Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation was named among the 2024’s Best Communities for Music Education (​BCME) in the country by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation for the 11^th year in a row! P-H-M is among only 17 Indiana school districts, out of about 300, that made the list.

Now in its 25th year, the 2024 Best Communities for Music Education program has recognized 583 school districts and 135 schools across the country for the outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community leaders and their support for music education as part of a well-rounded education for all children. This recognition celebrates and recognizes K-12 music teachers in school districts who found creative ways for the “show to carry on” despite schools moving online or to in-person settings where masks were required not only for student musicians and instruments.

In P-H-M elementary schools, music class is part of the regular curriculum following state standards. Students are instructed in both vocal and instrument classes. Beginning in 6th grade, P-H-M students at our three middle schools (Discovery, Schmucker and Grissom) have the opportunity to choose choir, orchestra or band as their music elective. Students at Discovery also have the option of choosing Piano Lab. Schools from elementary all the way up to Penn High School also perform musicals.

Penn High School offers the Fine Arts & Communication Academy as part of its unique academy structure. The seven academy design provides Penn students with relevant and meaningful coursework taught in smaller, supportive environments where each student is known well by his teacher and peers. Nearly a third of Penn’s total 3,500 students are enrolled in the Fine Arts Academy with the majority being involved with music programs, either Choir, Orchestra, Band or another music program.

To qualify for the Best Communities designation, P-H-M answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas. Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music.

In a series of landmark studies by scientists and researchers at Northwestern University a link was found between students in community music programs and life-long academic success, including higher high school graduation rates and college attendance. In another study from the University, it was discovered that the benefits of early exposure to music education improves how the brain processes and assimilates sounds, a trait that lasts well into adulthood. Beyond the Northwestern research, other studies have indicated that music education lays the foundation for individual excellence in group settings, creative problem solving and flexibility in work situations, as well learning how to give and receive constructive criticism to excel.

At the P-H-M Board of School of Trustees meeting on Monday, February 26, district administration made a presentation to the Board regarding the total solar eclipse taking place on Monday, April 8. As part of the presentation, district administration announced that for a variety of reasons Monday, April 8 will be an eLearning Day. If the district has used all of its allotted three eLearning Days (we currently have used two), the day will be a Virtual Learning Day. No P-H-M sponsored field trips or planned evening activities will take place on this date. Monday, April 8 is the first day back after Spring Break (April 1-5). 

Indiana is in the path of totality and is centrally located in the United States, thus the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is telling tourists, residents, school districts and public agencies to be prepared for three days of potential impact such as, oversized crowds, gridlock traffic, communications disruptions, and even nocturnal animal confusion. Click here to see the full presentation from last night’s Board meeting.

The Indianapolis area and south will experience 100% totality; while the St. Joseph County area will experience 96%. Click here to see a map of Indiana regions that will experience varying degrees of darkness from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website. The South Bend area will start experiencing darkness at 1:53 p.m., lasting until 4:23 p.m., with 96% totality occurring at 3:09 p.m. and lasting just over 4 minutes. Because these times are around school dismissal times and based on the recommendations of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and the IDOE, P-H-M will not be holding in-person instruction on April 8. 

Thanks to Old National Bank and P-H-M Education Foundation, all students in the district will receive eclipse glasses to use at home with instructions. Mrs. Mindy O’Malley, Director of P-H-M’s Arthur M. Klinger Planetarium and Digital Video Theater, and a team of teachers, are preparing grade-level eclipse information to send home with students. In the classrooms leading up to April 8, teachers will educate students about this nearly once-in-a-lifetime event; the next total solar eclipse where portions of Indiana will be in full totality will be 2099.

If parents have any questions, they should contact their students’ principals. Employees should contact their supervisor or Human Resources.

A few times a year, the P-H-M Board of School Trustees holds their board meetings off-site at one of P-H-M’s 15 schools as a way to highlight for the Board and the community the education accomplishments and academic achievements taking place in the spotlight school. Click to see the full photo gallery below.

Monday, February 26 was Penn High School’s turn to shine!

Penn Principal Dr. Sean Galiher, Associate Principal Rachel Fry, Assistant Principals Sarah Hendricks, Jeanie Mitchell, and Josiah Parker, along with Athletic Director Jeff Hart, presented 2023-2024 first semester achievement report, which included data and information on academics, attendance, and athletics, along with recognitions of State Championship and Runners-Up teams, great teachers, mentors and coaches. Click here to see Principal Galiher’s full Board Presentation.

