District News

Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation (MVCSC) holds the health and safety as our number one priority for our students and staff. 

Comprehensive planning is continuing to take place to keep MVCSC students and staff healthy/safe during the school year. MVCSC's Back-to-School Taskforce of about 25 people developed safe reopening plans for this school year. The Back-to-School Taskforce is charged with providing the safest and healthiest environment possible. 

As the 2020-2021 school year reaches its end, the class of 2021 graduates celebrated with a safe and socially distant graduation ceremony. Exactly 342 (subject to change) seniors were asked to walk across the stage to receive their diplomas, recounting all their hard work and dedication. 

Wednesday morning, June 9, the Mt. Vernon staff gathered together in the high school gym to celebrate their accomplishments this year. The morning began with Superintendent Dr. Parker opening by recognizing the board. He continued the celebration by taking some time to speak to all staff, emphasizing their amazing efforts throughout this challenging year. Dr. Parker also made sure to mention that all staff should take this summer to rest and take care of themselves, and get a bit of respite.

Senior work day 2021 was another success! About 60% of Mt. Vernon High School’s (MVHS) seniors participated in the day of service, working all around campus to give back to the community. Seniors who participated worked from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and were provided with lunch cooked by the administration staff at the Hancock Health Stadium. In preparation for graduation, seniors were also able to pick up their caps and gowns at the stadium. 
 

How many schools give their students a challenge to defy gravity and walk on water? At Mt. Vernon Middle School, the 8th grade challenges their students’ critical thinking skills by tasking them to build a piloted device that travels the length of the pool, with one team member navigating on the float.
 

The Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation is pleased to announce that Mr. Vince Edwards has been selected as the principal of Fortville Elementary School, effective July 1, 2021. Edwards has served as elementary principal and K-12 assistant principal at Burris Laboratory School in Muncie, IN since 2014. Edwards’ leadership skills, transparency, technology knowledge and administrative experience made him an ideal candidate to lead Fortville Elementary in its path of continued excellence.
 

The Senior Honor Night for the class of 2021 took place in-person on May 13, 2021, sponsored by the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation (MVEF). The ceremony began with a welcome by the Student Government President, Shiloh McFarland, followed by the presentation of the seniors and opening remarks from Mt. Vernon High School (MVHS) principal Mr. Dodd. 
 

This summer, Superintendent Dr. Parker is partnering with the Fortville-Vernon Township Public Library to host a Summer Book Bonanza! Dr. Parker wants to share his love of reading with Mt. Vernon students and connect with them this summer through a book club.
 

Students who live out-of-district and wish to transfer into Mt. Vernon Schools must complete an online application during either of the designated windows listed below. Also, all students who are currently attending a Mt. Vernon school and do not live within the school district boundaries are also required to submit an application during either of these selected windows to attend during the 2021-2022 school year. If you live in any MVCSC enrollment area, you do NOT need to complete this application. As Superintendent Dr. Parker has previously shared, once you are a Mt. Vernon student/family, those students who submit an application will remain part of the Mt. Vernon family, unless there are major discipline or attendance issues.

Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation is proud to announce that Mt. Vernon High School (MVHS) has been ranked one of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best High Schools” in 2021. MVHS sits in the top 40% of the nation’s high schools and is now ranked 36th within Indiana and 15th in the Indianapolis metro area. The 2021 edition of Best High Schools includes a numerical ranking of nearly all public high schools nationwide – almost 18,000 of them. 
 

Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation is proud to share this year’s district winners of Teacher of the Year (TOY) Mrs. Lynette Huth, Science Teacher at Mt. Vernon High School, and and Staff of the Year (SOY) Mrs. Doris Johnson, Food Services Director!  Both winners were recognized at the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation’s Black and Gold Gala earlier this month.
 

