Penn-Harris-Madison Schools is starting the year with a new superintendent.
Dr. Heather Short steps into the role after the nearly two-decade tenure of Dr. Jerry Thacker. She says she’s mindful of the responsibility.
“Replacing a legacy is not for the faint of heart,” Short said. Short says the district’s record IREAD gains this year are a sign of what can happen when teachers have the right tools, but she says her focus goes beyond test scores, toward strengthening instruction in every classroom.
“One of the things that I have always been driven toward is just the concept of the relentless pursuit of quality instruction,” she said. That includes giving educators research-backed strategies in the classroom and making sure parents have the tools to help their students excel at home.
Short says the IREAD gains reflect the dedication of P-H-M teachers.
“They’ve really dug into how to make sure we can identify areas where students still need additional instruction in order to be successful and then address them. So I give full credit to our educators,” she said. She also points to parents as an important part of the equation, citing new programs to help them support learning at home.
“Parents are an integral part of what we do. And if there are ways that we can help them understand a little bit more about what the instructional process looks like, we’re happy to do that,” Short said.Her goal, she says, is to make sure graduates leave P-H-M prepared for whatever comes next: college, career or military service.
