Students took ILEARN in the Spring. The students’ results are more than just a reflection on how well they know and retained what they learned in a particular subject area. Teachers work very hard to help their students review and retain the knowledge, and when necessary interventionist educators use RtI (Response to Intervention) tools.

The Fall 2024 P-H-M Teacher Impact Awards are given to educators who had the most significant individual student growth with Spring 2024 ILEARN (grades 3-8 and high school Biology), AP Testing at Penn, and highest RtI growth.

With the help of the building principals, P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker surprised the teachers with the Impact Awards. He was accompanied by other members of P-H-M Administration Dr. Heather Short, Asst. Superintendent; Director of Professional Development Dr. Lavon Dean-Null; and Ryan Towner, Director of Literacy. P-H-M Education Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom was also on hand; PHMEF covered the cost for the beautiful awards which teachers can proudly display in their classrooms.

Four awards were given out on Thursday, December 12:

Two awards were given out on Friday, December 13:

One award was given out Wednesday, Dec. 18:

While all P-H-M teachers make an impact with their students, dedicated to helping them achieve personal academic success, the Impact Award shines the spotlight on educators who have helped their students achieve individual academic growth on their formative assessments over time. The first-ever Impact Awards were handed out in September 2023 and recognized the teachers with the most significant overall student growth during the 2022-2023 school year.

P-H-M’S Board of School Trustees approved the renaming of Penn High School’s Center for Performing Arts through the P-H-M Education Foundation’s Naming Rights Campaign.

P-H-M parent Tania Bengtsson of three (Penn High School and Discovery Middle School) is donating $50,000 to the Education Foundation to have Penn’s CPA renamed the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems) – Tania Bengtsson Center for Performing Arts. The naming rights will be effective May 1, 2025 and will last for 12 years. 

Per the Naming Rights Campaign, 80% of Mrs. Bengtsson’s donation will go to PHMEF’s endowment, and 20% comes back to P-H-M to pay for teacher professional development.

At the December 9th Board of School Trustees meeting, the Board approved P-H-M Administration’s recommendation of promoting current Associate Director of Facilities Jason Messner to the P-H-M Director of Facilities position.

Since joining P-H-M in the fall of 2019, Jason has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, technical expertise, and a steadfast commitment to the district’s operational success. His experience and deep understanding of our needs position him as an excellent choice to continue advancing our mission.

Jason and his wife, Elisha, are proud members of the P-H-M community with their two children attending P-H-M schools: a 6th grader at Discovery, and a 2nd grader at Northpoint. 

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

They ranked the best public elementary schools by state. For Indiana, 1,000 elementary schools were ranked and 487 middle schools.

P-H-M’s elementary schools are at the top of the list:

• Northpoint #1 in Indiana  
• Prairie Vista #2 in Indiana  
• Horizon #19
• Mary Frank #32
• Bittersweet #56
• Moran #163
• Madison #200
• Elm Road #205
• Elsie Rogers #393
• Meadow’s Edge #239

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

• Discovery #3 in Indiana
• Schmucker #40

Today the IDOE announced the recipients of the K-12 Robotics Competition Grants and 15 Penn-Harris-Madison robotics teams from eight P-H-M schools were awarded a total grant of $53,600! 

• Penn High School (2 existing teams) – $14,000
• Grissom Middle School (2 existing teams) – $5,000
• Bittersweet Elementary School (1 new team) – $3,175
• Elm Road Elementary School (2 existing teams) – $6,137.50
• Horizon Elementary School (2 existing teams) -$6,137.50
• Meadows Edge Elementary School (1 new team) – $3,175
• Northpoint Elementary School (4 new teams) – $12,800
• Walt Disney Elementary School (1 new team) – $3,175

For all teams, existing and new teams, the grant pays for coaching stipends, team registration, competition registration, game specific materials, and supplies for building competition robots. Funds can also be used for transportation to events. 

For existing teams, most of their supplies will be updating and replacing used parts, tools, storage, and new parts needed for the new game. New teams’ supplies will be start-up kits, tools, storage, and game specific parts. 

The P-H-M proposal was selected from more than 145 grant proposals submitted for this funding opportunity, 137 school corporations and non-profit groups were ultimately chosen. The IDOE review team was impressed with P-H-M’s plan to design, construct, program, and participate in competitions with the goal of increasing Indiana student interest in STEM.

This grant removes barriers for schools and gives students opportunities to excel. It also creates a P-H-M pipeline of future Kingsmen robotics students with experience and excitement about robotics. Ultimately this opportunity gives students more STEM co-curricular experiences and broadens their horizons for future careers.

