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. 

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.

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 Education Foundation (MVEF) is proud to introduce the “Black and Gold Gala”, a signature fundraising event supporting excellence in public education for every student every day, through grants, programs, and initiatives that directly benefit the Mt. Vernon School District. The Gala will take place Saturday, April 17, 2021, at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott.
 

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.

Superintendent Dr. Jack Parker has scheduled Virtual “Traveling Talks”  to keep the community connected with the school.  These Virtual “Traveling Talks” are an opportunity for community members to communicate directly with Dr. Parker and share their hopes, questions, and/or concerns about Mt. Vernon schools. This casual dialogue is designed to connect the community with school leadership.  

The Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation (MVCSC) Board of Trustees signed a resolution that opposes the passage and signing of House Bill (HB) 1005, Senate Bill (SB) 412, and SB 413, or any other bill expanding vouchers and/or creating Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Specifically, the Indiana General Assembly is reviewing HB 1005 that establishes Education Savings Accounts and removes over $220M in public education funds, therefore, reducing funds that could be used for teachers’ salaries. These school choice proposals being considered will have an immediate and profound negative impact on public schools. 
 

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 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.
 

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.