Education

By: Juli Metzger— Muncie, IN—The much-anticipated USA Football Under -16 Select Team – featuring Muncie Central High School sophomore running back Shoka Griffin II – can be viewed at THIS LINK, which goes live early Tuesday morning. (If viewing on a phone, you may be directed to download the ESPN app.) Kickoff is 9:30 a.m. Tuesday (Eastern time) at the International Bowl XI. Student athletes are playing at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Griffin is one of 52 student athletes nationwide selected and one of only two from Indiana. Griffin, 5 feet 9 inches tall and 200 pounds,…

By: Jennifer Gasiorek— Ivy Tech Muncie-Henry County were named winners of the 2019 Stan Jones Student Success Award by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Muncie, IN— The Cardinal Reboot project is a strong partnership between Ball State University and Ivy Tech Community College. Students who are dismissed for academic reasons from Ball State University may participate in the Cardinal Reboot program and enter Ivy Tech Muncie-Henry County to improve their grade point averages and work toward credentials. Once those students have taken two semesters of fulltime coursework and earned a credential, those students can return to Ball State to…

By: Linda Smith— Yorktown, IN—This year has brought new adventures for Yorktown Middle School (YMS). The school has added a new STEM Lab class to allow our students to grow their problem-solving skills and teach them about real-world problems. Using the integrated STEM Design Thinking Model, YMS STEM students were introduced to the issue of pollution and air quality in New Delhi, India. Yorktown students read and watched videos about children that spend their lives working in landfills in New Delhi, collecting recyclable materials to sell to make money for their families. Students about their age live and work in…

By: Mike Rhodes— Muncie, IN— Abbigail Sprong, the 2019 Delaware County Fair Queen, made the Top 10 in the 2020 Miss Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant held at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis over the weekend. Claudia Duncan, Miss Vanderburgh County, was crowned the 62nd Indiana State Fair Queen. Miss Indiana State Fair 2020 was selected over 83 other contestants after three days of judging. The Indiana State Fair Queen plays a key role in promoting the Indiana State Fair by traveling at least 10,000 miles during June and July to approximately 45 counties in preparation for the great Indiana…

By: Juli Metzger— Muncie, IN—Muncie Central High School sophomore running back Shoka Griffin II will play for the elite USA Football Under-16 Select Team at International Bowl XI later this month at the home field of the Dallas Cowboys. He is one of just 52 student athletes nationwide selected and one of two selected from Indiana. Eli Frei of Westfield also was named to the same team. “This is an outstanding achievement,” said Aaron Ingram, senior manager of football/national teams in Griffin’s announcement letter. “You are about to complete your journey and join the elite group of U.S. National Team alums like Todd…

By: Jennifer Gasiorek— Muncie, IN—Ivy Tech Community College’s Muncie campus recently announced they will gift the South Instructional Building on Cowan Road to Muncie Community Schools. With Ivy Tech’s $43 million building project in its final stages, the College determined the best use of the vacant building was to gift it to Muncie Community Schools. The gift agreement provides that if Muncie Schools no longer utilize the building, it will revert back to Ivy Tech. “We are pleased to be in a position to support Muncie Community Schools with this gift,” said Sue Ellspermann, President, Ivy Tech. “When Ivy Tech…

By: Kallie Sulanke— Muncie, IN—The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, who will reach receive a four-year award that grants full tuition to any accredited public or private non-profit college or university in Indiana. The Lilly Scholarship also covers fees and provides an annual stipend for required books and equipment. The recipients of the 2020 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship are Zachary Stanley of Delta High School and Thomas Wilhoite of Yorktown High School. They were chosen out of an applicant pool of 60 candidates from…

By: Tim Cleland, Delta High School—     Eaton, IN—Two days before Thanksgiving, Delaware Community Schools received a special gift that overpowered all the Black Friday deals. First Merchants Bank has donated its vacant building and land at 107 E. Harris St. in Eaton to the school corporation in a deal that closed on Tuesday, Nov. 26. With an appraised value of $45,000, this represents one of the largest gifts in the history of the Delcom Foundation. “We’re incredibly grateful to First Merchants Bank,” said Greg Kile, co-executive director of Delcom Foundation and director of curriculum for the schools.  “Our…

By: Kallie Sulanke— Muncie, IN—Fourteen local teachers will receive $5,091.70 for 15 projects in Robert P. Bell Education Grants from The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. Across the county, 1,000s of students benefit from Bell Education Grants each year. Awards of up to $450 are available through the Bell Grants program. Teachers in public and private K-12 schools in Delaware County, Ind. are invited to apply for this competitive funding throughout the school year to enhance learning in their classrooms. Teachers may apply for as many unique, creative classroom projects as they can imagine during each of the four…