By Andy Klotz—
INDIANAPOLIS – Rising early literacy proficiency rates, improved attendance rates and above average graduation rates are just a few of the reasons Muncie Community Schools (MCS) has been placed in the national spotlight by StriveTogether, a network of local communities across the country working to help young people get on a path to economic mobility.
StriveTogether, based in Cincinnati, leads this network in order to reverse the trend of declining economic mobility of children. With only half of today’s young people expected to make more money than their parents – less than that for children of color or children growing up in poverty – the organization unites communities to support students throughout their education so they can reach their full potential and earn a living wage.
MCS and its community partners have been improving student outcomes the past few years as a result of Cradle To Career Muncie, a local initiative lead by the George and Frances Ball Foundation (GFBF). MCS’ big gains in IREAD-3 passing rates and overall graduation rates have caught the attention of StriveTogether, inspiring them to highlight MCS in its 2025 annual report, a recent blog post and a recent LinkedIn Live webinar featuring MCS administrators and GFBF executives.
“Muncie has proven you can improve early grade reading at scale, not just in one classroom or in one schoolhouse, but across an entire city,” said MaKenzie Mosby, a StriveTogether network advisor.
It’s true. Thanks, in part, to an expanded pre-K program, a reading curriculum switch and a uniform instructional schedule across all elementary schools, the district has raised third grade reading scores 14 percent in three years.
At Muncie Central High School, adding more student support professionals – counselors, career coaches and a ninth grade on-track coordinator – has helped reduce out-of-school suspensions by 35 percent in two years while also improving the graduation rate by 10 percent. Completion rates at Ivy Tech Muncie have also improved by 40 percent since 2020.
“Thanks to Cradle To Career Muncie, the community and the school district galvanized, which helped change the overall trajectory of our students,” MCS Director of Public Education and CEO Dr. Chuck Reynolds said. “I can’t say enough about the effort of our community partners as well as those of the in-house data team we created. Their tracking of student attendance, academic performance and other metrics allows us to quickly identify and address problem areas, and share that information with our partners.”
For instance, when existing literacy practices were determined to be insufficient for student success, MCS adopted a new reading curriculum based on the science of reading and made sure district teachers were well versed in teaching it. They then shared these insights with community partners.
“Schools can’t do this work alone, and they shouldn’t,” said Kortney Zimmerman, vice president and chief program officer at the George and Frances Ball Foundation. “A student is awake approximately 6,000 hours a year, and only a thousand of those hours are spent in school, and that’s if they have perfect attendance. The other 5,000 hours are spent in the community, so Cradle To Career Muncie is charged with supporting those students and their families in those 5,000 hours.”
The collaboration is paying off, especially at Grissom Elementary School, which was recognized by the Indiana Department of Education last year for its 32% increase in IREAD-3 passing rates. North View Elementary and South View Elementary also saw double-digit improvements.
“What I think makes Muncie’s Cradle To Career plan unique is how thoughtful the partnership was putting together the plan; how they brought together 150 partners from across the community to really think about how you address generational poverty issues in a very thoughtful way,” said Heidi Black, StriveTogether’s Vice President of Training. “(They) ensure that every child in Muncie is able to… ultimately be put on a pathway to economic mobility.”
None of this would have been possible without the overarching support of Ball State University, which began overseeing MCS operational policies in 2018. Since then, GFBF and MCS leadership teams have spent many hours researching programs and visiting other districts around the country to determine how to improve student outcomes in Muncie.
“In all of the schools we’ve visited, there is a focus on early grade literacy,” Dr. Reynolds said. “They also all have an embedded community presence in the schools. Regarding our out-of-school partners, it’s really hard to put into words the importance of the efforts and energy they have given to support our students.”
About Muncie Community Schools
Serving the local community since 1855, Muncie Community Schools (MCS) educates more than 5,000 students at six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school while also managing several other educational facilities. Through its unique partnership with Ball State University, MCS strives to maximize each student’s potential so he or she can be a positive, productive member of society.
About StriveTogether
StriveTogether is a national network of community partnerships that bring together neighbors, including youth and families, nonprofits, businesses, schools and more, to work toward a future where youth can thrive in their communities. Cradle to Career Network members change the way their communities work together by building connections, sharing resources and using data to put more young people on a path to economic mobility. Our work helps young people meet seven key life milestones so that they have the opportunities they need to reach their goals, and, ultimately, thrive. To learn more, visit StriveTogether.org.
