the field of education. Before serving at Elkhart Central High, he was assistant principal at Hawthorne Elementary School and taught middle school for eight years. Mr. Milfort holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Studies/Elementary Education from Bethel College and a Masters Degree in Education and Principal Licensure Program from Indiana Wesleyan University. At Elkhart Schools, Mr. Milfort led teacher staff development programs. He also has done a lot of work in the area of student behavior modification, helping to develop a district wide bullying prevention program.

All the new positions became effective July 1, 2017.

The summer is heating up with more great teaching, learning and fun as the P-H-M summer camps keep going strong! There are still activities going on for children to take part in for that extra push both physically and academically.

Click here to see our full list of Summer 2017 camps and activities. 

Check out our latest camp photos (June 23 & 27)! To download and print a 5×7 high resolution picture, simply click on the download button on each image

Today (Tuesday, June 20), P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker announced that Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Dr. Kay Antonelli had accepted an appointment with another school district effective June 30.

“I both admire and appreciate Dr. Antonelli’s passion for education. We thank her for her six years of service at P-H-M,” said Dr. Thacker.

With Dr. Antonelli’s departure a few P-H-M administrators have been appointed to new leadership roles for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year. The following administrative changes will be effective July 1:

• Director of Professional Development and Student Learning Heather Short will become Assistant Superintendent for Instruction.
• On May 31st, it was announced Jayson Snyder was moving from Meadow’s Edge to become principal of Schmucker. However, he will now take over as the Director of Professional Development and Student Learning.
• With Mr. Snyder's central office appointment, Walt Disney Elementary School Principal Mrs. Lavon Dean-Null as Schmucker's new principal.
• Current Madison Elementary School Principal Ryan Towner will become Walt Disney's principal.
• And, filling the Madison principal’s position will be Kevin McMillen, who has served as Schmucker Middle School's assistant principal.
   

Heather Short has 23 years of service with P-H-M, serving as director of Professional Development in the Learning Division for the past 10 years. Before that, Mrs. Short was the principal of Prairie Vista from 2004-2007, and was previously the assistant principal. Mrs. Short also served as the director of the Gifted and Talented Program from 2001-2003 after teaching for seven years at four P-H-M schools: Grissom, Mary Frank, North Point and Prairie Vista. St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce named Mrs. Short to Michiana’s “Forty under 40” Class in 2008. Mrs. Short is currently working on her Ph.D. Educational Leadership through Purdue University.

Jayson Snyder as the current principal of Meadow’s Edge helped the school achieve “Four Star School” status for the first time in its history. Along with Mrs. Short, Mr. Snyder is also enrolled in Purdue’s Doctoral Program for Educational Leadership. Mr. Snyder has organized a number of broader District initiatives, including the P-H-M Teacher Job Fair. This successful recruitment event was held for the second time this past February and has attracted nearly 275 qualified applicants in just two years. Mr. Snyder developed a Districtwide model for elementary RtI documentation, co-chaired several Districtwide curriculum adoptions and assisted in designing and implementing a professional development program for new P-H-M elementary teachers. Mr. Snyder was the 2010 recipient of the IUSB School of Education’s Excellence Award in School Administration and was named to the 2014 Michiana “Forty under 40” Class. He is also this year’s IASP District 2 Elementary Principal of the Year.

Lavon Dean-Null was named as principal of Walt Disney last school year and before that served as assistant principal of Grissom. She taught Language Arts and Social Studies at Discovery from 2001-2013. Mrs. Dean-Null was P-H-M’s 2012 Teacher of the Year and a Top Three Finalist for Indiana Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Dean-Null has helped lead many middle school student trips to Europe and student exchange programs to China, along with helping to develop middle school curriculums to be implemented across the Corporation. She was a member of the 2013 “Forty under 40” Class and is also currently working on her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Purdue.

Ryan Towner has been principal of Madison since 2015 and before that was assistant to the principal at Walt Disney under Randy Williams. Mr. Towner began with P-H-M as a 5th grade teacher at Prairie Vista in 2011. Another corporation leadership post that Mr. Towner holds is Federal Grants Program Administrator, overseeing our Title I, II and III grants. Mr. Towner was the 2016 recipient of the IUSB School of Education’s Excellence Award in School Administration. The Indiana Department of Education recently named Madison a “Four Star School.”

Kevin McMillen has served P-H-M students for 22 years. He was named as one of Schmucker’s two assistant principals in 2015, and before that he served as an interim assistant principal. While teaching first year German at Penn in 1995, Mr. McMillen also taught at Discovery and Schmucker. He helped create the 7th and 8th grade World Languages District curriculum introducing students to German, French, Spanish and Japanese cultures–a program he taught for 10 years at Schmucker and Discovery! Mr. McMillen has also organized and led many European student experiential learning trips over the years. At Discovery, Mr. McMillen coached 8th grade football, as well as 7th and 8th grade girls track. Mr. McMillen’s many P-H-M leadership roles also include serving on the RtI and on the School Improvement Plan Committees.

“I am confident that Heather, Jayson, Lavon, Ryan and Kevin will continue the great work started by their predecessors and that each will bring their own strengths to these new positions to continue the momentum moving forward to even greater accomplishments,” said Dr. Thacker.

Wednesday, June 7 was the last day of school for Penn-Harris-Madison schools. We thought it would be fun to ask students about what their most favorite thing was from this school year.

