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. 

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 Future Growth Plan was the main focus at the Monday, November 16 MVCSC Board of Trustees meeting. Various architects, construction and finance specialists shared detailed reports on the dual tracks: renovating the administration/preschool building, or building a new elementary school on a location yet to be determined. The community is invited to attend either of the presentations on December 3 or 9 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/92945980133) to learn details about the dual track.
 

The Hancock County Exchange Club lined 100 flags down CR N 200 W to honor the 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command for their recent U.S. Army deployment ceremony at Mt. Vernon High School (MVHS). The ceremonial event gave family, friends, and community members a chance to say goodbye to more than 250 soldiers before the unit was deployed to Kuwait. 
 

Congratulations to Mt. Vernon High School seniors Alycia Arkenau and Kayden Bensheimer for being named as finalists for the Hancock County Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. Each of the four public high schools in Hancock County submit two finalists for consideration. The final two winners for the county will be announced on December ninth and awarded a full four-year tuition scholarship to an Indiana public university. 
 

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.

The Mt. Vernon Education Foundation (MVEF) has received a $12,000 Central Indiana COVID-19 Community Economic Relief Fund (C-CERF) grant which will benefit Mt. Vernon students. This grant is made possible by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. and awarded by the United Way of Central Indiana. The Lilly Endowment donated a total of $1,712,500 to help meet needs affected by the pandemic in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks and Morgan counties.
 

At the Mt. Vernon High School (MVHS) Band of Marauders’ Community Night Performance on October 8, the MVHS Band of Marauders presented the Mt. Vernon School Board with a retired uniform, last worn during the “Wheel'd” performance in the fall of 2019. The “Wheel’d” performance consistently finished in the top three of each contest, and placed first in three contests. The Band of Marauders finished their season in second place at Scholastic Finals last year.

Mt. Vernon would like to congratulate Mt. Vernon High School (MVHS) Senior, Katelynn Hexamer, on her recent nomination for Indiana’s Champion of the Year through the Best Buddies program. Katelynn has participated in MVHS’s Best Buddies program the past four years and worked has now evolved to become the president of the Mt. Vernon chapter.
 

Mt. Vernon is one of many school districts that has been selected to receive $185,000 in funding from The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund to improve online school instruction. This grant was applied for in partnership with the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of Indianapolis and the Central Indiana Educational Service Center (CIESC). 

The Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation is pleased to announce that the Mt. Vernon Middle School has received a $15,000 grant from Bayer Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. School districts across America were nominated and selected by a panel of teachers and farmers to receive Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) grants through the America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program with Bayer. The funds received will be used to support a second Robotics/Engineering course at Mt. Vernon Middle School, specifically for eighth grade students to challenge their learned skills from prior STEM classes. 
 

The Mt. Vernon High School Band program has recently received a generous $1,800 NineStar Grant through Operation RoundUp. The band program intends to use these funds to start a bucket drumming program for Mt. Vernon 4th and 5th graders. 

Mt. Vernon has received a Temporary Quarantine Room (TQR™) at Mt. Vernon Middle School to help with the process of CDC-recommended, short-term isolation due to COVID-19. These rooms provide a safe space to quarantine up to two students who show symptoms for COVID-19. Mt. Vernon continues to follow the guidance of our county and state health departments, which includes isolation guidelines. This Temporary Quarantine Room was donated by Hamilton Exhibits and provides students with a secure and comfortable environment while they wait to be picked up by a guardian. 

For the second year in a row, Mt. Vernon Middle School has won the “Champions Together in the Middle” banner from Champions Together--a partnership between the Indiana High School Athletic Association and Special Olympics Indiana. Earning this banner is not a simple task; the requirements listed for middle schools include the following: The school must form an inclusive leadership team to organize events, put on an event that engages the entire school to raise awareness, organize and participate in a Unified sports activity, and raise at least $750.  

This August the Mt. Vernon Middle School has received a $2,000 grant from NineStar Connect’s Operation Round-Up. This funding will be distributed throughout several different facets of the school. $500 will be allotted for the swim department to purchase equipment for swim classes. Much needed fins, snorkels, pool basketball sets, towels, and swimsuits will all be utilized by the students, thanks to Ninestar.
 

Mt. Vernon Middle School is pleased to announce that they have received a  $15,000 grant from Bayer Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The funds are designated from their “America’s Farmers Grow Rural America” grant which will be used to support a second Robotics/Engineering course at MVMS, specifically for eighth grade students who have realized their capabilities and potential in prior STEM classes. 

Recently, the students within the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program at Mt. Vernon High School received the Multiplying Good One in a Million Award. Multiplying Good is an esteemed award foundation based in New York that is focused on recognizing and rewarding acts of service that benefit the community. JAG’s most recent project based learning activity, “Self Care for Both You and Me”, included working with the “Rise Above it” program, the MVHS “Bring Change 2 Mind” club, the Goodwill “Collect and Connect” program, and Gleaners Food Pantry. 

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.