MUNCIE, Ind.--- The Department of Education recently awarded a 1.3 million dollar grant to Ball State University’s Teacher College. This is the first of three grants awarded to the College, along with a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. and another DOE grant of $2.6 million. The College is using the $1.3 million to enhance civic education through Muncie Community Schools (MCS).
“I think the close relationship we have with Muncie Community Schools, the close partnership that started in 2018, where our faculty and staff are working very closely with all components of Muncie Community Schools, is one element that made us stand out in the application process”, Teachers College Dean Anand R. Marri said.
The partnership, Civic Renewal through Education for Agency, or CREATE, is being developed as “an innovative approach to instruction, student learning, and professional development in civics that will integrate American history, geography, government, and media literacy”.
Dean Marri operates as co-principal investigator for CREATE alongside Dr. David Roof, associate professor in Educational Study at Ball State. The project comes after a law signed by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb mandated civics education for middle schools across the state. Dr. Roof stated that the Teachers College will be helping teachers prepare for the new law.
“Even though it's aimed at middle school students, we want to prepare elementary teachers to align the curriculum to prepare students for those courses”, Dr. Roof added, “and then to help sustain those gains through high school and to connect that middle school course with the high school curriculum.”
Contact Elias Elsner with comments at elias.elsner@bsu.edu
