By Jud Fisher, President/CEO, Ball Brothers Foundation—
MUNCIE, IN — Ball Brothers Foundation’s support for education in Muncie is deeply connected to the origins of Ball State University and the Ball family’s long-standing belief in the importance of teacher preparation and public education.
In 1917, after community efforts to sustain a struggling private college failed, the Ball brothers purchased the land and buildings of the institution and donated them to the State of Indiana. That gift became the Indiana State Normal School Eastern Division which opened in 1918 to help address Indiana’s growing need for well-prepared teachers.
In recognition of the Ball family’s generosity, the institution was renamed Ball State Teachers College in 1929. That same year, Burris Laboratory School was established as part of Ball State Teachers College, with historical ties to Muncie Community Schools. Named for Teachers College Dean Dr. Benjamin Burris, the public school was created as an on-campus laboratory school where future educators could observe teaching, test new instructional approaches, and connect educational theory with classroom practice.
As both Ball State and Burris grew in the decades that followed, Ball Brothers Foundation continued to support the university’s educational mission through a variety of grants and initiatives aimed at strengthening teaching, learning, and student opportunity. Ball Brothers Foundation’s funding during this time was primarily focused on major campus investments, including residence halls that served aspiring teachers and other students.
Following World War II, as Ball State’s reputation in teacher education expanded nationally, BBF continued supporting efforts connected to educator development and teacher preparation.
Students learn inside Burris Laboratory School during its early years, illustrating the school’s nearly century-long tradition of serving as a laboratory for innovative teaching and teacher preparation.
The Foundation’s support during that era included initiatives for high school students interested in teaching careers, professional development opportunities for faculty members, and outreach that promoted Ball State’s educational mission to prospective students and schools across the state and beyond.
As Ball State Teachers College grew into a nationally respected leader in teacher education, educational innovation and classroom practice became central to the university’s identity while the college expanded its offerings to include a full range of disciplines from architecture to business. Over these same decades, Burris Laboratory School continued to evolve into a unique K–12 public laboratory school open to students from across Indiana through a lottery system.
Today, Burris remains connected to Ball State University while also engaging in national and international partnerships focused on educational research and innovative teaching practices. Burris is an active member of the International Association of Laboratory Schools and was named the association’s 2025 Laboratory School of the Year for its leadership in educational experimentation, practitioner scholarship, and student-centered learning.
Ball Brothers Foundation’s support for Burris today reflects a continuation of the same values that shaped the Ball family’s original support for teacher education more than a century ago. One of the few laboratory schools in the Midwest, Burris plays an important role in advancing new ideas in education, supporting future educators, and exploring new ways of teaching that can influence schools well beyond a single community.
Over the past decade, Ball Brothers Foundation has focused its support on opportunities that help Burris remain a place where innovation, research, and classroom practice intersect in meaningful ways for students and teachers alike.
BBF also sees Burris as a key part of Muncie’s broader educational landscape—one that connects public education, higher education, teacher preparation, and community development. Through ongoing support for Ball State University and Burris Laboratory School, the foundation continues a long-standing commitment to strengthening education as a cornerstone of community vitality and opportunity.
Grant Highlights
Reinforcing Burris’ Role as a Laboratory School
BBF support has helped Burris reconnect with the International Association of Laboratory Schools, strengthen its identity as a true lab school, and share its work with educators nationally and internationally.
Expanding Outdoor Learning
Over the past several years, Burris has grown its outdoor education program with the construction of a greenhouse with classroom seating on Burris’ east lawn, through additional partnerships and on-site learning at Muncie Community Schools’ Camp Adventure (a 40-acre learning center on Muncie’s southwest side), the expansion of outdoor learning opportunities for children at all grade levels, and the continuation of a long-standing tradition for 4th and 5th graders to take an overnight field trip to the YMCA’s Camp Crosley each spring.
Building an Emerging Media Program
Foundation funding has helped Burris expand its emerging media and broadcast programs, giving students hands-on experience with media production, storytelling, broadcasting, and career-connected learning. Productions have included a back-to-school video filmed by Burris students for the Indiana Department of Education, live broadcasts for One Ball State Day, and the live streaming of school concerts and athletic events.
Supporting Teachers as Practitioner-Scholars
Foundation funding has helped Burris teachers pursue new classroom-based research, access professional development opportunities, expand the number of conference presentations made by teachers and administrators, and explore new instructional approaches that can be shared beyond Burris.
Strengthening Fine Arts Programs
Burris has long embraced its identity as a school that emphasizes fine arts, and support has helped to further strengthen these offerings. From ensuring that all first graders have violins for the school’s beginning strings program to expanding band opportunities to 4th graders, music is at the heart of a Burris education. New offerings also include a marching band and show choir while visual arts opportunities have also expanded with students winning a range of local and statewide awards.
Creating Student Leadership and Outreach Opportunities
Over the past decade, Burris Laboratory School has developed student leadership opportunities through a new “Burris Ambassadors” program and through increased outreach and collaboration with local nonprofits and service organizations. One year-round opportunity partners Burris high school students with Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity, allowing students to build relationships in local neighborhoods and help to construct new homes for families.
Strengthening Athletics and School Pride
Though Burris may be a small school, it is big on school pride with a base of alumni across the country. Funding over the past decade has helped with new branding across the school and support for athletic programs while also helping provide resources to lay the groundwork with alumni engagement in advance of the school’s upcoming 100th anniversary.
Advancing Virtual Reality and Innovative Technology
BBF support helped Burris partner with Ball State University to train teachers in virtual reality as a learning tool and explore new ways to bring immersive technology into classroom instruction.
Strengthening Student Wellness and Counseling
Over the past decade, Burris has worked to build comprehensive counseling services focused on social-emotional wellness, responsive classroom practices, college and career readiness, and stronger student support systems.
About Ball Brothers Foundation
Ball Brothers Foundation is one of Indiana’s oldest and largest family foundations. Annually, the foundation pays out more than $8 million in grants to support arts and culture, community vitality, education, environment, health and public safety, and human services. The Muncie-based private foundation gives priority to projects and programs that improve the quality of life in the foundation’s home city, county, and state. In 2026, Ball Brothers Foundation is celebrating its 100th anniversary, marking a century of grantmaking and philanthropic leadership.
About Burris Laboratory School
Burris Laboratory School is a K–12 laboratory school established in 1929 as part of Ball State University’s Teachers College. As Indiana’s only K–12 laboratory school, Burris develops, evaluates, and shares innovative educational practices while providing an exceptional learning experience for students and meaningful clinical opportunities for future educators. An active member of the International Association of Laboratory Schools, Burris collaborates with educators around the world to advance teaching, learning, and educational innovation.
The post A Century of Supporting Teaching and Learning: Ball State University and Burris Laboratory School appeared first on Muncie Journal.
