• Category 1

    Selected in 2024

  • Grades: 9 - 12
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 2,264
    Student Enrollment: 409
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.7%
    White/Caucasian: 96.1%
    Hispanic: 1.2%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:16
    % Reduced Lunch: 37.6%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1963
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Greg Allen
  • CONTACT:
    7354 W US 36
    Middletown, IN 47356
    765-354-6640
    gallen@shenandoah.k12.in.us
Shenandoah High School
Middletown, IN
"Positivity is at the core of our success."
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
Shenandoah High School has taken several major steps especially in the past three years to reach our goal of becoming the premier high school in the state of Indiana. Most notably, we have adopted a new teaching and learning framework from K-12 for our teachers and students. This new NIET framework is critical in helping better prepare our students for the future after high school. Our staff is truly committed to the ideal of our 5 Promises at Shenandoah High School. The promises are to 1. Be Shenandoah; 2. Service; 3. Care; 4. Innovate, Develop, and Grow; 5. Win Together. These promises have guided our daily work as we strive to meet our vision of being the premier high school in the State of Indiana, and this is all summed up perfectly in our Mission, which is… Meeting students where they are, and leading them forward… Every Student, Every Day!

2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
Positivity is at the core of our success. Our school has the best culture I have seen in my 30 year teaching career in this area. Our teachers work tirelessly to make SHS a school that students want to attend. Our school truly strives daily to meet our mission which is... Meeting students where they are, and leading them forward... Every Student, Every Day! We have adopted a culture of trying new things to give our students opportunities for growth and success. Instead of asking "Why", we not answer questions about change or innovation with "Why Not"? This is probably the single biggest factor in our amazing growth and success.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
We had a tremendous need in the area of counseling and decided to use our title funding to hire and support an additional counselor in our building. This took the ratio of students to counselors down from 420:1 to 210:1. While this is still very high, this caseload is much easier to manage. Our additional counselor is completely in charge of the academic and emotional needs of our freshmen and sophomore students. She meets with each student and guides them through the transition to high school process. Students benefit from her leadership and guidance.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
To support our teachers through collaboration we hold new teacher orientation (monthly) run by our superintendent. We have weekly Cluster (PD) meetings to train staff in various improvement initiatives, bi-weekly collaborative meetings to support all students, weekly building level Instructional Leadership Team Meeting, and monthly Instructional Leadership Team meetings for our corporation leadership. In addition to this, we have peer mentor teachers that coach up our teachers on a weekly basis. Any staff can choose to attend a myriad of outside training opportunities to enhance their teaching. Staff members attend national conferences, and state and local conferences to better understand what students need in terms of teaching and learning.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
During Covid our school became a negative workplace. Our staff was divisive and we had little direction. Our administrative team met and decided in the summer of 2021 that we would no longer accepted negativity in our office. We also promoted that idea that teachers should ,"Captain their own ship". This promoted both our commitment to positivity and restored trust in our leadership in the building. The change that this made was tremendous. Teachers felt empowered to make great changes and take risks in terms of improving the school. This shift to positivity made all the difference in our school's environment.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
We have a community based committee which examines graduates that have gone on to do amazing things in life. These individuals are selected for the SSC's Hall of Fame. This both recognize the individual, but also inspires future Raiders to strive to achieve greatness. We have also established a clothing donation center called the Raider Closet. This supplies underprivileged students with clothing, coats, hats, gloves, and any other need a student may have. FFA and NHS organizations involves families around our school and county in both a Legacy Prom and Legacy Christmas for adults with disabilities. We hold various family nights throughout the school year to give parents and students information about college enrollment, financial aid, FAFSA, scheduling, and creating an FSA ID. Additionally, we have a community based steering committee that worked in conjunction with the school corporation to establish our schools Vision, Mission, and 5 Promises that guide our school daily.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2024

  • Grades: 9 - 12
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 2,264
    Student Enrollment: 409
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.7%
    White/Caucasian: 96.1%
    Hispanic: 1.2%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:16
    % Reduced Lunch: 37.6%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1963
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Greg Allen
  • CONTACT:
    7354 W US 36
    Middletown, IN 47356
    765-354-6640
    gallen@shenandoah.k12.in.us