Ten year-old Fortville Elementary student Ressie Lemmon has worked hard and recently achieved the experience of a lifetime. In early April, the young golfer traveled to Augusta National Golf Club for the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, ultimately placing fifth overall in the nation for her age group. In the individual events, she received third in putting, sixth in driving, and sixth in chipping. It was a long process for Ressie to earn her spot in the competition: first competing in the local qualifier, then subregional and regional. As the winner, she moved on to Augusta. 
 

Mrs. Stacy Muffler has been named as the Assistant Director of Curriculum & Instruction for the Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation (MVCSC) and will begin this tenure on July 1, 2021. She has held a variety of leadership positions in MVCSC and is currently serving as the Fortville Elementary School principal. Her duties will include leading efforts to recapture loss of learning in our schools and managing our systems for both academic and social/emotional interventions. Other duties include supervision and support of the MVCSC virtual learning program, teacher evaluation, supporting new teachers, and reinforcing our district student learning processes and procedures.  

The Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation (MVCSC) has named Mrs. Brooke Tharp as the new Mt. Vernon Middle School Principal, effective June 9, 2021. Tharp has served as the Assistant Principal of Mt. Vernon High School since 2016 and brings over 20 years of classroom teaching experience to this leadership position.

Throughout the pandemic, MVCSC has maintained focus on the importance of student learning. In order to achieve this, substitute teachers have played a crucial role in keeping our schools operating every day. Due to a substitute recruiting marketing initiative, 19 new substitutes, exclusively serving Mt. Vernon, have been hired by Kelly Services. This has brought the first semester’s substitute fill rate of 50% up to 72% in 2021.

Mt. Vernon High School strives to provide students with real-life experiences that prepare them for success after high school. This year at Mt. Vernon High School (MVHS), a new course, Health Science I, has been implemented that enables students to receive their Certified Nursing Assistant certification and college credit through Ivy Tech Community College.
 

At the January 25 Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation Board of Trustees Meeting, Mr. John Vincent (“Vince”) Lidy was hired as the Mt. Vernon High School (MVHS) Varsity Football Coach. Lidy will begin his employment on February 8 as a Physical Education Teacher, Varsity Football Coach, and Weight Training Coach. Since 2018, Lidy has been a MVHS Football Defensive Coordinator under the direction of Coach Mike Kirschner who recently resigned for a coaching position at his alma mater. In the last three years at Mt. Vernon, Lidy assisted the program’s achievements of a 30-8 record while winning a regional, a conference and two sectional championships.
 

The Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation (MVCSC) Board of Trustees welcomed Phil Edwards and Chad Gray as new members during the reorganization meeting on Monday, January 11. Edwards and Gray won the school board race in November, along with incumbent Tony May. Edwards and Gray will replace Beth Smith and Mike McCarty; MVCSC wishes to again thank Smith and McCarty for their invaluable service and welcome Edwards and Gray to the MVCSC Board of Trustees. 
 

The Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation has selected Mr. Michael Raters to serve as the Interim Mt. Vernon Middle School Principal. Raters will begin his contract at the start of the second semester on Tuesday, January 19 and serve through the remainder of the school year. This appointment is to temporarily fill the position after Mr. Benjamin Williams resigned to enter the business and consulting field.

Amazon has made a $20,000 donation to the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation to support the Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation’s STEM program. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.) These funds will be used to enhance the long-term advancement of STEM programming, providing additional educational opportunities for Mt. Vernon students. 

Mt. Vernon’s Mini-Marauder Preschool has received the title of Level 3 Paths to QUALITY™ Program, which is Indiana’s statewide quality rating and improvement system for early care and education. Childcare providers in Indiana start at Level 1 and work their way towards the national program’s highest accreditation, Level 4. These advancements result in significant quality improvements at each level.

Mt. Vernon Middle School (MVMS) principal, Mr. Benjamin Williams, recently graduated from the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute (IPLI). Housed at Indiana State University’s Bayh College of Education, IPLI is a two-year experience that addresses the professional needs of Indiana public school principals with an emphasis on student success. It was created with bipartisan support by the Indiana General Assembly in 2013.