South Central school leaders recently attended the fourth annual Indiana Educational Excellence Awards Gala in downtown Indianapolis. The Excellence Awards are presented to schools to celebrate their progress and achievement in supporting student excellence and growth. South Central Community School Corporation was the proud recipient of the Excellence in Professional Learning and Leadership Development award!

• Implementation of research-based professional development approaches
• Development of professional career ladders for educators
• Prioritization of initiatives focused on the recruitment and retention of high-quality educators

South Central was chosen for this award, in part, based on the many opportunities provided to teachers and staff for professional learning. SC offers paid summer professional development to all teachers every year, weekly professional learning community meeting opportunities (grade level and department meetings) on Wednesday mornings, tech Mondays on almost every Monday throughout the school year, and provides ongoing training on artificial intelligence, along with many other opportunities. Even more remarkable, the school had a 100% teacher retention rate for this school year! 

In Indianapolis to accept the award were School Board President Deb Allen, Superintendent Dr. Ben Anderson, Director of Instructional Technology Deb Kammrath, Director of Network Technology Derek Budka, and Jr.-Sr. High School Principal Nick Mills. 

We give many thanks to the extraordinary teachers and staff for all they do for the students, the school, and the community to make South Central such a special place! You can read more about the Educational Excellence Awards on the IDOE website.

South Central is proud to announce the recent designation as an Indiana Purple Star School! The Purple Star School program honors schools that have displayed a significant commitment to service members, veterans, and students and families connected to the nation's military. South Central Elementary and Jr.-Sr. High School were selected by the Indiana Department of Education in collaboration with the Indiana National Guard to receive the three-year designation. In total, 80 individual schools were selected, along with 19 schools that renewed their status. You can read the full press release on the IDOE website.

To learn more about the commitments South Central has made, as well as military resources, visit our Purple Star webpage.

South Central is pleased to be selected as a recipient of the 2025-2026 Indiana Department of Education STEM Integration grant! Awarded through funds appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly, this grant provides schools with opportunities to develop and implement STEM learning experiences that promote student growth in critical thinking, problem-solving, and STEM-based skills. South Central was one of 63 schools that received the grant. You can read the full press release on the IDOE website.

Families and community members are welcome to attend our 2025 Veterans Day program on Tuesday, November 11th at 9:30am in the North gym. A light breakfast will be served for veterans at 8:30am. 

Please RSVP by November 4th using the Google Form (https://forms.gle/zqZ3ZXbGCDbJHn3k9) or by calling the elementary office at 219-767-2269.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I hope this letter finds you well! It's hard to believe we're already at the end of the 1st grading period. The beginning of the year has flown by! We've had another fantastic start to the school year here at SC, and we appreciate your partnership and support.

The purpose of this letter is to provide information on our virtual learning and eLearning days this school year. We have two virtual learning days built into the school calendar again for teacher professional development days. Those are November 3rd and March 4th. On those two days, teachers and students will be on live Google Meets in the AM from 9:00-12:00, while the afternoon will be for teacher meetings and training. The building principals will send out schedules and information very soon, specific to those two days.

For inclement weather, we'll potentially utilize eLearning days, virtual learning days, and snow make-up days. We are only allowed to use up to three (3) eLearning days in a school year, per Indiana Code. eLearning days would be our "old-fashioned" days where lessons are posted on Canvas (grades 5-12) or Google Classroom (grades K-4) by 9:00am, and students can complete their work at any time throughout the day. Assignments are due by 11:59pm, unless otherwise directed by the teacher. For virtual learning, students are required to be on live Google Meets for at least 50% of the school day in order for it to count as a day. So, those days we will use our 2-hour delay schedule like we have in the past, and live Google Meets will begin at 10:00am. The JH / HS will operate on the 2-hour delay bell schedule. The elementary school will provide a live instruction schedule for each grade level that will also begin at 10:00am.

If we happen to use up our 3 eLearning days, we'll then plan to use 3 virtual days with live instruction. While I certainly hope we don't have that many inclement weather days, if we get past those 3 eLearning days AND 3 virtual learning days, we'll utilize the built-in snow make-up days. Snow make-up days are built into our calendar on January 19th, February 13th, and May 1st.

We understand that this is somewhat confusing, which is why I wanted to provide this letter as a reminder and to clarify the differences. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the school office if you have any questions or for further clarification!

Thank you for your continued support!

Dr. Benjamin Anderson, Superintendent

Homecoming Week 2025 will take place from September 29th through October 5th. See the attached flyer for spirit days. Please note that all dress-up days must still adhere to the school dress code and be appropriate. Each spirit day will lead up to Friday night's football game against North Miami at 6:30pm, with the homecoming court being announced, along with the king and queen being crowned. The homecoming bonfire will take place on Thursday, October 2nd, at the Mill Pond Park starting at 7:30pm. The homecoming dance will take place on Saturday, October 4th, from 7:00pm-10:00pm.

Go Satellites!

Are you or someone you know looking to replace a bed? Now is the time. South Central Jr.-Sr. High School will be hosting the 7th annual one-day mattress fundraiser on Sunday, October 5th from 11:00am-5:00pm in the student activity center.

There will be 30+ beds on display to try. The brand-name mattresses are made to order, have full factory warranties, are available in all sizes, and are priced below retail. In addition to beds, there will also be luxury pillows, premium sheets, bed frames, mattress protectors, and even adjustable power bases. Delivery is available. Every purchase benefits the South Central Jr.-Sr. High School students!

