At the Board of School Trustees’ regular meeting on Tuesday, August 26, the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) presented an update on the academic opportunities available in the school corporation and how students are being supported.
Alexis Harmon, MCCSC assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment, highlighted some of the opportunities offered:
- Five STEM-certified schools — Certified by the Indiana Department of Education
- 3 International Baccalaureate World Schools® — Templeton Elementary, Childs Elementary, and University Elementary
- A Career Center — Hoosier Hills Career Center
- An Early College Certified School — Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship Certified by University of Indianapolis Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning
- A Performing Arts Academy — Fairview Elementary School
- 26 Career & College Pathways
- Early Learning Programs (3-year-old Preschool and 4-Year-Old Pre-K) — Thanks to public support for the MCCSC 2023 Referendum, most families are eligible to attend at no cost or at greatly reduced tuition. All elementary school based programs are NAEYC accredited and Paths to Quality® Level 4.
- 300+ Curricular & Extracurricular Offerings
MCCSC schools incorporate a broad range of offerings, including Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) programs, musical and performing arts, global programming, and more. Corporation-wide STEM programs include the STEM to Them Mobile Lab, FabLabs & Makerspaces in all middle schools, computer science classes, robotics teams, and more.
“We also have expansive arts offerings, music and fine arts classes K through 12. We have an elementary strings and band program for early exposure to those areas,” said Harmon. “Our students are going to the Musical Arts Center, they’re hearing the opera, they’re going to the art museum and being immersed in those experiences. We offer metal working, stained glass, jewelry and ceramics. And those are just a highlight of some of the things that we have.”
In MCCSC schools, students have many options to prepare for their futures. They can choose from 26 career and college pathways offered through high schools and the Hoosier Hills Career Center. They can get an early start on college through 34 Advanced Placement courses, 41 Dual Credit classes, and the Indiana College Core, a block of 30 transferable credit hours that transfer to any Indiana public postsecondary institution.
Harmon emphasized how students are supported in all ways.
“We’re thinking about [multi-tiered student support] academically, behaviorally, and socially-emotionally. We use tools to screen progress, monitor and make data informed decisions and use instruction that is evidence-based to improve outcomes,” said Harmon.
While MCCSC students have consistently placed above state average in academic proficiency, state assessments are just one of many tools that schools and teachers use to support students. The corporation monitors academic trends to inform curriculum, and schools monitor individual student growth to inform day-to-day teaching and identify individual student supports.
For the 2024-25 school year, MCCSC shared strong IREAD results and ILEARN scores are also above state average. MCCSC high school students are among the highest in the state in 11th grade SAT scores. In 2024, MCCSC schools demonstrated a 95.6% graduation rate in comparison to state (90%) and Indiana Charter School (58%) rates.
“We really have 10,000 reasons to be the best that we can be every day and these are just a few of the ways that we do it,” said Harmon.
Learn more about MCCSC schools at mccsc.edu.
