News

Penn high school students gradate

P-H-M Students Excel on Spring 2025 ILEARN

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation (P-H-M) proudly shares the outstanding performance of its students on the Spring 2025 ILEARN assessment, as released by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). P-H-M students once again outperformed the state average by an impressive 20 percentage points in the percentage of students passing both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. This achievement places P-H-M in the top 4% of public school ...

Carrie Mumaw Wins PHM Teacher IMPACT Award

Retiring P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker, incoming Superintendent Dr. Heather Short, Principal Dr. Keely Twibbel, and other P-H-M Administrators surprised Prairie Vista 4th grade teacher Carrie Mumaw on Monday, June 2, with a P-H-M teacher IMPACT award. She had the highest growth in 4th gr ELA on Spring ILEARN! Little known fact ... Carrie Mumaw was a student teacher under Dr. Short ...
Circle of Corydon award

Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker Receives Several Honors Upon Retirement

In March, Superintendent of Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation Dr. Jerry Thacker announced his retirement after 19 years. Under Dr. Thacker’s leadership, P-H-M has achieved extraordinary milestones, including raising the graduation rate from 79% to 98%, ranking in the top 4% of the state academically, and helping students earn more than $200 million in scholarships. He also prioritized school safety, leading P-H-M to be ranked sixth in ...
Dr. Dean Null and Dr. Higginson

Recommendations for Asst. Superintendent and Dir. of Professional Development

Dr. Jerry Thacker is proud and delighted that the Board of School Trustees appointed Dr. Heather Short this week to succeed him as superintendent upon his retirement. From Dr. Heather Short: As the incoming Superintendent, I am thrilled to recommend Dr. Lavon Dean-Null to succeed me as the next Assistant Superintendent for Instruction. In addition, I am also recommending Dr. Mindy Higginson as the next ...
Dr. Jerry Thacker, Dr. Heather Short, & Chris Riley

Dr. Heather Short Approved as New Superintendent

In a special meeting held Tuesday, May 27, the Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees unanimously (7-0) approved the appointment of Dr. Heather Short as the district’s next superintendent effective July 1, 2025. Nearly 50 P-H-M teachers, administrators, staff, family and friends showed up to express their overwhelming support of Dr. Short's appointment. Dr. Short, a lifelong educator who has dedicated her entire 31-year career to ...