Muncie schools gives community progress report five years out from Ball State partnership strategic plan
Muncie Community Schools is giving the community an update on its progress after five years under a legislative-mandated partnership with Ball State University – the first in state history and one of only a few in the country. IPR’s Ransom True reports.
Muncie Community Schools Director of Public Education Chuck Reynolds spent the session showcasing the improvements that the district made since the 2018 partnership began and since the 2020 strategic plan that state lawmakers required to show “innovation.”
Reynolds touched on how the district has taken to heart feedback from 2019 public sessions.
“After our partnership with Ball State, we wanted to make sure the school district was reflective of the hopes and dreams and desires of the community.”
By the numbers:
- MCS has more than 5,154 students enrolled.
- Those passing the third grade state IREAD exam has increased by 14 percent since 2022, although MCS is still trying to catch up to the state average passing rate.
The district hopes to keep this momentum through continued support of the Pre-K program and by retaining teachers through raises, both of which were called for in the 2020 strategic plan.
“We’ve increased teacher compensation since 2019 by 40 percent. Our starting teacher pay was $36,800 and this year its $51,500, and it’s been one of the top 15 teacher pays in the state.”
At the end of the session, attendees were encouraged to leave their own notes for improvement of the district.
Ransom True is a news fellow with Ball State Public Media’s Public Media Accelerator student fellowships.
