Discovery Teacher Recognized for Exceptional Student Growth
Posted on February 26, 2026Penn-Harris-Madison Schools is proud to recognize outstanding educators whose instruction leads to meaningful academic growth for students.
This semester, Discovery Middle School 8th grade ELA teacher Patrick O’Malley was surprised with a P-H-M Teacher Impact Award after his students achieved the highest overall growth of all 8th grade ELA classes in the district. His two classes demonstrated remarkable improvement from ILEARN Checkpoint 1 to ELA Checkpoint 2, outperforming all other 8th grade ELA sections district-wide!
Superintendent Dr. Heather Short and Discovery Principal Elizabeth Cunha surprised Mr. O’Malley and his students with the recognition, celebrating the connection between high-quality instruction and student achievement.
The P-H-M Teacher Impact Award is presented each semester to teachers whose students show the greatest academic growth, highlighting excellence in teaching and learning across the district.
Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation for providing the beautiful engraved awards that the teachers keep in their classrooms as a reminder of what they and their students accomplished.
Last Modified February 26, 2026