P-H-M Excellence

P-H-M Excellence

Elm Road graduate holding younger sister

Excellence Happens Here!

P-H-M is widely recognized as the premier school district in northern Indiana and has a reputation for excellence! When you see #PHMExcellence on our social media accounts, we’re highlighting an example of excellence. With 15 schools and approximately 11,000 students, academic excellence is taking place across our district!

High Performing Indiana School District

U.S. News and World Report released its 2025 “Best Schools” rankings for K-8 public schools by state in November 2024.

P-H-M’s elementary schools are at the top of the list of Indiana’s 1,000 public elementary schools:

Discovery Middle School was ranked #3 out of 487 public middle schools.

Of Indiana’s 395 public high schools, Penn was ranked #25!

Click here to see how P-H-M’s other schools were ranked. These rankings are based on state assessment data from the 2021-2022 SY. 

With the release of Spring 2024 ILEARN scores, P-H-M is among Indiana’s top performing public school corporations:

  • P-H-M is in the Top 4%
  • Ranking of Indiana public schools that passed both ELA and Math:
    • Prairie Vista Elementary School is #3
    • Discovery Middle School is #2
  • When comparing overall percent passing for both, as a district, P-H-M is out performing the rest of the state with 20 percentage points higher than the state average.
  • 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%
    • Prairie Vista – 97.7%
    • Northpoint – 95%
    • Horizon – 95.3%
  • Penn High School’s graduation rate is 98%

The IDOE’S Graduates Prepared to Succeed Dashboard provides student-focused data to empower Indiana’s educators & families with information on how we are preparing our students for college and career success. Click here to view P-H-M’s GPS Report Card.

Click here to see our #PHMExcellence brochure highlighting the 2023-24 School Year.

IDOE Recognitions and Grants

  • P-H-M received $448,148 from the IDOE for the Competitive Science of Reading Grant! This money will provide valuable resources and tools for our teachers, thus enabling our students to achieve academic excellence. Click here to learn more.
  • The IDOE honored Penn High with the Excellence in College Readiness Award and a $250,000 grant! For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years because Penn High School ranked FIRST in the state with the highest number of students earning ICC (Indiana College Core) or AGS (Associate of General Studies) certificates earned!
  • The IDOE awarded Grissom Middle School with an Educational Excellence Award for Excellence in Academic Gains! This prestigious award comes with a grant with up to $177,000! The Excellence in Academic Gains Award recognizes an individual school that has made the most progress in improving achievement for all students. Click here to read more.

Nationally & Internationally Recognized Schools, Students and Alumni

Former Penn High School Wrestling star Sarah Hildebrandt earned a Gold Medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Women’s Wrestling (50kg); she won the Bronze in the Tokyo Olympics. Former Penn Volleyball Star Annie Drews and Team USA Volleyball won the Silver Medal as well; Annie won Gold in 2020/2021.

Fourth grade Horizon teacher Mrs. Julia Rulli’s 2023-2024 school year theme, “You Are Loved,” and her students’ Valentine’s schoolwide initiative caught the attention of NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and NBC Kids Edition. A story featuring Mrs. Rulli and her students aired on February 22, 2024. Click here to watch, scroll to 23:26.

Fall 2022, Penn High School junior Felix Zhang learned that he earned a perfect score, not missing a single question, on the college-level Advanced Placement® (AP®) Calculus AB Exam in Spring 2022—the only student in the world to do so! The media coverage of Felix’s amazing accomplishment made news around the world. He even got shout-out by Trevor Noah on “The Daily Show!” Click for more details and to see the news coverage.

Penn High School has national reputation for excellence is based on its outstanding academic, athletic and fine arts programs. Penn has been featured on national TV network news for students’ ingenuity and creativity! In October 2019, Penn students were highlighted on CBS Evening News for their work on a service learning project that resulted in building an oversized Incredible Hulk Halloween wheelchair costume for a 4-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. The interdisciplinary project brought together art/sculpture students with robotics/engineering students; the lessons taught transcended the classroom.

Award-winning Staff

  • Penn High School Strength & Conditioning Coach Matt Cates was named 2024 National Coach of the Year by the National High School Strength Coaches Association (NHSSCA)
  • Penn High School Associate Principal Rachel Fry is a Finalist for Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) 2024 District 2 Assistant Principal of the Year.
  • In 2023, IASP chose Penn Principal Dr. Sean Galiher as 2023 District 2 High School Principal of the Year.
  • Walt Disney Principal Dr. Melinda Higginson was IASP’s District 2 Elementary Principal of the year in 2024.
  • Northpoint 3rd grade teacher & P-H-M’s Elementary Teacher of the Year Nichol Mondy was named to the IDOE’s Top 25 Finalists for Indiana Teacher of the Year
  • Walt Disney Principal Ryan Towner received a 2022 Milken Educator Award for his excellence and innovation in education
  • Penn STEM Academy Leader & Biology Teacher John Gensic was recognized in October 2019 at the White House for being the 2017 national award recipient for the PAEMST.
  • Dr. Jerry Thacker has been named Indiana’s Superintendent of the Year (2012) and Indiana’s Outstanding Educator of the Year (2017 and 2013)
  • Dr. Thacker has also been awarded The Sagamore of the Wabash (2014), the highest honor Indiana’s governor can bestow, by then Governor Mike Pence

College and Career Readiness

With a graduation rate of 98%, Penn High School has supports college and career readiness with its academy structure. Penn High School’s Class of 2024 earned $16 million in scholarships! The academies serve as “smaller learning communities” where students build relationships while engaged in relevant learning experiences.

Instructional Technology

We provide technology-rich learning environments, equipping teachers, students and classrooms with digital tools and resources. We are a 1:1 Technology district. A leader in the state providing devices for all 11,000 students in the District! 

  • Kindergarten students use mini iPads to practice skills and gain proficiency
  • Grades 1-5 use Chromebooks  in the classroom to access classwork and resources
  • Every student in grades 6-12,  about 6,000 students, are issued a personal Chromebook for use at school and home!

Our schools include state-of-the-art science labs, digital production/broadcast studios and high-tech engineering/design spaces. Every classroom is equipped with interactive whiteboards and digital projectors. All elementary schools are equipped with microphones for students to better hear classroom instruction.

Enrollment

Moving to the area and need to enroll your child(ren)? Click here for a one-stop source of all the information you need to register your student(s). Families who live within the district’s boundaries are welcome to go directly to the school to enroll their children at any time or, during the summer months, by coming to the Educational Services Center at 55900 Bittersweet Road, Mishawaka, IN 46545.

Outside of the P-H-M District, but interested in enrolling your child(ren)? P-H-M is the district of choice for parents of more than 1,000 out-of-district students currently attending our schools. Click here for more details on how to enroll if you are out of district.

We continue to admit non-resident students each year in accordance with Board Policy 5111. Once admitted, non-resident students who remain in good standing may continue attending at P-H-M until they graduate high school. There is no application fee or tuition expense. 

Those interested in non-resident enrollment are encouraged to review the non-resident student application process, and take note when the annual application window opens and closes, and at which grade levels openings exist. 

Triangle of Success

Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker often speaks about P-H-M’s “Triangle of Success” connecting students, teachers, parents.” It is this collaboration and relationships that has lead to our students being college and career ready.

Dr. Jerry Thacker