Ball State receives $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment

MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State University has received a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to further integrate Science of Reading-aligned principles into the university’s teacher preparation programs, according to a news release.

The grant is part of Lilly Endowment’s "Advancing the Science of Reading in Indiana" imitative.

It will support Ball State’s Teachers College, the largest educator preparation provider in Indiana," in its mission of enabling future teachers to deliver effective literacy instruction that is fair and equitable to every student, regardless of their backgrounds or abilities, while cultivating a lifelong passion for literacy," according to the BSU release.

“I am grateful to Lilly Endowment for its support of this critical endeavor,” said Arnand R. Marri, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Ball State. “This funding will foster professional development for our Teachers College faculty, who will implement curricular revisions to improve educator preparation programs and develop and lead strategic partnerships to bring more equitable and proficient language and literacy development to our city, region, and state.”

The Teachers College faculty teaches scientifically based strategies, such as the Science of Reading, "for differentiating learning experiences that build upon each student’s strengths, while also incorporating their cultural and linguistic backgrounds within the context of literacy instruction," the release said.

The program equips teacher candidates to "proficiently deliver instruction across all language components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing."

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State receives $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment