January 2018 News

Academy Students Go Abroad to Study Foreign Languages

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

The following three students in French 202 were recently accepted to the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages to study in France this summer:

• Josiah Zintsmaster was accepted to the program in St. Brieuc
• Luc Baker-Stahl was accepted to the program in Brest
• Caleb Albright was accepted to the program in Saumur

Additionally, three students studying Japanese at the Academy were also accepted into the IU program:

• Shantel Hochstetler
• Katie Basey
• Leah Chambers

All three will study in Osaka, Japan.

Academy Students Attend Lugar Symposium

Monday, December 11, 2017

The following juniors recently participated in the Lugar Symposium for Tomorrow’s Leaders at the University of Indianapolis: Nathan Danek, Chloe Thomas, Ahna Abraham, and Eric Harman.

These students heard an extemporaneous overview of key topics germane to today’s society from former Senator Richard Lugar. Students attended two sessions of their choice in the afternoon, and they also had the privilege of getting pictures taken with Senator Lugar as part of the Delaware County contingent.

Academy Instructor Recognized As Outstanding Educator by University of Chicago

Monday, November 6, 2017

Cheryl Kellogg, a biology instructor at the Indiana Academy, has been selected for the University of Chicago’s Outstanding Educator Award.

This distinguished award has existed for more than three decades at the University of Chicago, and first-year students there are encouraged to nominate an educator that has impacted their lives both in and out of the classroom. Robert Belin, a 2017 Indiana Academy graduate, nominated Ms. Kellogg for the award.

Ms. Kellogg has been a biology instructor at The Indiana Academy since 2006. She has a master’s degree in biology from Ball State and is a certified medical technician. She specializes in genetics, ecology, and AP biology at the Academy.

Japanese Instructor at the Academy Named a Rising Star

Monday, November 6, 2017

Indiana Academy Japanese instructor Clara Chi was selected by the Association for Indiana Teachers of Japanese for the 2018 Rising Star Award. The award recognizes extraordinary instructors with 5 or less years of teaching experience.

Ms. Chi has helped the Japanese department reach new heights during her short tenure at the Academy. She has helped students receive college credit by transforming Japanese classes into dual credit courses. Outside of the classroom, she is regularly involved with conferences. She helped the Indiana Academy place 2nd in the level 2 section at the 2017 Japan Olympiad of Indiana. One of Ms. Chi’s students won second place at the Chicago Consulate Japanese Speech Contest in 2017.

Ms. Chi will receive the award next year at the 2018 Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association conference.

Indiana Academy Recognized as a Top Dual Credit School

Monday, November 6, 2017

In recognition of the Indiana Academy’s efforts to provide Indiana students with access to and success in Dual Credit courses, the Indiana Department of Education (DOE) recognized them at a ceremony on Monday, November 6th at the Indiana Statehouse Atrium. Dual Credit courses are classes in which students earn both high school and college credit for classes. About 97% of Academy seniors take Dual Credit courses, averaging 24 total college credits. Only schools who had at least 30% of their students pass their classes during the 2015-2016 school year were invited to the event. The Academy was one of six Gold level schools (75% percent or higher; Academy is at 85%) out of 130 schools that were recognized at the 2017 Indiana Dual Credit Recognition Ceremony, and the Academy was the only school from Delaware County to receive this honor.

National Merit Commended Students

Friday, September 22, 2017

The following seniors have been recognized as Commended Students in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students are being recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by outstanding performance on the Qualifying Test (PSAT) last October. Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2018 competition by taking the 2016 PSAT.

Angela Cardwell
Ningmei Gong
Nils Hinniger
Ryan Martinez
Dione Miles-Morillo
Julia Newbold
Conner Partaker

United Way Day of Action

Monday, September 18, 2017

More than 50 Academy faculty, staff, and students participated in the United Way Day of Action on Thursday, Sept. 7. Volunteers worked morning and afternoon shifts outside on the Cardinal Greenway where they cleaned up trash, repaired asphalt, painted over graffiti, and weeded along the trails. Academy students who participated each earned a least four hours of community service depending on which shift they worked, and some students worked both shifts.

For the past four years, Academy instructor John Marsh has helped to organize the Academy volunteers. “The previous three times we were recognized as the group which provided the most volunteers, so we wanted to try to keep that honor again this year,” Marsh explained. “Students are not allowed to miss class for it, so they have to be available during the volunteer slots. So, our volunteer numbers would be even higher except there are students who want to participate but cannot due to their academic commitments.”

2018 National Merit Semifinalists

Thursday, September 14, 2017

The following seniors have been named Semifinalists in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program:

Anna Beach
Michael Hu
Keith Murray
John Tade
Stanley Zheng

They now have the opportunity to continue in the National Merit Scholarship competition.

Indiana Statehouse Representative Donna Schaibley Visits Academy

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Representative Donna Schaibley (District 24) visited the Indiana Academy on Sept. 1 to learn more about the school. She toured Academy facilities and classrooms in addition to meeting with Academy administrators, students, and faculty. Schaibley (far left) observes Academy students Tessa Walters and Sophia Bysick as they share their list of daily activities in French. Also pictured are Academy alumnus Cassandra Grosh; Joe Turner, Director of Residential and Student Affairs; Jeff Smith, Director of Academic Affairs; Jennifer Robinson, French Instructor; and Vickie Barton, Executive Director of the Indiana Academy.

We’re #1 (Again!)

Monday, August 7, 2017

For the fourth consecutive year, the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities is ranked the #1 Best Public High School in Indiana, and our teachers are ranked #1 Best Public High School Teachers in Indiana. We continue to be recognized as one of the best high schools in the nation with our rankings of #4 Best Public High School Teachers in America and #17 Best Public High School in America.

The 2018 rankings released from Niche (k12.niche.com) are based on rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Ranking factors include state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, teacher quality, and high school ratings. Full rankings can be found at https://www.niche.com/k12/indiana-academy-for-science-mathematics–and–humanities-muncie-in/rankings/.

Additionally, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) released their 2017 College Readiness report that found 100% of Indiana Academy grads are ready for college-level courses. The Academy is one of only two high schools in the entire state of Indiana with that distinction. (See related article at Indy Star: http://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2017/07/30/how-well-indiana-high-schools-preparing-students-college/453616001)