Athletic passes for the 2025-2026 team seasons are now on sale in the high school office during school hours. Please contact Mr. Wilhelm, athletic director, with any questions.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Beginning Monday, July 28th at 9:00am, South Central will open online registration via Harmony Family Access. We would like to remind you to check your demographics, update phone numbers, update emergency contacts and their phone numbers, update your email addresses, and your home/mailing address. There are also some registration forms that will need to be electronically signed. Some forms will need to be signed annually when you register online. The forms are listed in the online registration section in Harmony Family Access. It is important that you update your Family Access account with your most current information for bus routing purposes and so the school can contact you with important updates throughout the school year.

If you have already registered your pre-k and/or kindergarten student, you will not have to come into the school for new student registration BUT you will need to log into your Harmony Family Access account to update demographics and fill out the consent forms. You will receive an email with your student's registration code on Friday, July 25th.

All new students are required by the state to provide proof of residency. Any returning students who have moved to a new address from the one listed in Harmony are also required to provide proof of residency. Your proof of residency should be one of the following documents: Current (within the last 60 days) utility bill, bank statement, or rental/lease agreement. A driver's license and mailed advertisements do NOT meet the residency verification requirements set forth by the Indiana Department of Education.

Beginning Wednesday, July 23rd, the junior high and high school will be scheduling appointments for NEW STUDENT registration which is on Wednesday, July 30th (8:30am-2:30pm), and Thursday, July 31st (11:00am-5:30pm). Please call the school to schedule an appointment. New students in the elementary school do NOT need to schedule an appointment time, but should come into the elementary office during the registration times listed. On those days, we also welcome families that cannot register from home to come to the school to register students. Please call to schedule an appointment. Also, please bring your username and passwords with you.

If you have forgotten your password to Family Access, you will need to click the "forgot my password" link and Harmony will send an email. We are unable to retrieve usernames and passwords at the school.

We are looking forward to a great school year ahead!

Interested in seeing the new Student Activity Center or any of the other additions and renovations to the school building from our recent construction project? 

Stop by on Tuesday, August 5th between 5:00pm-7:00pm CST to check it out! There will be a quick ribbon-cutting ceremony beginning at 5:15pm in the Student Activity Center. Please join us!

This past week, the Indiana Department of Education released Spring 2025 ILEARN and SAT assessment data (2024-2025 school year). South Central Schools once again performed very well and led LaPorte County in several areas. We are very PROUD of our students and staff!

• Ranked in TOP 7% of all school corporations and charter schools in the State of Indiana (28 of 392) for ILEARN Math scores for Grades 3-8
• Scored 19.6% above state average for ILEARN Math proficiency scores for grades 3-8
• Led LaPorte County in ILEARN Math scores for grades 3-8
  • Elementary led LP county with 68.4% meeting proficiency (compared to a state average of 45.5%)
  • Junior High led LP County with 48.6% meeting proficiency (compared to a state average of 35.2%)
• Ranked in TOP 15% of all school corporations and charter schools in the State of Indiana (61 of 392) for ILEARN English/Language Arts scores for grades 3-8
• Scored 7.9% above state average for ILEARN ELA scores for grades 3-8
• Led LaPorte County in ILEARN ELA scores for grades 7-8
• 2nd in LP County for ILEARN ELA scores for grades 3-6
• Led LaPorte County and ranked in TOP 8% of all school corporations and charter schools in the State of Indiana for ILEARN Science scores for grades 4 & 6

• Ranked in top 15% of all high schools in the State of Indiana (57 of 362) for SAT EBRW scores for grade 11
• Led LaPorte County in SAT EBRW (Evidence-Based Reading & Writing) scores for grade 11
• Scored 11.8% above state average for SAT EBRW benchmark scores

Congratulations to the South Central varsity softball team on winning the 2025 IHSAA Sectional 51 tournament! The team defeated Argos 4-1 at home to claim their 18th overall sectional title. Earlier in the tournament, they defeated Culver 3-2 and North Judson 9-0. South Central will now host the regional game on June 3rd against Fremont.

The Project Lead the Way (PLTW) classes at South Central Jr.-Sr. High School were recently recognized as a PLTW Distinguished Program!

PLTW empowers millions of students across the United States to unlock their potential by developing the in-demand, real-world knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in life beyond the classroom. The distinguished program recognition celebrates districts and schools committed to helping students own their education by increasing student access, engagement, and achievement in their PLTW programs. View more on the PLTW website.

Congratulations to our PLTW engineering and biomedical students and teachers on their hard work!

South Central Community School Corporation has joined several other LaPorte County schools in receiving the honor of being designated as a Heart Safe School! The Heart Safe designation signifies that the school is dedicated to the safety and well-being of everyone on the South Central campus and will continue to maintain and improve those safety efforts. Heart Safe is organized by Project ADAM, which is a nationwide program that helps communities prepare for an effective response to cardiac events.

A special thank you to the SC staff who have accepted the responsibilities of being on the response team, the Health Foundation of LaPorte for the AED donations and their continued partnership, LaPorte County EMS and the local first responders for helping with drills and always keeping our community safe, and Tonya Aerts and Project ADAM for setting the standards for cardiac safety and for helping the school reach this goal.

The annual South Central Health & Wellness Night will take place on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 starting at 5:00pm. Various services will be available for students including physicals, preventative heart screenings, dental care, and immunizations. There is no cost for the physicals, however, donations to the athletic department will be accepted. See the flyers below for more information.