With the Wednesday, January 6, 2016 public release of the 2015 ISTEP+ results, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation saw a jump in its ranking among Indiana’s 293 public school districts. With an 81.4% pass rate for ELA (English/Language Arts) and a 78.0% pass rate for Math, P-H-M ranks 10th in the state! The District’s 2015 overall combined pass rate for both subject areas is 72.1% (click here to view the P-H-M prepared chart showing state rankings of the top 40 public school districts based on 2015 ISTEP+ scores ).

The Indiana State Board of Education approved the new Indiana Academic Standards in April 2014 and were implemented in the 2014-2015 school year. As noted in the DOE’s press materials released today, the 2015 ISTEP+ was a new test.  It was the first time Indiana students were assessed on the state’s new, more rigorous college and career readiness standards. The State Board of Education also raised the cut scores for last year’s assessment. These most recent results show the percentage of Indiana’s students meeting the new college and career readiness benchmarks at each grade level (click here for a link to the State DOE website to see the state wide and school break down results).
 

Across the state, districts saw their students’ 2015 pass rate percentages fall as a result of the implementation of the new standards and assessment criterion. Within P-H-M, an overwhelming majority of students passed 2015 ISTEP+, making the Corporation among the state’s top 10 of most successful public school districts.
 

“At P-H-M, we are focused on excellence. We knew the changes to the ISTEP testing were coming; we put an action plan in place to assure our students would be well prepared,” said Dr. Jerry Thacker, superintendent of P-H-M School Corporation. “We’ve been focused on working to increase our ranking to the top 5% in the state for ISTEP scores. We now know that not only did we achieve our goal … our students and teachers surpassed it! We commend our students and teachers, along with our parents for their concentrated hard work and dedication; that is the ‘Triangle of Success’ we tout at P-H-M.”
 

P-H-M School Corporation is focused on continuous improvement—meeting and exceeding state and national learning standards. P-H-M Administration integrated the new curriculum and assessment measures, added more professional development opportunities for teachers, implemented a district wide strategic technology plan, increased expanded learning and remedial summer opportunities for students, as well as starting a full-day kindergarten and pre-school program.

In 2014, P-H-M’s overall combined rate was 87.6%, placing the district 14th among the state’s public school districts.

“We knew that there would be an implementation dip with the new cut scores and longer, more rigorous testing. Our educators focused on teaching the new standards and even at these higher levels of expectation, P-H-M students met the benchmarks and excelled. This is the new baseline for students across the state. We will now concentrate on making our students even more successful,” said Dr. Thacker.

Another highlight from the 2015 ISTEP+ results for P-H-M … the School Corporation saw an increase in score variance. In grade 3, the score variance between P-H-M scores and the state average increased to 19.6 points; in grade 8, it goes up to 25.1 points! This shows that the younger a student enters the P-H-M education family, and the longer they are taught by P-H-M teachers, the better the students do. P-H-M administrators, teachers and staff are dedicated to providing access to the best education possible preparing students for college and career readiness. In the classrooms, P-H-M teachers use teaching and assessment methods to continuously monitor a student’s progress and comprehension. Therefore, remediation is implemented as soon as it’s determined that students need extra assistance and/or further instruction in a particular subject area. The end result is that P-H-M students are better prepared for testing (click here to view the P-H-M chart showing the score variance between P-H-M scores and the state average).

In preparation for 2016 ISTEP+, the IDOE has now made ISTEP+ “Experience” available through Pearson, allowing students and parents to experience various technology-enhanced item types that will appear on the ISTEP+ Part 2 assessment as often as they like from home, at school, or on mobile devices. “Experience” is presented via the Pearson online platform (TestNav 8) that will be used for ISTEP+ online testing, as well as IREAD-3 online testing. P-H-M families can access ISTEP+ “Experience” through the P-H-M District website, which is also linked on every school website.

The window for 2016 ISTEP+ Part 1 (paper/pencil) opens February 29, 2016.  Part 2 will be done online. That window opens April 18, 2016.

The Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees voted to approve the sponsorship agreement between the P-H-M Education Foundation and Jordan Automotive Group at tonight’s Board meeting (Monday, January 25, 2016).

Per the agreement, Jordan Automotive Group will donate $25,000 to the P-H-M Education Foundation endowment for a 12-year naming rights period, thereby affording Jordan the opportunity to name the Penn High School baseball field. Jordan Automotive Group will also pay the signage costs to have the field renamed “Jordan Automotive Group Baseball Field at Penn High School.”

The mission of the Education Foundation is to develop alternative sources of income to support education initiatives in the School Corporation by strengthening partnerships between the community and the District. PHMEF supports education through awarding innovative teaching grants, scholarships to students, staff development and other corporation-wide initiatives.

