P-H-M shutdown due to "Shelter in Place" Order for Indiana (3.23.20) | Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation Skip to main content

P-H-M shutdown due to "Shelter in Place" Order for Indiana (3.23.20)

Dear P-H-M Families,

 

As you are aware, this afternoon Governor Eric Holcomb ordered a “Shelter in Place Order” for the state of Indiana to go into effect tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24 (11:59 p.m.) through April 7, 2020 (11:59 p.m.). 

 

The Governor called on all state agencies to do their part in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19 by closing offices and ending in-person non-essential contact. The Governor’s order calls for all state agencies that are able to shift to providing services online or virtually to do so starting tomorrow. Click here for more information on the Order.

 

For Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation this means that most of the essential staff who still remained in our buildings will not report on site for work starting tomorrow, March 24. Building principals and secretaries will work remotely continuing to serve and support our students, staff, and families during this period of extended eLearning. If you do not have your building principal and secretary’s email address, you can find it on your school website. Just click the yellow alert at the top of the homepage. Teachers, of course, are already working remotely from home facilitating eLearning for our nearly 11,000 students grades K-12. 

 

The only staff who will continue to report to work in person are those needed to ensure our buildings are safe and maintained. Those who are necessary to conduct essential district business operations will still also report for work on site as permitted by the Executive Order. 

 

Food Service has now become a critical service that we are providing to our families. Yet out of an abundance of caution, we are reducing the number of sack meal pickup sites to just three sites effective tomorrow, March 24:

  • Early Meals (8-9 am)
    • Prairie Vista & Grissom 
  • Midday meals (11 am - 1 pm)
    • Prairie Vista, Grissom, & Penn
  • Late meals (5 - 7 pm)
    • Penn High School only
       

Essential school and district staff members who are working at home remotely will be reachable via email. This is the best way to reach someone initially.

 

These are definitely unprecedented times for our country. Every single person is being impacted by COVID-19 in some way or another. Today Governor Holcomb called on all of us to do our part to help all Hoosiers. Cooperation by all citizens in all communities across Indiana for these next two weeks will hopefully prevent an overload to our state’s healthcare system. This is something we can all do to help the healthcare providers on the front line. Self-sacrifice for these next two weeks will also put our state in a better position to rebound economically.

 

I strongly urge all of you to take this Executive Order seriously. For more information on what the Executive Order permits and restricts, click here.

 

The sooner this pandemic crisis ends, the sooner our students can return to school and we can get back to doing what we love the most … educating and supporting your children!

 

Stay healthy, safe and well,

Dr. Jerry Thacker
Superintendent of Schools