Penn-Harris-Madison ranks in Top 10 of public schools for ISTEP+ scores

With the Wednesday, January 6, 2016 public release of the 2015 ISTEP+ results, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation saw a jump in its ranking among Indiana’s 293 public school districts. With a 81.4% pass rate for ELA (English/Language Arts) and a 78.0% pass rate for Math, P-H-M ranks 10th in the state! The District’s 2015 overall combined pass rate for both subject areas is 72.1%.  

Another highlight from the 2015 ISTEP+ results for P-H-M … the School Corporation saw an increase in score variance. In grade 3, the variance between P-H-M’s scores and the state’s increased to 19.6 points; in grade 8, it goes up to 25.1 points. This shows that the younger a student enters the P-H-M education family, and the longer they are taught by P-H-M teachers, the better the students do!

Superintendent Jerry Thacker keeps the district’s focus on excellence in education, and acknowledges the partnership that makes it possible. “We commend our students and teachers, along with our parents for their concentrated hard work and dedication; that is the ‘Triangle of Success’ we tout at P-H-M.”

This link takes you to the full story of how P-H-M students fared on the 2015 assessment, including access to data charts that display individual school results. 

Scheduled Network Maintenance on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016

Penn-Harris-Madison will be performing computer network maintenance on February 12, 2016 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. to upgrade our current internet services. During that time, access to P-H-M online services, including P-H-M hosted websites, Canvas, APlus and Plato will be unavailable. This network maintenance is necessary in order for P-H-M to continue to offer excellent technology online service. We appreciate your patience.

DC Trip Information

Deadlines are fast approaching. If you still need to access a form or information for the 8th grade trip to Washington DC, you can get forms on Mr. Bontrager’s Canvas page or go to http://www.classictours.org/ and click on ‘Tour Forms’. 

ISTEP+ testing dates released. ISTEP Experience can help students prepare.

Parents of 3rd through 8th graders and 10th graders:  the Indiana Department of Education has released the testing windows for ISTEP+.  The two-part assessment will begin in late February. Part 1 of ISTEP will be done with paper/pencil and Part 2 will be done online. 

New this year:  In preparation for 2016 ISTEP+, the IDOE has now made ISTEP+ “Experience” available through Pearson, allowing students and parents to experience various technology-enhanced item types that will appear on the ISTEP+ Part 2 assessment as often as they like from home, at school, or on mobile devices. “Experience” is presented via the Pearson online platform (TestNav 8) that will be used for ISTEP+ online testing, as well as IREAD-3 online testing. P-H-M families can access ISTEP+ “Experience” through the P-H-M District website, as well as through the link provided on the RESOURCES menu of every school website.

Indiana Statewide Testing of Educational Progress Plus (ISTEP+ ) Grades 3-8, and 10

                                                                           Window Begins                                               Window Ends

ISTEP+ Part 1 – paper/pencil                      February 29, 2016                                          March 11, 2016
(Applied Skills)

ISTEP+ Part 2 – online                                  April 18, 2016                                                  May 6, 2016
(Multiple-choice & Technology-Enhanced Items)

For more information on the state assessment testing windows, please visit the Indiana Department of Education website, www.doe.in.gov/assessment.

 

 

Report Bullying

The Board of School Trustees and the Penn-Harris-Madison administration take bullying seriously.

The school district has put in place the tools, training and guidelines to help staff recognize and respond to bullying when it occurs. Staff members are required to report all instances of suspected bullying. We also engage our students in the discussion. We want them to fully understand why bullying is a problem—and that we expect them to be part of the solution. Well-informed parents can also be part of the solution. The resources below will help.

 

 

Letter from the Principal – ISTEP 2015

Dear Parents,
 
 
I wanted to give everyone an update on Spring 2015 ISTEP.  Schools have received very preliminary 
 
results and parents are asked to go online using the information mailed to you very recently.  Once you 
 
log onto https://indiana.ctb.com, you can access your student’s applied scores.  If you wish to have any 
 
rescored, you simply tap the BLUE scores and they will turn RED, thus requesting a RESCORE.   If you 
 
misplaced your letter (and the enclosed Invitation Code), you may call 800-481-4769 or email at 
 
support@ctb.com.  
 
