Principal Hope shares Penn High’s 2015-2016 Progress Report

Posted on June 30, 2016

Each student gets a progress report at the end of the school year that lets parents know about their child’s academic standing and achievement. Penn High School gets one also!

Principal Steve Hope delivered Penn High School’s annual progress report to the school trustees and others in attendance at their June 27, 2016 board meeting.

He shared these academic achievements, athletics highlights, and other accolades. Click here to access the full report. 

ACADEMICS

Mr. Hope reported that Penn met and exceeded Indiana’s three “high achievement” targets, known as 90-25-90, by scoring 90-66-97.

The three data points in this metric represent End-of-Course Assessment (ECA) results, College and Career Readiness measures, and Graduation Rate. Of note is Penn’s continued improvement in these three areas.

  • Looking at ECA Scores over time, the passing rate for English 10, for example, has risen from 83% five years ago to 90% in 2015.
  • Gains in the area of College and Career Readiness are remarkable, up from 27% success in 2011 to 66% in 2015.
  • Penn’s graduation rate has climbed steadily, rising from 79% in 2008 to just under 98% in 2015.

Another measure of success is the rate at which Academic Honors Diplomas are being earned. More than 50% of Penn graduates earned an Academic Honors diploma in 2016—nearly double the 27% rate in 2008—while fewer than 2% graduated with a general diploma.

Mr. Hope attributes Penn’s success in educating and graduating students in great part to the faculty’s dedication to the three R’s of Rigor, Relevance and Relationships, as well as the school’s academy structure, and the district’s investment in professional development for its instructional staff.

Penn is proud to once again be recognized as an elite 90-25-90 school!

ATHLETICS

The Penn Girls Basketball program won its first ever state championship this year. The squad is coached by Kristi Ulrich–who was recently named South Bend Tribune Coach of the Year.

In addition to the Girls Basketball team’s run to the state title, these three teams finished as semi-state champions: Boys Varsity Football, Girls Soccer, Girls Softball.

Also won this year by our IHSAA-sanctioned fall, spring and winter sports teams: 12 Northern Indiana Conference championships, 16 sectional championships, and 9 regional championships.

Penn is proud to be home to three Indiana Mental Attitude Award winners! These three student-athletes were recognized at the state level for their character and contributions: Camden Bohn (Football), Kamra Solomon (Girls Soccer), and Alyssa Griman (Softball).

ACCOLADES

While Penn High School students and staff have earned many accolades in the past year, Mr. Hope singled out these four in his report to the board:

  • Penn was named an Indiana 4-Star School for the fourth consecutive year
  • US News & World Report included Penn in its national “Best High Schools” list
  • The Washington Post identified Penn as one of “America’s Most Challenging High Schools”
  • Indiana Department of Education recognized Penn as a School of Promising Practices for its delivery of “Problem-based Learning”

Click here to access the full report

Last Modified January 12, 2022