Education

Muncie Community Schools Recognizes Teachers of the Year for 2021-22

By Andy Klotz— Support staff, Rising Stars, school partners also honored. MUNCIE, Ind. – Muncie Community Schools has named the 2021-22 Teachers of the Year at each of its schools. All award recipients were presented with commemorative plaques by their building principals and now become eligible for the overall district Teacher of the Year award, which will be presented at the start of the 2022-23 school year. “I can’t say enough about this group of outstanding educators,” MCS Director of…

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Area West Point Graduate, New Appointees, and Summer Leaders Experience Selectees

By Nate LaMar— MUNCIE, Ind.— Captain Nate LaMar, Military Academy Liaison Officer for East-Central & Southeastern Indiana, announced the following regarding area residents graduating from or soon entering the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York: Benjamin Kinker, son of August & Nancy Kinker of Greensburg. A member of Oldenburg Academy’s Class of 2017, Benjamin majored in Business Management with a Systems Engineering track (minor). He graduated from West Point on May 21 and was commissioned a Second…


Justin Ullom Named Muncie Central Boys Basketball Coach

By Andy Klotz, APR—  MUNCIE, Ind. – Justin Ullom has been named Muncie Central High School’s new boys basketball coach, replacing Chandler Thompson who resigned following the 2021-22 season. Ullom, a Muncie native, joins the Bearcats program after a successful eight-year run as the head coach at Monroe Central. Last year, the Golden Bears enjoyed an undefeated regular season and won the 2A Sectional Championship at Alexandria. The Golden Bears also won championships at the Connersville Holiday Tournament and the…


Jason Orr—Member of Pridemark Construction’s ‘Future Leaders of America’ Series

By Stacy Shannon— MUNCIE, Ind.— The Future Leaders of America series profiles high school seniors who display leadership qualities in their school and the community. The series is brought to you by Pridemark Construction. Jason Orr’s varsity jacket tells a story of the many athletics the Muncie Central High School senior has been involved with through his high school career: wrestling, football and track. But Orr is more than just an athlete. He’s also vice president of his class and…


8twelve Coalition Receives Ball State University’s 2022 Community Partner Award

By Suzie Jones, Project Coordinator, Office of Community Engagement, Ball State University— MUNCIE, Ind.—On May 2, the 8twelve Coalition received the 2022 Ball State University Community Partner of the Year Award at Ball State’s Immersive Learning Showcase.  President Geoffrey S. Mearns presented the award to Jena Ashby, a leader of the coalition. The annual award recognizes an East Central Indiana business, organization, or agency that demonstrated excellence as a co-educator and community partner during the previous year.  Partners are nominated…


Wes-Del Middle School and High School Hosts 2nd Annual STEM Day

By Todd Reagan, Principal— IN Secretary of Education Jenner attends. MUNCIE, Ind.—Wes-Del Middle/High School hosted the corporation’s second annual STEM Day on Tuesday, May 16, 2022.  The event featured over four hundred students from Wes-Del Schools participating in an interactive day of learning and fun. Elementary students in third, fourth, and fifth grade were bused to the high school field house to participate in the now annual event that is the brain child of high school science teacher Austin Williams. Mr….


Yorktown, Burris and Cowan HS Students Receive Educator Scholarship

By House Republicans Press Office— STATEHOUSE  – Delaware County students preparing to become teachers are among this year’s recipients of the state’s Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship, according to Delaware County lawmakers. The scholarship program, established in 2016 through legislation supported by the Indiana General Assembly, awards $7,500 per year to 200 high-achieving students. Recipients must commit to teaching in Indiana for a minimum of five years after graduating college. Current high school seniors or college students are eligible to…


Yorktown’s Ginger Thompson Recognized With Ball Brothers Foundation’s Excellence in Teaching Award

By Melissa Jones— MUNCIE, Ind. — Ginger Thompson didn’t always teach this way. When the high school Spanish teacher began her career 17 years ago, she said she was “a traditional teacher.” “I had a textbook and that’s what I used to teach my students. I used the methods that my Spanish teachers had used with me in high school and in college because that was the best methodology we had at that time,” she said. But as Thompson began…


Ball State University and Ivy Tech Introduce NEST Dual Enrollment Program

By Ball State and Ivy Tech— MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State University and Ivy Tech Community College in Muncie have launched a dual-enrollment partnership to offer students a transitional pathway to a bachelor’s degree. Navigating the Enrolled Student Transition (NEST) is a dual-enrollment program in which select high school students who have applied to Ball State, but have not yet been accepted, will enroll at Ivy Tech in Muncie and live in Ball State residence halls. Participating students will take…


Yorktown Elementary School Partners With Tech Company For Augmented Reality App

By Linda C. Smith, Ph.D., Media/STEM/Technology Specialist, Yorktown Community Schools— WHITING, Ind. – Explore Interactive, a West Lafayette-based ed-tech company, has received $1 million in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from the National Science Foundation. In addition, Explore Interactive has been awarded $75,000 from Elevate Ventures through the state of Indiana’s SBIR/STTR Phase II Matching Program. Launched in 2017, Explore Interactive uses augmented reality to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts to elementary students. The company’s first product…