The sounds of the season filled the air this week as Discovery Middle School’s 8th grade Piano Lab students took their talents into the community, sharing holiday music with local audiences.

Under the direction of their music teacher, Mr. Nate Freel, students performed a selection of festive pieces at StoryPoint Assisted Living Facility in Mishawaka, Ind., bringing smiles to residents and staff alike. Later in the day, the group continued spreading cheer with a second performance at the University Park Mall, where shoppers paused to enjoy the live music and join in the holiday spirit.

These performances offered students the opportunity to showcase their musical growth while connecting with the broader community, a wonderful example of #PHMExcellence in action.

Thank you to the Discovery music staff for inspiring our students to share their gifts and make the season a little brighter for everyone around them! 

Click here to view the full photo gallery.

The Penn-Harris-Madison Education Foundation (PHMEF) continues its mission of supporting excellence in education by awarding $73,715.48 in classroom innovation grants for the 2025-2026 school year, marking one of the largest funding years in foundation history! And Discovery was fortunate to receive $1,966.81 in grant dollars!

Each year, PHMEF’s Annual Grant Cycle provides teachers across the district with opportunities to bring creative, hands-on learning projects to life, projects that go beyond traditional classroom resources. The grants are made possible through the generosity of community donors, local businesses, and district supporters.

During the first couple of weeks of December, PHMEF Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom surprised grant recipients. Click here to see the full photo gallery.

Discovery was awarded three EZ grants (under $750). The descriptions are listed below:

1. Fit Lab
Emily Jenkinson • $471.00
Equipment for New Workout Room

2. Starbuddies Coffee Shop for All
Carly Hixson • $745.81
Supplies for Exceptional Education Student-Run Coffee Shop

3. Positive Postcards
Nicole Sullivan • $750.00
Personalized Postcards to be Mailed to Every Student

“On behalf of the entire PHM Education Foundation Board I want you to know how deeply we believe in our teachers and staff,” said PHMEF Executive Director Jennifer Turnblom. “Your dedication, and passion for making a positive impact are what make our schools truly exceptional. We are committed to funding your innovative ideas because you are the heart of excellence in PHM, and we are proud to support the remarkable work you do every day.”

For more on the P-H-M Education Foundation’s 2025-26 grant awards, click here.

U.S. News and World Report released its “Best Schools” rankings for K-8 public schools by state and Discovery is #3 out of Indiana’s 483 public middle schools.

Data is based on the 2021–2022, 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years.

Schmucker also made the list at #53.

And 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 #172
• Moran #175
• Elsie Rogers #297
• Madison #273
• Meadow’s Edge #370
• Walt Disney #385

Indiana’s 395 Indiana public high schools were also ranked, and Penn ranked #26.

The U.S. News & World Report analyzed 103,391 pre-K, elementary and middle schools nationwide for their rankings. The rankings use the same methodology for all included grade levels. For each state, schools were assessed on their shares of students who were proficient or above proficient in their mathematics and reading/language arts state assessments. Half of the formula assessed the scores themselves and the other half incorporated the test results in the context of socioeconomic demographics. In other words, the top-ranked schools are all high-achieving and have succeeded at educating all their students. Click here for more information on the methodology.

The highest ranked U.S. public schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best High Schools rankings are those whose students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores on an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions. They reviewed data on 17,901 public high schools. Click here for more background information on their ranking system.

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?

Piano Lab – I secretly would love to learn how to play piano and this class is so unique and fun to have in a student’s schedule at Discovery, I would absolutely enjoy it!

What’s your go-to morning routine (or must-have snack/coffee order) that helps you tackle the day?

Right now I am really into the iced coffee with vanilla flavor from McDonalds, not just for the taste, but the price….$1.06 with the app – you can’t beat that! Midday I love to order a tea from Discovery’s StarBuddies coffee shop; the price is even better — FREE!

What were you like as a middle or high school student — and what’s one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?

I attended Schmucker MS (because Discovery wasn’t built yet) and Penn HS and I was shy and worried about doing things “right” a lot of the time. I think I would tell my younger self to not be afraid to try new things and try out any sport or club that looks interesting. You never know what will end up being the thing you are passionate about and meet some great friends along the way!

If your job as a principal had a theme song, what song would be your walk up song–the one playing when you walked into school each day?

Unstoppable by Sia

What was your favorite school lunch or snack when you were a student? What is your favorite school lunch now as a principal?

Hands down, the square pizza then and now! I have a lunch account now and eat in the cafeteria regularly and although the walking taco is a close favorite; the school pizza has always been a core memory and I can’t pass it up!

What’s one fun fact about you that most students or staff don’t know?

I am working towards my black belt in Taekwondo along with my three sons. I am currently a brown belt and I recently competed in a tournament and one first place with my weapons form – nunchucks.

Do you have any hidden talents or hobbies outside of school that might surprise people?