Per PHMEF’s naming rights fundraising initiative, 80 percent of the donation will go into the Foundation’s endowment, which will in turn provide alternative and additional funding for various co-curricular and extracurricular programs. The remaining 20 percent will directly fund professional development initiatives for
P-H-M teachers. Continuing education and training of teachers is a major priority for P-H-M School District. With the recent release of the 2015 ISTEP+ scores, P-H-M believes the key to providing an excellent education is excellent teachers.

“P-H-M’s ‘Triangle of Success’ is built upon students, teachers and parents. Community partners are vital to sustaining P-H-M’s excellence in education,” said P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Thacker. “Support and strong commitments from community partners like Jordan Automotive help ensure that our students will have access to resources better preparing them for college and career success.” 

This is the 2nd time in a month that a community business has contributed to the P-H-M Education Foundation Endowment. At the January 11, 2016 Board meeting, the Board of School Trustees approved the $25,000 donation by Zolman's Tire & Auto Care. The sponsorship gives Zolman's 12-year naming rights to name the north concession stand at Penn High School’s TCU Freed Field.  The area will now be named “The Zolman Tire Concession Stand.” To read more about past sponsorships and donations to the P-H-M Education Foundation Endowment, please click here.

A team representing Northpoint Elementary School achieved Highest Honors in the recent WordMasters Challenge™—a national vocabulary competition involving nearly 150,000 students annually. The fourth grade team scored an impressive 192 points out of a possible 200 in the first of three meets this year, placing second in the nation!  

Competing in the difficult Blue Division of the WordMasters Challenge™, fourth graders Cameron Herman, Felix Zhang, Andy Chen and Judy Davis each earned a perfect score of 20 on the challenge. Nationally, only 50 fourth graders achieved this result.

Other students from Northpoint Elementary School who achieved outstanding results in the meet include third grader Sydney Knipp and fourth graders Evelyn Shrout, Jayden Wang, Chris Chapple, and Lydia Frischknecht. The students are coached by Mrs. Jenny Doms.

The WordMasters Challenge™ is an exercise in critical thinking that first encourages students to become familiar with a set of interesting new words (considerably harder than grade level), and then challenges them to use those words to complete analogies expressing various kinds of logical relationships. 

As for preparation, the students study definitions, synonyms, and antonyms.  They use the words when writing personal narratives, persuasive essays, and expository essays.  Many different analogy questions are posed in the classroom so the students become familiar to all the different angles of analogies.  They also make up possible analogy questions using the words, and all the children in the class have an opportunity to solve those problems.

Teacher-coach Mrs. Jenny Doms says, “I am so proud of these children!”  She adds, “Every day I try to model my love of learning in hopes that the children will take after me to make their love of learning stronger.  The children know that this is a higher level challenge, so I encourage them to push themselves to be the best they can be. 

“Our theme for the year is ‘Breaking Boundaries’ and we talk daily about the many ways to be the 'X' factor. . .the child who thinks outside the box and is able to break those boundaries.  I put this competition into that arena by tasking the children to do more than they imagine possible.  In the end, it is the students working with the words that leads them to understand so fully.  It is a very challenging competition.”

The next meet will be held on February 18th, followed by a third later in the spring.  We wish these Northpoint “word masters” the best of luck! 

Friday, January 15, was not your typical school day at Schmucker Middle School.  When students opened their lockers at the start of the day, each found a small handwritten note inside, placed there to surprise and inspire.  Nearly 1,000 notes had been created and placed the night before by students and staff on a mission to carry out Project To Be Kind. The schoolwide effect was obvious: smiles, laughter, chatter, gratitude.  

Project To Be Kind encourages both random and deliberate acts of kindness, whether aimed at making a difference for one person or lifting morale throughout the building.

ABC57 News “captured the kindness” in coverage that aired on Jan. 20.  You can watch video of journalist Brandon Pope’s story here. And check out #tbksms for more photos and comments.

Another Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation school has been nominated for a National Blue Ribbon School Award.  Northpoint Elementary School received word on Friday, Jan. 15 of the school’s recent nomination by Indiana Superintendent Glenda Ritz to the U.S. Department of Education for the National Blue Ribbon School award.

Northpoint is one of just eight Indiana schools nominated for the award. The school was selected based on student performance on 2014-2015 ISTEP+. In 2015, Northpoint had 95.9% pass rate for ELA, and 94.1% for Math. In 2014, the ELA pass rate was 99.3% and Math was 99.7%.

The award requires that schools nominated have pass rates on each test, at each grade level, and be in the upper 15 percent of Indiana schools. Additionally, three of the eight schools must have 40% or greater free/reduced lunch rates.

