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MCS-BSU Partnership

Dr. Kwiatkowski and President Mears posing for photo in a school library.
Teacher looking at a book with two young students outside.

In July 2018, Muncie Community Schools (MCS) and Ball State University (BSU) entered into a historic partnership to transform Muncie’s education system. The plan  relies on close collaboration with local businesses, nonprofit service providers, community-based foundations, Muncie leaders, MCS families and the district’s students, teachers, administrators, support staff and volunteers.

This collaboration involves the interplay between both the aspirations of our community for civic engagement, economic vitality, quality of life and the assets of our families, community and schools. It also addresses one of the driving tenets of our work: culturally responsive practices that reflect and respect our students and families. We will transform the culture of our district by ensuring that struggling learners are not seen as problems or distractions, but recognized for their strengths so we can best serve them.

To guide this effort, Ball State appointed a diverse and engaged MCS Board of Trustees in order to develop one of the nation’s most transformational urban public education systems. Over time, our students will thrive in an inclusive, equitable, safe and effective educational environment that prepares them to compete locally and globally. Assisting in this transformation is a Community Engagement Council (CEC) that supports the board's mission by acting as advocate, volunteer coordinator and fundraiser. 

For more about this one of-a-kind partnership, please visit bsu.edu/muncie-community-schools.

BETTER TOGETHER

Another unique aspect of this partnership is the decision by Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns to designate a liaison from the BSU Office of Teacher Education Services and Clinical Practice to work in MCS buildings, making each one a Professional Development School (PDS). These PDS Liaisons teach and support MCS teachers in a variety of ways, which are chronicled in  the OTES-CP Newsletter, under Additional Resources.