Northpoint Nominated as a National Blue Ribbon School

Posted on January 19, 2016

Another Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation school has been nominated for a National Blue Ribbon School Award.  Northpoint Elementary School received word on Friday, Jan. 15 of the school’s recent nomination by Indiana Superintendent Glenda Ritz to the U.S. Department of Education for the National Blue Ribbon School award.

Northpoint is one of just eight Indiana schools nominated for the award. The school was selected based on student performance on 2014-2015 ISTEP+. In 2015, Northpoint had 95.9% pass rate for ELA, and 94.1% for Math. In 2014, the ELA pass rate was 99.3% and Math was 99.7%.

The award requires that schools nominated have pass rates on each test, at each grade level, and be in the upper 15 percent of Indiana schools. Additionally, three of the eight schools must have 40% or greater free/reduced lunch rates.

Announcement of school award winners will be made in September 2016 by the U.S. Secretary of Education, John B. King, Jr. If Northpoint is named a National Blue Ribbon School it will be the second time the school has received the honor (the first time was in 2010) and two consecutive years that a PHM school was named a National Blue Ribbon School.

On Sept. 29, 2015, Prairie Vista won. To date, P-H-M has received the National Blue Ribbon designation eight times: 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 in 1996 and 2015.
 

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation serves approximately 10,700 students in 11 elementary schools, three middle schools and Penn High School. For the 2015 ISTEP+, P-H-M earned an 81.4% pass rate for ELA (English/Language Arts); 78.0% pass rate for Math; and an overall combined pass rate of 72.1% for both subjects areas. P-H-M now ranks 10th in the state among 293 public school districts. In 2014, P-H-M was rated an “A-rated” school district by the Indiana Department of Education for the 5th year in a row. Penn High School's graduation rate exceeds the state’s with a 97% graduation rate and is rated a 90-25-90 school by the IDOE. 100% of P-H-M teachers rank either highly effective or effective. 

Last Modified January 19, 2016