Announcement of school award winners will be made in September 2016 by the U.S. Secretary of Education, John B. King, Jr. If Northpoint is named a National Blue Ribbon School it will be the second time the school has received the honor (the first time was in 2010) and two consecutive years that a PHM school was named a National Blue Ribbon School.

On Sept. 29, 2015, Prairie Vista won. To date, P-H-M has received the National Blue Ribbon designation eight times: Penn High School in 1994, 1995 and again in 2001; Discovery Middle School in 2006 and 2013; Northpoint Elementary School in 2010; and Prairie Vista in 1996 and 2015.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation serves approximately 10,700 students in 11 elementary schools, three middle schools and Penn High School. For the 2015 ISTEP+, P-H-M earned an 81.4% pass rate for ELA (English/Language Arts); 78.0% pass rate for Math; and an overall combined pass rate of 72.1% for both subjects areas. P-H-M now ranks 10th in the state among 293 public school districts. In 2014, P-H-M was rated an “A-rated” school district by the Indiana Department of Education for the 5^th year in a row. Penn High School's graduation rate exceeds the state’s with a 97% graduation rate and is rated a 90-25-90 school by the IDOE. 100% of P-H-M teachers rank either highly effective or effective. 

Grissom Middle School’s “Club Honors” was featured in the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, January 14. “Club Honors” is a game room open to students during lunch and features everything from Playstation and XBox gaming systems to checkers and bean bag chairs. All students have to do to gain entry into this exclusive club … make the Honor Roll! Read more about it in the Tribune’s article.

The Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees voted to approve the sponsorship agreement between the P-H-M Education Foundation and Zolman’s Tire & Auto Care at the Monday, January 11, 2016 Board meeting.

Per the agreement, Zolman’s Tire will donate $25,000 to the P-H-M Education Foundation endowment for a 12-year naming rights period, thereby affording Zolman’s the opportunity to name the north concession stand at Penn High School’s TCU Freed Field. Zolman’s Tire & Auto Care will also pay the signage costs to have the area named “The Zolman’s Tire Concession Stand.”

The mission of the Education Foundation is to develop alternative sources of income to support education initiatives in the School Corporation by strengthening partnerships between the community and the District. PHMEF supports education through awarding innovative teaching grants, scholarships to students, staff development and other corporation-wide initiatives.

Per PHMEF’s naming rights fundraising initiative, 80 percent of the donation will go into the Foundation’s endowment, which will in turn provide alternative and additional funding for various co-curricular and extracurricular programs. The remaining 20 percent will directly fund professional development initiatives for P-H-M teachers. Continuing education and training of teachers is a major priority for P-H-M School District. With the recent release of the 2015 ISTEP+ scores, P-H-M believes the key to providing an excellent education is excellent teachers.

“Our goal is to provide our students with an outstanding education to prepare them for college and career success,” said P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Thacker. “We do this by making sure our students are receiving the best education possible from the best educators. P-H-M’s ‘Triangle of Success’ is built upon students, teachers and parents. Community partners are vital to sustaining P-H-M excellence in education.”

Monday’s announcement of Zolman’s commitment and support is a continuation of the company’s longtime connection and support of P-H-M and the local community. Zolman’s Tire has made financial contributions to the Penn Marching Band as well as to the high school’s football, rugby, hockey and robotics teams. The company is also a sponsor of PHMEF’s annual “Silver Mile Run for Education.” President Nate Zolman is a 1988 graduate of Penn High School, along with his siblings.

“Zolman’s Tire & Auto Care is excited to become a strategic partner with the P-H-M Education Foundation on opportunities that will benefit the students of this community,” said Nate Zolman. “Both Zolman’s and the Foundation’s commitment to P-H-M students’ education, experiences, growth and quality of life is unparalleled! We are proud to become a long-term partner.”

“When community business leaders like Nate Zolman invest in PHMEF’s endowment and the teacher professional development, they are helping ensure that P-H-M students will have continued access to the best education for years to come” said Mari Linn M. Wise, executive director of P-H-M Education Foundation.

More About Zolman’s Tire and Auto Care

Bud & Diane Zolman started in the tire industry in 1963 working for Corporate Firestone. In 1963, Bud Zolman and Ray Monteith started Monteith Tire in Bud’s home town of Warsaw, Indiana. Bud & Diane opened their own store in Mishawaka in 1978. Son of Bud & Diane now president of Zolman’s Tire and Auto Care, Nate Zolman, spearheaded the opening of the company’s first satellite store in Granger in 1995. Over the next nine years six other locations were opened: Edison Road in Mishawaka (August 1997); South Bend, near the University of Notre Dame (December 1997); Niles, Michigan (1999); downtown South Bend (2004); second Mishawaka location (2004); and Commercial Tire and Heavy Duty Truck Repair in South Bend (2004). With eight locations across Michiana, Zolman’s Tire & Auto Care employs more than 100 employees. Zolman’s Tire prides itself on family values and giving back to the community. For more than 40 years, Zolman’s has supported many local charities, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Joseph County, Angel of Hope, United Way, Corvilla, P-H-M Education Foundation, P-H-M School Corporation and programs at Penn High School. Zolman’s also sponsors Harris Township Junior Baseball Softball Association along with many travel baseball leagues. To learn more, please visit www.zolmantire.com.