I am fluent in Spanish and love to Latin Dance – salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia; it’s a fun hobby and great music.

What’s one thing on your bucket list you still hope to do one day?

Travel to all 7 continents – I have been to 4 so far!

What’s your favorite school tradition or event?

Discovery does the One Book One School event every year and it is such a great event that brings the whole school together. Everyone in the building reads the same book and we do fun activities like hallway detectives, scavenger hunts, Student and Teacher Trivia Gameshows and the final event – Battle of the Book. So many prizes and everyone is excited and talking about the same book, both staff and students, during that month and half!

If you could describe your school in one word, what would it be?

Excellence

Penn High School’s newest official sport is already making history. The Penn Girls Flag Football program hosted its first-ever Prospect Camp on July 22-23, welcoming over a dozen incoming middle school athletes. The two-day camp focused on building foundational skills in flag football, while also emphasizing teamwork and leadership development.

To see the full Flag Football Prospect Camp photo gallery click here.

The camp follows the official launch of the Girls Flag Football program at Penn, approved by the Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees in March. The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) announced earlier this year that 55 schools have committed to fielding teams for the 2025 season—more than double the 27 teams that participated in 2024.

The IHSAA is one of 19 state associations currently piloting the Girls Flag Football program in partnership with the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts. As part of this initiative, Penn High School will receive $6,500 in grant funding from the NFL and Colts to support the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

While the new IHSAA-sanctioned Girls Flag Football program marks a major expansion in athletic opportunity for student-athletes, Penn’s long-running “Powder Puff” Homecoming tournament will continue as a separate tradition. The event features four teams—one per class year—and remains a popular part of Penn’s Homecoming week festivities.

Penn Flag Football’s inaugural season is set to include a seven-game regular season, culminating in a postseason that features a sectional round and a state championship. The Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) is projecting six teams for the 2025 season: Penn, Elkhart, South Bend Adams, South Bend Riley, South Bend St. Joseph and South Bend Washington.

The NIC schedule kicks off with four conference games at School Field on Saturday, Aug. 23. Regular doubleheaders will follow at rotating locations throughout the season. Penn’s first home game is scheduled for Wednesday, September 3, against South Bend Riley. Game times will be announced at a later date.

The Penn team will hold practices after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, with games played on Wednesdays. Matches will be played in a 7-on-7 format, with each game lasting 60 minutes.

Leading the program is Head Coach Jerimiah Maggart, a 2007 Penn graduate and former football and wrestling standout. Maggart joined the Penn faculty for the 2024–2025 school year as a Fitness, Health, and Strength and Conditioning instructor. He previously taught and coached at Jimtown High School, where he served as head coach of the boys and girls wrestling programs. He has also coached at North Montgomery and Manchester High Schools. Maggart is a graduate of Purdue University.

Maggart aims to grow the program quickly, starting with a varsity team this fall. His long-term goals include adding a junior varsity team by the 2026 season and building out youth and middle school feeder programs.

Tryouts and official practices for the Penn Flag Football Team are scheduled to start on Monday, August 4.

Click here for a Google Form to fill out if you are interested in playing Girls Flag Football.

You can also email Coach Maggart at jmaggart1@phm.k12.in.us for more information.

At Monday night’s P-H-M Board of School Trustees meeting Superintendent Dr. Heather Short, presented three current P-H-M administrators for promotion. This was Dr. Short’s first school board meeting as superintendent since she started in the role on July 1. The following administrative changes were approved at the meeting:

Randy Williams was approved as the new Director of Academic and Student Support. Williams previously served in several administrative roles within PHM since 2008, including Principal of Madison and Walt Disney Elementary Schools, Dean of Students at Penn and Associate Principal of Penn. In 2018 he was honored as a member of the “Forty under 40” class. In 2023 He became the Director of Secondary Education and Student Services for the Middlebury Community School system. Williams now returns to Penn-Harris-Madison with a wealth of new professional experiences and an enhanced skill set.

Maddie Schmidt was approved for the Assistant Principal position at Grissom Middle School. Schmidt is a former Kingsmen and a graduate of Judson University. She has a master’s degree in Educational and Business Administration from Bethel University. Schmidt began her career teaching language arts at Schmucker Middle School. During her time there, she also served as an Instructional Leader. She is an active member of PHM’s Excellence in Leadership initiative and has held multiple teacher leadership roles at SMS. Most recently, she served as a Dean at Schmucker. 

Beth Stroven was approved for the Assistant Principal position at Schmucker Middle School. This past year, Stroven served as a math teacher at Grissom Middle School and is a member of PHM’s Excellence in Leadership initiative. Prior to joining P-H-M, she was a teacher in Elkhart Community Schools, where she was recognized as the 2019 District Elementary Teacher of the Year and received the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Grant where she earned a master’s degree in Educational and Business Administration from Indiana State University. She later served as the principal of Mary Daly Elementary School.