News

The Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees voted unanimously this morning to appoint Mrs. Jennifer (Jen) Smoker to fill the Penn Township Seat #1 vacancy created by the resignation of Matthew Chaffee in early October. A long-time resident and active community volunteer, Mrs. Smoker is a dedicated P-H-M parent of four children attending district schools. Her service and advocacy for students and staff have been felt ...

Prairie Vista Elementary fourth graders in Mrs. Hopper’s Life Science class recently took learning to a new level with a hands-on owl pellet dissection! Over the course of the week, students explored how owls eat and digest their prey. They learned that owls swallow their prey whole—and since their stomachs can’t digest certain parts like bones, fur, and feathers, those materials are compacted and regurgitated ...

U.S. News and World Report released its “Best Schools” rankings for K-8 public schools by state and Prairie Vista is #2 out of Indiana’s 989 public elementary schools! Data is based on the 2021–2022, 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years. All of P-H-M’s elementary schools are ranked among Indiana’s “Best Elementary Schools”: Northpoint #1 Prairie Vista #2 Horizon #37 Mary Frank #39 Bittersweet #94 Elm Road ...

First graders in Mrs. McTigue’s class at Prairie Vista Elementary brought their favorite storybook characters to life—one pumpkin at a time! After reading a book, students decorated pumpkins to represent a character from their story, then shared their creations in a fun “book report” presentation with classmates. After sharing their report, each student had the opportunity to answer three questions from their classmates. Mrs. McTigue’s ...

October is National Principals Month! To celebrate, we’re sharing short Q&As with each of our principals—giving you a glimpse into their leadership style, favorite parts of school life, and what drives their #PHMExcellence every day. If you could swap places with a student for one day, what class or activity would you be most excited to participate in — and why? If I could trade ...