Placing Learners First My Passion and Calling

Lee Ann Kwiatkowski Director of Public Education and CEO, Muncie Community Schools

It has been nearly five years since the start of the historic partnership between Muncie Community Schools (MCS) and Ball State University, and about four years since I joined MCS as its chief administrator. In that time, we have seen some drastic improvements in certain areas while other areas continue to be challenging.

Let’s start with some of the successes. After 15 consecutive years of declining enrollment, we finally saw an increase in students in 2021, and we remained steady at the start of the current school year. We have also turned around the district’s finances from being “in the red” to having a cash balance of more than $30 million (with another $12 million in a “Rainy Day” fund). Those are major accomplishments!

In addition, we have grown enrollment in our preschool program nearly 250 percent, significantly increased employee salaries to be among the top-paying school districts in the region, improved teacher retention by as much as 16 percent; drastically increased enrollment in our Project Lead the Way (STEM) courses for students in grades 1-12, provided health clinic services to thousands of students and community member, welcomed dozens of refugee students into our recently created Newcomer Program and implemented a new program called “City Connects” that offers schools and community services for students and families based on their individual needs.

We are quite proud of all those achievements, but we still have plenty of work to do. We are still feeling the effects of disrupted school years due to COVID-19 and need to do more to get our overall academic achievement numbers higher. We know there is also room to grow our family engagement, improve our student attendance and take our preschool program to even higher ground.

As we continue to navigate these challenges, I need to express my deepest appreciation to our dedicated board of directors and the many community partners that have come by our side to aid in our quest to improve. Muncie is an incredibly caring community that works together for the good of all, and we appreciate that.

We will continue to implement the strategies outlined in our five-year strategic plan that supports our vision of “placing learners first.” We’re off to a good start but know the best is still yet to come.

As someone who joined the teaching staff at Grissom Elementary this school year, I am really happy with what is happening here at Grissom and all across Muncie Community Schools (MCS). Muncie is an amazing place to be!

Data-driven lessons, high expectations, rigorous learning and active engagement are just some of the things that come to mind when I think of MCS. All of these things lead to exceptional growth, as well as current and future success for our students.

I am currently in my fifth year of teaching, and I work hard every day to engage my students so they get as excited about their success as I do. But it doesn’t stop at me. My colleagues at Grissom and throughout MCS put their all into teaching, and that’s why I’m so encouraged about what lies ahead for our district. When you’re teaching in an environment like that, it’s adrenaline you get that can’t be explained, just experienced.

I love what I do — it’s my passion and calling — even with all the challenges that come with teaching these days. MCS has provided the support I need to help me help my students succeed. To me, that’s the best thing anyone can ask of a school district.