To learn about P-H-M Education Foundation, please visit www.phmef.org.

To learn more about Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, please visit www.phmschools.org/why-p-h-m. 

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Naming Rights Timeline Fact Sheet

• In August 2014, P-H-M Education Foundation recognized two local families for their longtime support, in-kind donations and financial contributions to P-H-M educational programs:
  • The music rooms at all P-H-M’s elementary schools were named after Jim and Julie Schwartz (represents $50,000 worth of donations over 10 years)
  • The Band Room at Penn High School was named after the Doshi family (represents $15,000 worth of donations over 10 years)

• Lionshead Penn High School Soccer Field
  • Board approved September 2014
  • $25,000 payable over 5 years

• Dar and Dot Wiekamp Penn High School Tennis Courts
  • Board approved September 2014
  • $25,000 payable over 5 years

• May Oberfell Lorber Penn High School Softball Field
  • Board approved October 2014
  • $25,000 payable over 5 years

• TCU Freed Field
  • Board approved June 22, 2015
  • $400,000 payable over 12 years

This agreement was a continuation of a long standing partnership. TCU’s commitment represents more than the renaming of the high school football field. TCU is collaborating with P-H-M educators to develop financial literacy programs, scholarships, functions and activities.

• The Zolman Tire Concession Stand (north Concession stand at TCU Freed Field)
  • Board approved January 11, 2016
  • $25,000, payable over 5 years with 12-year naming rights

Parents of 3^rd through 8^th graders and Penn sophomores, the Indiana Department of Education has released the testing windows for ISTEP and IREAD for the 2015-2016 school year. ISTEP will begin in late February and IREAD in mid-March. New this year, 10^th graders will also be required to take ISTEP. Part 1 of ISTEP will be done with paper/pencil and Part 2 will be done online.

  *New this year, high school sophomores will be required to take ISTEP

For more information on the state assessment testing windows, please visit the Indiana Department of Education website, www.doe.in.gov/assessment.

ISTEP+ “Experience”

To help prepare your child for the 2016 ISTEP+, the IDOE has now made ISTEP+ “Experience” available through Pearson, allowing students and parents to experience various technology-enhanced item types that will appear on the ISTEP+ Part 2 assessment as often as they like from home, at school or on mobile devices. “Experience” is presented via the Pearson online platform (TestNav 8) that will be used for ISTEP+ online testing, as well as IREAD-3 online testing. Click here now, to access ISTEP+ “Experience” so your student can get familiar with 2016 ISTEP+ and be better prepared!

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO REGISTER FOR THE YOUNG AUTHOR’S CONFERENCE! Registration has been extended until Friday, Feb. 26. 

Calling all young authors and their parents!  P-H-M’s annual Young Author’s Conference will take place Saturday, March 12—and you won’t want to miss it.

The morning program will be full of engaging activities, fun entertainment and creative challenges—along with opportunities to learn and share.

We are pleased to host guest author Laura Purdie Salas. Salas will be on hand to share her published work and her love of writing, and to encourage students to produce their own poems and stories.

Meet Mrs. Salas now in this brief video, and preview two of her popular books in these videos: A Leaf Can Be and BookSpeak!

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU EXPECT?

Get ideas!  Parents will hear from Kathy Higgs-Coulthard, the director of Michiana’s Writing Center and also an instructor at St. Mary’s College. Higgs-Coulthard supports writers and writing events in the community, and will share tips with parents on how to do the same in their own families.

Get inspired!  Students will share their own written work with other students in small groups, getting feedback and giving encouragement and gaining confidence in their ability to create.

Get the giggles!  The Roz Puppets will be sure to make you laugh. Big puppets with big personalities, their performances delight “children of all ages.”

ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED!

• WHO: Students from Kindergarten through 5th grade, and one parent from each family

• DATE: Saturday, March 12, 2016

• TIME: 8:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

• LOCATION: Schmucker Middle School, 56045 Bittersweet Road.

• DIRECTIONS: Enter at the traffic signal, park in front, use main entrance.

• COST: $5 per student, payable upon registration

Watch for conference information that your student will bring home from school, then send back the registration envelope with your payment promptly. If you need another copy of the registration form, contact the school.

NEW INFORMATION ⇒ THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26. 

QUESTIONS? Please contact Ms. Lisa Duerksen at lduerksen@phm.k12.in.us