About Our Charter School in Muncie, Indiana
Our Mission
Inspire Academy – A School of Inquiry (IASI) exists to empower a diverse body of students with an internationally competitive education by fostering students’ natural inclination toward curiosity, discovery, and adventure.
What Sets Us Apart
We’re committed to EL Education – an inquiry-based, interdisciplinary approach with an emphasis on arts integration, collaborative learning and character development. Our curriculum is organized around in-depth studies called Learning Expeditions and is shaped by our Ten Design Principles.
Our History
Inspire Academy received approval for charter from Ball State University on December 5, 2011 and received the executed charter on April 18, 2013. We opened in August 2013 on the site of the former Garfield School as part of what was then called The Unity Center, with a founding student body of 124 students in grades K – 5. Inspire Academy was Muncie’s first public charter school that services children onsite 5 days a week, and renewed its charter with Ball State University two times, once in 2018 and once in 2022. In 2023, Inspire Academy received approval for charter from Trine University on January 11, 2023 and currently operates under a charter from Education One at Trine University that is effective through 2038.
The school was created in response to the local community communicating the need for another educational option in Muncie, one in which parents feel comfortable partnering with school staff and where student participation and inquiry is encouraged. Inspire Academy was born from the community development initiatives of Urban Light Community Church and Urban Light Community Development Corporation. Inspire Academy is a separate, non-sectarian, non-profit 501(c)3, and as a public charter school, is committed to serving all families. Admission will not be limited on the basis of intellectual ability, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, national origin, religion, or ancestry, or any other criteria that would be unlawful.
