Ball State University is literally shining its light on the Indianapolis-based St. Christopher Center to help it build a better community for the children it serves.

The Indianapolis center, located at 703 E. 30th St., currently houses a day-long daycare, an early childhood development program and is being prepped in anticipation of landing a new charter school as a tenant. Since the center has opened, Ball State has been there assisting nearly every step of the way, said Nedra Feeley, the center's board president.

"Rather than simply being a drop-off center, our goal is to have an impact and reverse the role of poverty in the community we serve. By staying with us for at least one year, the children enrolled in our center are reaching and exceeding their development milestones, which greatly increase their future academic success," she said. "Having an institutional partnership with Ball State — standing there side-by-side with us — has been a breath of new life in many areas."

Through the university's Building Better Communities initiative, the child development center has been able to identify and pursue grants, provide professional development for its board and find innovative ways to renovate its building, which is a converted school (formerly IPS 76).

Students from Teachers College have helped rejuvenate the center's teachers; students and faculty members from the Business Fellows program have conducted several board retreats covering marketing resource development and have assisted the staff in grant writing and developing fund-raising materials; and the College of Architecture and Planning and Center for Energy Research/Education/Service (CERES) faculty members and students have been a great resource for examining many "daylighting" issues.

Studies have shown that properly lit rooms can boost students' classroom performance, said Robert Koester, director of CERES.

"Proven research shows a 20 to 26 percent boost in math and reading skills when the correct amount of sunlight is allowed into a classroom," he said. "With our sun-simulating heliodon, we want to maximize the architect's design to help students stay alert and more focused, which would in turn help the charter school and the child development center be more successful."

The heliodon can be adjusted to mimic the angle of the sun at any time of day during any given month. The tests provided information that will help the architects decide what window configuration will work best, Koester added.

Building Better Communities is an initiative designed to spur economic development and quality of life advancement in Indiana by applying Ball State's strengths in applied research and hands-on learning to projects across the state. Building Better Communities works to match the university's expertise and resources to the varied needs of Indiana communities.

(Note to editors: To reach any of the Ball State personnel listed in this release, contact Layne Cameron, media relations manager, at (765) 285-5953 or lscameron@bsu.edu. Feeley can be reached at (317) 257-2943.)