Eleven Penn-Harris-Madison third grade students have been recognized as National Math Stars nominees through a partnership with the Indiana Department of Education.

The students earned the distinction by scoring in the top 2% of all third grade students in Indiana on the mathematics portion of ILEARN.

The National Math Stars Program is a nationwide initiative that recognizes and supports exceptional young mathematicians through academic enrichment, mentorship and advanced learning opportunities.

P-H-M is proud to celebrate the following students:

Bittersweet Elementary: Niko Hernandez
Elm Road Elementary: Daniel Ashdown
Elsie Rogers Elementary: Zeke Lannan
Horizon Elementary: Booker Kieser, Claire Stewart and Rowan Aland
Meadow’s Edge Elementary: August Kelver
Northpoint Elementary: Alan Jiang, Mason Ye and Frank Li
Prairie Vista Elementary: Emily Wojcik

This recognition reflects the hard work, curiosity and perseverance of these students, as well as the support they receive from their families, teachers and school communities. P-H-M proudly celebrates this outstanding achievement and congratulates each student on this honor.

Congratulations to Elsie Rogers Elementary 4th Grade teacher Allison Simpson on receiving a P-H-M Teacher Impact Award! 

Simpson was recognized after her students demonstrated outstanding growth in ELA from Checkpoint 1 to Checkpoint 2. Her students achieved an impressive 62-point growth, reflecting exceptional academic progress and achievement.

Superintendent Dr. Heather Short and Principal Christy Campbell surprised Simpson and her students with the recognition, celebrating the connection between high-quality instruction and student achievement.

Thank you to the P-H-M Education Foundation for supporting this recognition of excellence in teaching and learning across P-H-M.

Click here to view the full Canto photo gallery.

Penn-Harris-Madison Schools is proud to recognize outstanding educators whose instruction leads to meaningful academic growth for students.

This semester, Walt Disney Elementary English as a New Language (ENL) teacher Mayra Chanon was surprised with a P-H-M Teacher Impact Award for her outstanding work supporting multilingual learners at both Walt Disney Elementary and Elsie Rogers Elementary. Superintendent Dr. Heather Short shared the news with her while she was in her classroom at Walt Disney.

Mayra played an important role in helping several Grade 2 students successfully pass the IREAD assessment. At Elsie Rogers Elementary, 100% of the students she worked with passed IREAD in Grade 2. At Walt Disney Elementary, 68% of her students either passed IREAD or are on track to pass next year, demonstrating strong academic growth and progress.

Walt Disney Elementary Principal Matt Garber helped Dr. Short surprise Mrs. Chanon in her classroom at Walt Disney. She was celebrated for her dedication to student achievement and the meaningful impact she has on students across both schools. The P-H-M Teacher Impact Award is presented each semester to educators whose work leads to outstanding academic growth and achievement 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.

Click to see the full photo gallery in Canto.

Penn-Harris-Madison Schools is proud to recognize outstanding educators whose instruction leads to meaningful academic growth for students.

This semester, Elsie Rogers Elementary 4th Grade teacher Allison Simpson was surprised with a P-H-M Teacher Impact Award after her students demonstrated outstanding growth in ELA from Checkpoint 1 to Checkpoint 2. Her students achieved an impressive growth of 62 points, reflecting exceptional academic progress and achievement.

Superintendent Dr. Heather Short and Elsie Rogers Elementary Principal Christy Campbell surprised Allison and her 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.

Click to see the full photo gallery in Canto.

Race day for the annual Running is Elementary, sponsored by P-H-M’s Education Foundation, was a little windy, but gorgeous: just enough sunshine, just enough warmth, and the raindrops held off until all the races were over.

This year was one of the biggest yet with 700+ students from all 11 P-H-M elementary schools.

The one mile run is held at Penn’s Cross-country course, which is located behind Elm Road Elementary School. 

Fourth and fifth graders are encouraged to sign up for the free running club. Designated coaches at each school then train with the runners for the 6-week club culminating in the one mile race. More than 700 students participated this year!

This picture of two 4th grade runners exemplifies what RIE is all about. 

These two boys were running neck and neck all the way to the finish line vying for first place.

After the race, the Disney boy (dark navy t-shirt) went out of his way to find the Moran runner (pink shirt) so they could take a picture together.

The students being from two different schools had never met before, but in that moment, it didn’t matter.

Running is Elementary not only teaches students about fitness and wellness, it also teaches them sportsmanship, connection and the importance of supporting and celebrating each other!

CONGRATULATIONS to all the students who participated! Click to see the list below of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners only for the four races. The list shows finish times listed by bib number and school. Parents should contact their school coach for their child’s specific time.

What makes this event so special is that students are cheered on by their fellow students, families, teachers, running coaches, principals, PHM School Board members and administrators, principals, and other PHM staff members. A photo gallery sample is below, but click here to visit the full photo gallery in the Education Foundation’s Canto photo portal.

