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BCSC Celebrates Historic Graduation Rate
BCSC Celebrates Historic Graduation Rate
Wesley Anderson

BCSC graduated 92.41% of seniors in 2025, the highest in corporation history and an increase of more than 11 percentage points in the last four years.

“This remarkable accomplishment is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our entire high school community—students, teachers, administrators, counselors, academic coaches, and families alike,” said Charles Edwards, BCSC Director of Secondary Education. “We strongly believe in our cohort model at the high school level. These results are proof of the successes that come from forming strong relationships with students and investing in their futures.”

BCSC’s high school cohort model pairs each student with a consistent group of school staff, including an assistant principal, counselor, and academic coaches, who all work together in the same space to serve the same group of students throughout their high school years. This is the third consecutive year the corporation’s graduation rate has grown by more than two percentage points. BCSC surpassed the state average of 91.8%, the highest rate in state history. 

“Graduating students is one of BCSC’s seven strategic focus areas,” said Dr. Chad Phillips, Superintendent. “I am proud of our staff, students, parents and administrators for working together to achieve academic success. Thanks to their hard work and the support of our community, hundreds of additional young men and women have a high school diploma today. These results show that student outcomes are a top priority at BCSC.”
 

CSA New Tech Students Named 2025 Lilly Scholarship Winners
CSA New Tech Students Named 2025 Lilly Scholarship Winners
Wesley Anderson

CSA New Tech High School seniors Zoey Jernigan and Kevin Wittekind were named the 2025 Lilly Scholarship Winners.

Congratulations to Columbus Signature Academy New Tech High School seniors Zoey Jernigan and Kevin Wittekind on being selected as the 2025 Heritage Fund Lilly Scholarship winners!

Zoey and Kevin were selected from nearly 60 applicants across the county. The Lilly Scholarship provides free tuition to an Indiana college or university of their choosing. You can learn more about the Lilly Scholarship on the Heritage Fund's website.

BCSC Named a Best-in-State Employer by Forbes Magazine
BCSC Named a Best-in-State Employer by Forbes Magazine
Wes Anderson

BCSC is one of only four K-12 school corporations in Indiana selected to receive this recognition. 

Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation is proud to be recognized as one of Indiana’s Best-In-State Employers for 2025 by Forbes Magazine. This prestigious award is presented in collaboration with Statista, Inc. The award list can be viewed on Forbes' website.

“We are grateful for this recognition, which affirms the remarkable culture we have in this corporation,” said Dr. Erin Stalbaum, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources. “We truly believe BCSC is THE choice to learn, work, and play. This award reflects our commitment to fostering a workplace where every individual is respected, supported and empowered to positively impact student outcomes. We value strong community partnerships, which foster growth and success throughout Bartholomew County for staff and students. When our employees succeed, our entire community succeeds. This honor is proof of that belief.”

“The Columbus Educators Association is extremely proud to see BCSC named as one of Indiana’s Best-In-State Companies by Forbes Magazine,” the CEA said in a provided statement. “This honor reinforces that the support BCSC receives from the local community in ways such as supporting the referendum, community visibility at school events, and involvement of families at school functions is working,” CEA said. “We are so proud that the nation is on notice that BCSC is the place to go in Indiana if one is looking for a community that cares about education.”

Forbes and Statista selected America's Best-In-State Employers through an independent survey of over 160,000 U.S. employees working for companies employing at least 500 people across the country. Based on the results of the survey, BCSC is honored to be recognized on the Forbes list of Indiana's Best-In-State Employers 2025. BCSC is one of only four K-12 school corporations in Indiana selected to receive this recognition. 
 

East's Chastain Named Finalist for Indiana Teacher of the Year
East's Chastain Named Finalist for Indiana Teacher of the Year
Josh Burnett

We are proud to announce that Columbus East science teacher Derek Chastain has been named a finalist for the Indiana Teacher of the Year award!

We are proud to announce that Columbus East science teacher Derek Chastain has been named a finalist for the Indiana Teacher of the Year award!

Derek, who was BCSC's 2024 Teacher of the Year, is among seven finalists for this honor. This video celebrated his 2024 BCSC Teacher of the Year honor.