Take a listen …

Wishing all our staff, students and families a happy & safe summer! See you back here Wed., Aug. 23, 2017 for the 1^st Day of School for the 2017-18 school year!

The Indiana Department of Education released the list of Four Star Schools and nine P-H-M schools have earned that distinction–the most the District has ever had! P-H-M has the third highest number of Four Star Schools in the state, out of approximately 300 public school districts.

P-H-M's Four Star Schools are Discovery Middle, Horizon Elementary, Madison Elementary, Mary Frank Elementary, Meadow's Edge Elementary, Northpoint Elementary, Penn High School, Prairie Vista Elementary and Schmucker Middle School. And a special congratulations to our colleagues at Meadow's Edge for making the list for the first time! Meadow’s Edge is one of  P-H-M’s five Title 1 schools.

The  IDOE announced the listing on Friday, May 26.  In order for a school to earn the Four Star School designation from the state, the school must have received an “A” rating from the IDOE for the 2015-16 school year, tested at least 95% of students on ISTEP English/Language Arts and Math, and be in the top 25th percentile on ISTEP and ECA participation and passing rates. This list is based on 2015-16 school data. Click here to see the full list of criteria.

After last week’s (Tuesday, May 23) announcement that Penn Principal Steve Hope is leaving to become Goshen Community School’s new Assistant Superintendent Penn-Harris-Madison’s Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker announced today the following administrative changes for the upcoming 2017-18 school year: 
 

• Schmucker Principal Sean Galiher will Penn’s new principal
• Meadow’s Edge Principal Jayson Snyder will become Schmucker’s new principal
• Schmucker Assistant Principal Kent Mikel will become Meadow’s Edge new principal

Sean Galiher will carry on Penn’s great academic and athletic tradition. Before being named principal at Schmucker in 2013, Mr. Galiher served as Associate Principal at Penn for three years. From 2006-2009, he was Dean of Students and before that taught Algebra at Penn for four years, while also serving as assistant varsity baseball coach. Under Mr. Galiher’s leadership,  Schmucker, along with Penn, was recently named a “Four Star School,” and has received an “A” rating four consecutive years. Schmucker students have won state and national competitions in performing arts, Academic Superbowls and TEAMS. He also implemented a successful community building and character development program that was incorporated into the start of the students’ day.  In 2015, Mr. Galiher was a member of the “Forty under 40” class.

As this year’s IASP District 2 Elementary Principal of the year, Jayson Snyder 

has a wealth of experience and will continue the great work Mr. Galiher has begun at Schmucker. Before becoming principal at Meadow’s Edge, Mr. Snyder was assistant principal at Schmucker from 2010-2012. Meadow’s Edge was just named a “Four Star School”–a first in the school’s history and a first for a P-H-M Title 1 school. During his five years at Meadow’s Edge, the school has also earned an "A" rating for five consecutive years, named one of the state's "Top 3" Title I schools for student achievement, identified as a "Reward School" by the Indiana Department of Education, and nominated for a National Title I Distinguished School Award. Mr. Snyder is a P-H-M student alum; he attended elementary Mary Frank and middle school at Schmucker, going on to play baseball at Penn for Coach Dikos, graduating in 1997.

Kent Mikel will make a great principal at Meadow’s Edge.  He served as interim principal of Northpoint in 2015 and has been assistant principal at Schmucker since 2012. Before that he was assistant to the principal at Schmucker and taught science at Discovery for 15 years. Mr. Mikel, like Mr. Snyder, is currently working on his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Purdue University. For six years, Mr. Mikel served as a co-facilitator of Notre Dame’s University Guided Inquiry Math and Science Program, with a focus on 4th grade elementary, middle and high school teacher professional development. This experience will serve him well in his new role at Meadow’s Edge.

“The P-H-M Board of School Trustees and I are confident that Sean, Jayson and Kent each will continue the great academic accomplishments started by their predecessors,” said Dr. Thacker.

The Administrative changes will take effect July 1, 2017.

Penn-Harris Madison Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker announced this morning that after 22 years with the District, 11 as principal of Penn High School … Steve Hope will be taking over as Goshen Community School’s new Assistant Superintendent July 1, 2017.

“As a superintendent, I’ve admired Steve and enjoyed watching him develop into one of the finest principals and administrators I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with,” said Dr. Thacker in an email to staff.

Hope started at Penn in 1995 as an art teacher and within three years was named Dean of Students. He went on to serve in a number of leadership positions at Penn before becoming Principal: Director of Counseling, Assistant Principal and Associate Principal. During his tenure as Principal, he established Penn's academy structure through a Smaller Learning Community grant, which could arguably be one of the most prevailing reasons why Penn has emerged as one of the country’s most premier high schools. Penn now has a remarkable 97% graduation rate–the highest in the state among high schools with more than 500 students. In 2008, it was just 79%. These are just some of the reasons why Steve was named 2015-16 Indiana High School Principal of the Year. 

The list of championship titles and awards of both Penn students and staff is endless! Penn students outperform their peers on a regional, state, national and world level from STEM to fine arts, to academics to athletics on a regular basis!

“We all know what a fantastic leader Steve is,” Dr. Thacker went on to say. “He is a part of the P-H-M family and always will be. We take joy when one of our own succeeds. Please join me in congratulating him on a job well done, and thanking him for all he’s done to make Penn and our school district better. He’ll always be a Kingsman!”