 
On December 8, 2015, final ISTEP results will be released electronically to schools.  On December 22, 
 
2015, your student’s complete report will be available on the Indiana Parent Network and schools will 
 
have a copy, too.  A copy of your Individual Student Report will be mailed to you, also, sometime after 
 
Winter Break.  
 
 
I know it has been frustrating to all of us as we have awaited last spring’s scores.  However, we have 
 
kept our focus on the Acuity test results that are aligned to the Indiana Standards.  This information 
 
helps us plan lessons that need to be reviewed and/or expanded.  Our goal is still that 100% of our 
 
students PASS the ISTEP.  
 
 
The new tests are more difficult and complex.  They require more sustained reading..requiring student 
 
stamina AND higher order comprehension skill.  Students are routinely asked to compare more than one 
 
reading in answering questions and/or stating arguments.  We continue to practice these types of 
 
reading skills in all our content areas at DMS…especially in health, science, social studies, and math.  
 
Asking students to carefully read and evaluate instructions is also key to their success.  Being able to 
 
navigate technology enhanced questions is equally important.
 
 
We are working hard to have our students prepared for THEIR future!!
 
 
With your child in mind,
 
Sheryll M. Harper, principal

Discovery ranked among best in the nation!

Two Penn-Harris-Madison schools make the grade in national rankings of the nation’s top public schools …  Discovery Middle school came in at #50 of “50 Best American Public Middle Schools” and Northpoint Elementary came in at #27 on the 2015 list of “50 Best American Public Elementary Schools” by TheBestSchools.org. 

Discovery is also an “A” rated school and has twice recieved the National Blue Ribbon School Award (2006, 2013). Best Schools recognized Discovery for students participating in the Horizons STEM Conference, Academic Team Competitions, National Junior Honor Society and the Discovery Scholastic Art Competition.

Other rankings for Discovery include:

  • Ranked #4 in the state by SchoolDigger.com
  • Rated 10 (on a scale of 10) by GreatSchools.com
  • Rated 10 (one a scale of 10) by Education.com

Northpoint was cited for its academic performance, the strength and richness of its programs, and for earning National Blue Ribbon School status in 2010.

Other rankings for Northpoint include:

> “A+” grade by LocalSchoolDirectory.com

> A grade of 97 by City-data.com

> Rated 10 out of 10 by Education.com

> “A” grade by K12.Niche.com

> Ranked 4 out of 1014 schools with a 5 star rating by Schooldigger.com

Overall, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is an “A-rated” school district from the Indiana Department of Education.

> P-H-M performed in the top 5% of all Indiana districts on ISTEP+, with an overall passing rate of 91% in English/Language Arts and 93% in Math in 2014.

> 91% of P-H-M third graders passed the IREAD-3 proficiency exam on the first attempt, compared with 84% in the state overall.

> P-H-M has seven Four Star schools, as named by the IDOE. They are: Horizon Elementary, Mary Frank Elementary, Prairie Vista Elementary, Northpoint Elementary, Discovery Middle, Grissom Middle, and Penn High School. 

> Thirteen P-H-M schools earned an ‘A’ grade from the Indiana Department of Education.

Penn High School is again an elite 90-25-90 school. Penn’s performance far exceeds each of these three academic benchmarks, with a 97% graduation rate

On Sept. 29, 2015, Prairie Vista Elementary School was among the 335 schools awarded National Blue Ribbon School status for 2015. Prairie Vista was recognized as an “Exemplary High Performing School.”  This makes the second time that Prairie Vista has been named a Blue Ribbon school; the first award was given in 1996-97. And for the past seven years, the Indiana Department of Education has also recognized Prairie Vista as a Four Star School.

Prairie Vista’s 2015 recognition makes the eighth time that a P-H-M school has received the National Blue Ribbon designation: Penn High School in 1994, 1995 and again in 2001; Discovery Middle School in 2006 and 2013; Northpoint Elementary School in 2010; and Prairie Vista received the award for the first time in 1996.

