Education

By Ball State Communications— MUNCIE, IN — Ball State University students and faculty continue to earn regional and national recognition for excellence in media production, storytelling, and sports broadcasting. The University’s College of Communication, Information, and Media (CCIM) was honored Saturday night at the 2026 NATAS Central Great Lakes Regional Emmy® Awards in Cleveland, where Ball State students and faculty received two Regional Emmy® Awards and additional nominations for professional media work. Nate Locker, a Ball State Sports Link student, earned a Regional Emmy® Award in the Sports Story — Short Form or Long Form Content category for “Every Step…

Local campus will share community-focused goals this fall By Lesley DeVoss— MUNCIE, IN—Ivy Tech Community College has launched its new statewide Strategic Plan, “The Future of College,” a roadmap that will guide the College through 2030 while reaffirming its role as Indiana’s community college and workforce engine. The plan outlines a bold vision to redefine what a community college can achieve by strengthening academic quality, expanding career and transfer pathways, improving the student experience, and preparing students and communities for the future. While the strategic plan establishes a statewide mission, vision and core values, each of Ivy Tech’s 19 campuses will…

By Ball State Communications— MUNCIE, Indiana — Ball State University’s elementary education, early childhood education, and special education teacher preparation programs have earned top marks in two reviews focused on how well future educators are prepared to teach reading through evidence-based, scientifically grounded instruction. Following an intensive review by Teacher Prep Inspection-US, or TPI-US, Ball State’s traditional undergraduate and Transition-to-Teaching pathways in elementary education, early childhood education, and special education received the highest overall rating of “Strong” in each of the three areas evaluated: Quality of Literacy Instruction; Quality of Field-Based Experience; and Quality of Performance Management and Continuous Improvement. The review…

By Juli A. Metzger— MUNCIE, IN—Austin Scales, a lead educator in the 3-and 4-year-old pre-school room at Muncie’s United Day Care Center was recently named recipient of the prestigious Hoosier Educator Award at the 2026 Early Childhood Education Award ceremony in Indianapolis. “Ninety percent of the brain is developed by age 5 and in that time, it’s like fireworks in the brain,” explains Scales, 27, whose worked at United Day Care since 2022. “During that time, the brain is rapidly growing, and children are rapidly learning. It’s a huge time to set kids up for success, for lifelong success. The…

By Lesley DeVoss— MUNCIE, IN – Ivy Tech Community College Muncie is celebrating historic gains in enrollment, completions, and workforce impact, further solidifying its role as Indiana’s workforce engine following the passage of Senate Enrolled Act 254. This statewide designation recognizes Ivy Tech as the central driver of Indiana’s talent pipeline, aligning education with employer needs and fueling economic growth. Under the leadership of Chancellor Jeffrey D. Scott, the Muncie campus is delivering on that mission with record-setting performance across every major student sector. Total Headcount (Unduplicated): 6,471 students (up 10%) K-12 Dual Credit / Early College: 2,779 students (up…

Traditional academic recognition replaced with Latin distinctions By Andy Klotz— MUNCIE, IN – More than 300 students walked across the stage at Emens Auditorium Monday night as the Muncie Central High School Class of 2026 gathered for a final time. There was no valedictorian recognized. No salutatorian either. Instead, MCHS honored all high achieving graduates using the Latin honors system, which has three standard levels: Cum Laude – “With Distinction,” requiring a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5-3.74 Magna Cum Laude – “With Great Distinction,” requiring a GPA of 3.74-3.99 Summa Cum Laude – “With Highest Distinction,” requiring a GPA…