ParentSquareDr. 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 P-H-M, will succeed Dr. Jerry Thacker, who is retiring after 19 years of transformative leadership. Dr. Short has served as Assistant Superintendent for Instruction since 2017. During her tenure, P-H-M students have experienced consistent academic growth and achievement.
“I am deeply honored by the Board’s confidence and grateful to Dr. Thacker for his mentorship throughout my career,” said Dr. Short. “It has been the privilege of a lifetime to grow as a leader within this incredible district. I’m excited to continue working alongside our talented staff, dedicated families, and exceptional students to expand opportunities and ensure every child thrives.”
Under Dr. Short’s leadership, P-H-M ranks in the top 4% of Indiana districts based on ILEARN scores. The district also outpaces the state average by 20 percentage points in overall percent passing rates.
“There is no one better—or more qualified—to lead P-H-M’s continued path of academic excellence than Dr. Short,” said Chris Riley, President of the Board of School Trustees. “Her academic expertise and visionary leadership in developing rigorous, relevant curriculum have been key to our students’ success. Dr. Short was the Board’s clear and unanimous choice for superintendent.”
P-H-M is home to some of Indiana’s highest-performing public schools in both English/Language Arts and Math. Prairie Vista Elementary ranks #3 in the state, while Discovery Middle School ranks #2. In Spring 2024, P-H-M’s IREAD pass rate was 86.8%, surpassing the state average of 82.5%. Three P-H-M elementary schools—Prairie Vista (97.7%), Northpoint (95%), and Horizon (95.3%)—achieved pass rates above 90%.
Included in her district-wide academic strategy was a robust Response to Intervention (RtI) program and expanded summer offerings that support both enrichment and remediation.
Dr. Short’s leadership journey reflects deep roots and unwavering commitment to P-H-M. She began her career as a classroom teacher before serving as an Instructional Leader and High Ability Coordinator. Click here to learn how Dr. Short and Board Trustee Katie Bell’s paths crossed when Dr. Short was a 3rd grade teacher at Northpoint. In 2004, she became principal of Prairie Vista Elementary. Recognizing her talent for professional growth and instructional excellence, Dr. Thacker appointed her in 2007 as P-H-M’s first Director of Professional Development—a role she held for a decade before being named Assistant Superintendent.
Throughout her career, Dr. Short has been deeply committed to developing others. She co-created a nationally recognized leadership development program designed to build internal capacity among P-H-M educators and administrators. Her strategic focus on professional development has empowered teachers at every level—from new educators to veteran principals—through initiatives like the annual Literacy Summit and the New Teacher Series.
As Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Short has combined her instructional leadership with strong fiscal stewardship. She has overseen the management of multimillion-dollar budgets and successfully secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in state grants—investments that have directly enhanced classroom instruction, expanded student programs, and strengthened districtwide operations.
“Dr. Short possesses one of the most valuable qualities a leader can have: the ability to build genuine relationships,” said Dr. Thacker. “She makes personal connections with teachers, principals, staff, families—and most importantly, students. She understands the P-H-M culture because she helped build it. There is no one more fitting to serve as the next superintendent.”
After the Board approved Dr. Short as the district’s new leader, Board members shared well wishes and comments. Trustee Katie Bell (elected in November 2024) talked about how things have come full circle for her as a former student of Dr. Short’s when she taught 3rd grade gifted and talented students at Northpoint. The two were actually featured in an article that ran in the South Bend Tribune in March 2003. The article featured Dr. Short teaching her students how to use PowerPoint for their Geography reports on Asia. Click here to read the original story.
Fast forward to 2013 to when Dr. Short was P-H-M’s Director of Professional Development, she interviewed Bell for a teaching position. Bell was hired as a kindergarten teacher in 2016 at Prairie Vista Elementary School and Dr. Short led the professional development for all new teachers.
“Dr. Short and I are a testament that it’s never goodbye, it’s always see you later,” Bell said. “And I think that shows the true impact of a teacher, that they are in your lives forever, and that you will always remember them.”
Media Coverage
2024 PHM Elementary Spell Bowl Results
Tuesday, March 19 was P-H-M’s annual Elementary Spell Bowl event. Student 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teams from all 11 elementary schools compete. Click here to see the photo gallery below.
Below is this year’s “leaderboard”:
3rd Grade Winners:
- 1st place- Northpoint with 29 points, coached by Nichol Monday
- 2nd place- Prairie Vista with 27 points
- 3rd place tie – Bittersweet, Horizon and Mary Frank each with 22 points
4th Grade Winners:
- 1st place- Northpoint with 30 points, coached by Jen Payne
- 2nd place- Bittersweet with 29 points
- 3rd place- Prairie Vista with 27 points
The 5th grade competition was very close with Northpoint and Bittersweet neck and neck. The tiebreaker words were: panache, soup du jour, fluorescence, pharmaceutical and Albuquerque.
5th Grade Winners:
- 1st place- Northpoint with 38 points, coached by Ros Morehouse
- 2nd place- Bittersweet with 37 points
- 3rd place tie – Prairie Vista and Horizon each with 26 points
Overall Bittersweet did so well that when the 5th grade team came out on stage to be recognized, the other students and parents cheered, clapped, and gave them a rousing round of congratulations!
The teams spend weeks preparing for Spell Bowl with their teacher coaches. They may study word lists, learn about derivations (e.g., Latin roots) and rules (e.g., capitalization, pluralization), and how to spell correctly under pressure.
The format of the Spell Bowl is more like a written test. The emcee reads a word and uses the word in a sentence, the students listen and then write it on paper within a 15-second time limit. The students’ written entries are reviewed by a panel of judges and then their score is posted in front of the audience. Each correct word spelling is worth one point.
The annual event is held in Penn High School’s Center for Performing Arts to not only accommodate all the student teams, but also the students’ “fans,” which are their family, friends and other staff from their home schools!
Mrs. Cassie Scarsella, P-H-M’s High Ability Coordinator, manages the Spell Bowl and works to assure that it is a positive and enriching experience for students. Academic competition can give students confidence, increase their motivation to sharpen their skills and abilities, and expand their opportunities to receive recognition.
April 8 Solar Eclipse Information
While the Indianapolis area and south will experience 100% totality for the solar eclipse occurring on Monday, April 8, 2024, the St. Joseph County area will only experience 96%.
The Michiana area will start experiencing darkness at 1:53 p.m., lasting until 4:23 p.m., with 96% totality occurring at 3:09 p.m. and lasting just over 4 minutes.
Click to watch the video below and hear from P-H-M Digital Video Theater and Planetarium Director Melinda O’Malley as she shows us what to expect in our area.
Click here to see a Indiana Department of Natural Resources map of Indiana regions that will experience varying degrees of darkness. Click here to also get more background information on the Great American Eclipse website.
Because the partial eclipse time is occurring around elementary school dismissal times and based on the recommendations of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and the IDOE, P-H-M will have an eLearning day on April 8. Click here for more information on that decision.
Thanks to Old National Bank and P-H-M Education Foundation, all students will have a pair of eclipse glasses to use at home when watching the eclipse with their families. The glasses will be sent home the week of March 25 before P-H-M’s Spring Break.
DVT Director Mrs. O’Malley demonstrates how the eclipse glasses should be used.