Take the Speak Up survey – because your opinion counts!

 

Speak Up is a national research initiative that seeks to gather widespread input on the topic of educational technology.  

Each fall the Speak Up survey is posted online so students, parents, teachers, school staff, and the general public can share their views on technology in schools. 

 

 

The Speak Up survey has three primary objectives:

  • To provide a means for local schools and districts to easily and effectively listen to and act upon the ideas of their stakeholders
  • To provide a conduit for the voices of education stakeholders, most notably students, to inform national and state policies and programs
  • To stimulate new local discussions around the use of technology within education.

Survey results are typically released in February, and are important to those who shape educational policy, direct school finance, create curriculum, and implement technology in our schools.

Penn-Harris-Madison participates in the survey in part because we are recipients of a Digital Learning Grant that helps to fund our technology.  

Another reason we support Speak Up is because the results can be helpful in the development of our formal technology plans. Each P-H-M school develops and follows a 3-year technology plan that outlines its goals for educational technology and directs how resources may be spent to achieve those goals.

Here’s a link to learn more about the SPEAK UP survey and the agency that conducts the research, Project Tomorrow.  Get answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Speak Up here.

Or, you may want to just jump right in and take the survey!

Parents and community members CLICK HERE to TAKE THE SPEAK UP SURVEY NOW

The survey takes 15-20 minutes to complete and you will not need to create an account. The survey will be open until December 18 and the link on this webpage will remain active until then. 

P-H-M staff and students will have opportunities to take their version of the Speak Up survey at school / at work through arrangements made in the coming weeks.

 

Chromebook Web Filter

P-H-M provides web filtering at school that complies with the federal CIPA (Child Internet Protection Act) guidelines, and filters students from all recommended content such as hate crimes, nudity, violence, weapons and so on.  P-H-M also chooses to filter heavy time wasters such as social media websites from student use. The filter we use is an industry leader in content filtering and traffic shaping to help block not only harmful web pages, but mobile applications and other internet services. This filter only applies to student Chromebooks while they are at school or connected to the WiFi at any P-H-M building.  

At home students will be under the guidelines that parents provide for their home internet use.  If parents are looking for ways to help keep students on track at home we can make some suggestions that are inexpensive and safe for not only your Chromebook, but home computer, tablet and mobile phone devices as well.  One such program parents can use is called OpenDNS that allows parents to have a lot of control over how their internet access is used at home.  It is free for personal use. For more information go to https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/

Parents, take these steps to get HAC email alerts!

 

Parents of middle school and high school students who use HAC (Home Access Center), take note!

Some parents who signed up for HAC email alerts are not receiving them. 

Here are the two most common reasons for that, and what you can do to fix them.

PROBLEM:  You are not receiving any email alerts because the school has no email address on file, or the email address on file is incorrect.

SOLUTION:  Rather than assume yours is correct, please verify that it is!  Follow these steps:

  • Sign in to your HAC account

  • Go to REGISTRATION (on the right side of the main menu)

  • Click on the DEMOGRAPHIC tab

  • Look under CONTACTS, in the GUARDIAN section, to verify your email address

  • If none is listed, or the one listed is not correct, contact your child’s school and request a correction

Once you’ve confirmed your email address is correct, make sure your settings are correct, as explained in the PROBLEM/SOLUTION below.

PROBLEM:  You are not receiving an email that alerts you when your student gets a low grade (or, if you choose, a high grade) on an assignment in Gradebook because the high/low setting needs to be corrected.

SOLUTION:  This is an easy mistake to make, but an easy one to correct! Follow these steps:

  • Sign in to your HAC account

  • Click on CLASSES

  • Click the checkbox in front of “Alert me if my student receives an assignment average below ___ % or above ___%.”

  • Now put a number in one blank, or the other, but not both. If you fill in both blanks you will receive no alerts at all. Most parents want to know about a low score. To do that, enter a value in the “below_____ %” field – and leave the “above_____%” field blank.

Now you will receive an email if there is anything in the system that fits your “rule” at the time the email is sent!

HAC is a great resource and we want our parents to get the most out of it!