PHM’s overall Spring 2024 IREAD pass rate was 86.8%, the state’s was 82.5%, with a 4.3% variance over the state average.

Three of our elementary schools: Prairie Vista, Northpoint, and Horizon Elementary had pass rates over 90% and close to 100%.

These three schools were recognized today by Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner and state leaders at the Literacy Achievement Celebration.

The event celebrated elementary schools that achieved a 95% or higher pass rate on the 2024 IREAD assessment!

Prairie Vista’s pass rate was 97.7%.

Northpoint had a 95% pass rate.

Horizon was highlighted for it’s 95.3% pass rate.

On Sunday, September 8, the Michiana community joined Penn and P-H-M in giving Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hildebrandt a Heroine’s Welcome!

Before Sarah’s “Welcome Home” kicked off, the local media got some one-on-one time with Sarah, her parents, and Penn Head Wrestling Coach Brad Harper during a news conference. Coach Harper was Sarah’s wrestling coach when she was at Penn; he became her personal coach and coached her at the Tokyo Olympics wear she won Bronze. Coach Harper planned this special homecoming for Sarah. Click to see the full photo gallery below.

The parade left from Penn High School and went down McKinley approximately two miles and ended at Zolman’s Tire.

Thank you to all the parade participants who volunteered their time on a Sunday afternoon: Mishawaka and Penn Twp. Fire Departments, St. Joseph County Police, the Marching Kingsmen, Penn Girls and Boys Wrestling Teams, Penn Cheerleaders, Penn Youth Wrestling Club, Rocket Football cheerleaders, and Dr. and Mrs. Thacker. Along with Sarah with her mom Nancy and dad Chris, Sarah’s extended family were also in the parade. Sarah and her parents were in a golden yellow convertible Mustang driven by St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman. Thank you to Zolman’s Tire for supplying some trucks.

After the parade was over, hundreds gathered at Urban Swirl in Granger for an Olympic Celebration emceed by Mark McGill. A representative from Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood’s office read a proclamation declaring September 8th as Sarah Hildebrandt Day! U.S. Congressman Rudy Yakym read the historical entry on Sarah’s Olympic achievement that he will be submitting to the official U.S. Congressional Record.

Sarah was able to see and catch up with the coach who gave her first break, then Discovery Middle School Wrestling Coach Raoul Donati.

Sarah threw out free T-shirts featuring her smiley face tattoo on the front and her viral X tweet on the back.

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Check it all out in the photo gallery below.

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Grissom Middle School was recognized at the third annual Indiana Educational Excellence Awards Gala held in Indianapolis on Friday, September 6. Grissom won the Excellence in Academic Gains Award.

This prestigious award comes with a grant of $177,000! Schools must use the grant funds as indicated by the IDOE to continue the amazing work that the school was doing to earn the recognition; or choose to spend the money on projects related to any of the Educational Excellence Awards categories.

The Excellence in Academic Gains Award recognizes an individual school that has made the most progress in improving achievement for all students. One or more of the following must be demonstrated by the award recipient:

Grissom won the Excellence in Academic Gains Award, which recognizes an individual school that has made the most progress in improving achievement for all students. One or more of the following must be demonstrated by the award recipient:

• increased academic achievement for students as indicated by ILEARN English/language arts/Mathematics assessment results
• prioritization of initiatives focused on accelerating learning
• implementation of progress monitoring and evidenced-based practices for students in need of extra support

On hand for Grissom’s award recognition at the Gala were P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker, Principal Jenn Sinclair, Assistant Principals Eric Spatt and Greg Stover, Director of Student Services Dr. Jenny Sears, and 8th grade ELA teacher Josh Kelver.

The IDOE Excellence Gala also shown the spotlight on the finalists for the 2024 Indiana Teacher of the Year, Indiana’s 2023 Milken Educator Award recipients, and other dedicated educators from across the state.

Walt Disney Music teacher Robi Davidson was among the Top 10 Finalists for Indiana Teacher of the Year.

A Penn-Harris-Madison school has either won or been recognized at the Indiana Department of Education an Educational Excellence Award since it’s inception in 2022:

• Fall 2023, Penn High School was recognized with the Excellence in College Readiness Award and received a $250,000 grant from the IDOE! 
• In 2022, then Walt Disney Principal Ryan Towner was recognized as Indiana’s 2021-2022 Milken Award winner. Principal Towner was also recognized at the 2023 event as the Milken Award winner.
• Also in 2022, teacher Amanda Fox was recognized as Indiana’s finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). Mrs. Fox was also recognized at the 2023 Gala for being a Top 10 Finalist for Teacher of the Year.