Intermingled in the presentations were performances by Penn Fine Arts groups like the student stars of the school musical, “The Music Man,” a quartet, the Jazz Band, and a tap dancer. Choir teacher Andrew Nemeth used the student performances to quiz Board Members on their musical knowledge with “Name that Tune.”  Click the YouTube link below to hear.

Some of the main highlights of Principal Galiher’s presentation to the Board highlighted Penn’s 98.12% graduation rate for 2023 and is on track to have the same for 2024. Looking at the freshmen class, 94.51% are “on-track” after 1st semester of the 2023-24 SY. The rest of Penn students are also doing well: 94.4% for sophomores, 94.6% for juniors, and 93.4% for seniors. The Class of 2024 is projected to have 52.4% graduate with Honors Diplomas.

In September of this school year, Penn was named a 2023 Cognia^® School of Distinction. Cognia is a global nonprofit school improvement organization grounded in research-based performance standards. They accredit 40,000 public and private schools in 90 countries; only 96 schools globally were recognized as Schools of Distinction, and Penn High School was among them, and the only high school in Indiana!

Cognia’s Mid-Atlantic Director Jennifer Horvath traveled from the Louisville, Kentucky to address the School Board and explain Cognia’s rigorous accreditation process. Ms. Horvath praised Penn High School for teacher and administration collaboration, along with the school’s climate and culture. Cognia student surveys showed that students feel safe, valued, and supported by their teachers. Click here to hear Ms. Horvath’s comments.

Associate Principal Fry presented on AP and dual credit enrollment and the Early College Academy. Currently at 1,816 students out of Penn’s @3,500 total students are taking AP courses; and 678 students of the Class of 2024 are enrolled in dual credit classes.

For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, 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! This was just one of the reasons why the IDOE recognized Penn with Excellence in College Readiness Award along with a $250,000 grant!

Debate Team teacher and coach Mr. Jeremy Starkweather, sporting a new haircut thanks to his team’s State Championship win, presented his student winners.

Along with the Debate Team, the other State Championship team, Spell Bowl, was also recognized. Both the Girls and Boys Swim/Dive teams were also recognized fresh off IHSAA State Championships returning as State Runners-Up. For the first time in Penn’s history, both teams were State Runners-Up in the same year! Lily Christianson is the State Champion in 50-Freestyle, 100-Freestyle, and was a member of the 200-Freestyle Relay Team with Kaia Podlin, Alayna Riggins, and Molly Barnes.

The Board thanked retiring Hall of Fame Head Football Coach Cory Yeoman for his 40 years of service to Penn High School, and also recognized the Yeoman family in attendance.

Penn Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Cates named the 2024 National Coach of the Year by the National High School Strength Coaches Association (NHSSCA) was also honored.

Many more student and staff accomplishments along with supporting data were shared with the Board. Click here to see Principal Galiher’s full Board Presentation.

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Penn High School has once again been ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the nation’s best public high schools. Penn ranks 1st in the South Bend area, 22nd in Indiana (out of 377 schools ranked in Indiana), and #1,581 in the national rankings (out of 17,680 nationally ranked high schools). This puts Penn in the top 8.9% of the nation’s best high schools for 2023!

In coordination with North Carolina-based RTI International, a global nonprofit social science research firm, U.S. News ranked approximately 17,680 public high schools out of nearly 25,000 reviewed. This is the count of public high schools that had a 12th grade enrollment of 15 students or greater, or otherwise had sufficient enrollment in other high school grades. Data from the 2020-2021 school year was used in the analysis. Click here to read more about the methodology.

Based on last school year, 2022-2023 the most recent school year, Penn’s students achieved a 98% graduation rate.

For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, 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! Penn is also the State leader (2021-2022 and 2022-2023) for Ivy Tech dual credit completions!

Highlights from the Class 0f 2023 include:

• $15 million in scholarships
• 446 earned Academic Honors diplomas
• 253 earned High Honors diplomas
• 41 earned Technical Honors diplomas
• 119 Early College Students
  • 106 earned ICC through Ivy Tech Community College
  • 89 earned Associates Degrees from Ivy Tech

The Academies at Penn High School provide the framework for student success. Through their work in each academy, students find relevant and meaningful coursework taught in a supportive environment where each student is known well by his teachers and peers. Through these “smaller learning communities,” students build relationships while engaged in relevant learning experiences.

Early College Academy was endorsed in 2019 as an “Early College High School” by The Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of Indianapolis. In 2022, the Academy was endorsed as a Level 2 program WITH DISTINCTION. Penn High School is the first and only Early College High School in Indiana to achieve this level of distinction!

The IDOE named the Early College Academy a “UCAN Mentor School” 

Click to see the full list of Indiana High Schools as ranked by US News & World Report in 2023. 

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