Race Results:

5^th Grade Girls Winners

1. 06:49.07, Bib # 244, Northpoint
2. 06:50.53, Bib # 235, Northpoint
3. 07:05.08, Bib # 187, Mary Frank

School Team Rankings:

1. Horizon
2. Mary Frank
3. Northpoint

5th Grade Boys Winners

1. 06:14.75, Bib # 597, Northpoint
2. 06:16.06, Bib # 650, Madison
3. 06:29.29, Bib # 590, Northpoint

School Team Rankings:

1. Northpoint
2. Horizon
3. Elm Road

4th Grade Girls Winners

1. 07:06.27, Bib # 62, Horizon
2. 07:30.09, Bib # 31, Elm Road
3. 07:31.47, Bib # 75, Mary Frank

School Team Rankings:

1. Prairie Vista
2. Northpoint
3. Bittersweet

4th Grade Boys Winners:

1. 06:34.34, Bib # 438, Walt Disney
2. 06:34.73, Bib # 392, Moran
3. 06:48.85, Bib # 402, Northpoint

School Team Rankings:

1. Northpoint
2. Bittersweet
3. Elm Road

Here’s a breakdown of the shirt colors:

Thank you to Cindy Batalis (physical education teacher at Mary Frank Elementary School) whose own love for running and her desire to pass that love on is the passion and brain child behind Running is Elementary. Thank you to all the PHM teachers, running coaches, school staff, and Penn Cross Country student-athletes who help out every year, along with P-H-M Education Foudation Board members and volunteers.

Thank you PHMEF and all their amazing sponsors that make this event possible for our students:

• Martin’s donated the post race snacks
• Royal Excursion donated transportation to auxiliary parking lots
• Benchmark Family Services helped PHMEF offset costs
• Culver’s provided gift baskets for a prize drawing
• Kona Ice and Tom’s Coffee did givebacks 
• Attorney Katy Wrona was also a sponsor

2026 Running is Elementary will be held Monday, May 4 (Rain Date Wednesday, May 6) at Elm Road Elementary School, 59400 Elm Rd, Mishawaka.

Timeline of Events:

• 2:50 p.m. – Introductions
• 3:00 p.m. – 5th gr. Girls Race
• 3:20 p.m. – 5th gr. Boys Race
• 3:40 p.m. – 4th gr. Girls Race
• 4:00 p.m. – 4th gr. Boys Race

Parking Information:

• Elm Road will be filled first before using Grissom Middle School, 13881 Kern Rd., Mishawaka
• Family/Spectator parking at the bottom of Elm Road School as space allows. This area will be primarily be for principals, coaches, and volunteers

ALL Runners need to be picked up no later than 4:30 at Elm Road. Runners may leave following completion of their grade’s run by checking out with the coach. 

RAIN DATE: Principals will be notified by Noon on Monday and information will be posted on elementary schools’ website along with P-H-M & Education Foundation website PHMEF.org 

Elsie Rogers Elementary 4th graders recently teamed up with Grissom Middle School 6th graders for a day of hands-on science learning.

Grissom students set up a series of science booths featuring different experiments and concepts at the middle school. The 4th graders came to Grissom on a visit and rotated through each station, learning about the topics while getting to participate in the activities.

Each group of 4th graders was guided by 6th grade tour guides, who helped explain the experiments and kept the rotations moving. The setup gave younger students a chance to explore science in an interactive way, while also allowing Grissom students to take on a leadership role. The event also gave students an opportunity to connect across grade levels, helping make the transition to middle school feel a little more familiar for the 4th graders.

To wrap up the day, students enjoyed a pizza party. A special thank you goes to Rossini’s Pizza for donating the pizza. The restaurant’s manager, a Grissom alum, helped make the day even more memorable for students.

Click here to view the photo gallery from the science fair.   

We’re Accepting Applications for the
2026-27 School Year

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In advance of National Reading Month in March, Elsie Rogers Elementary welcomed special guest readers on Friday, February 27 to help build excitement for a month focused on literacy.

Superintendent Dr. Heather Short, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lavon Dean-Null, Director of Professional Development & Student Learning Dr. Mindy Higginson, Director of Academic and Student Support Randy Williams, and Officer Howard spent time in classrooms reading with students and sharing their love of books.

The visit provided students with the opportunity to hear stories from district leaders and community partners while reinforcing the importance of reading both in school and at home.

As National Reading Month begins, Elsie Rogers students are already off to a strong start, inspired by leaders who took the time to celebrate the power of literacy.

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Krystle Mauro, a 3rd grade teacher at Elsie Rogers Elementary School, has earned a P-H-M Impact Award for strong student growth in math between Checkpoint 1 and Checkpoint 2.

She was visited by P-H-M Superintendent of Schools Dr. Heather Short in recognition of the achievement.

Using the average class scale score, students demonstrated a gain of 52 scale points. This growth reflects meaningful progress during the instructional window and contributes to overall grade-level improvement.

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