Addison Central School District IB Update, Fall 2016

IB Inquiry at ACSD Over the past year, the ACSD community has been considering the International Baccalaureate (IB) as a

possible framework for increasing excellence and equity across our nine schools. This fall we will decide

whether or not to apply for IB candidacy.

August 31, 2016

IB for All? The ACSD community is considering IB as a framework for uniting curriculum, assessment, and

educational culture across all of our nine schools.

September Info Sessions

Please contact your local school for times and locations.

Bridport Central School: 758-2331

Cornwall Elementary School: 462-2463

Mary Hogan School: 388-4421

MUHS: 382-1500

MUMS: 382-1600

Ripton Elementary School: 388-2208

Salisbury Community School: 352-4291

Shoreham Elementary School: 897-7181

Weybridge Elementary School: 545-2113

ACSD’s Inquiry Process

Adopting the IB framework would impact stakeholders across the ACSD community, including students, faculty and staff, administrators, parents, and community members. For this reason, we have included a range of stakeholders in our inquiry process.

In an initial round of research, the ACSD Leadership Team determined that IB encapsulates our mission statement, and administrators unanimously supported further inquiry into the IB programs. In the 2015-2016 academic year, ACSD organized three IB workgroups to develop a deeper understanding of the PYP, MYP, and DP. Each group consisted of school and district administrators and educators. The groups were tasked with researching IB as a means to meet the needs of all of our students and to consider the potential of this unifying framework to support progress toward goals laid out in the ACSD Strategic Plan. Workgroup members met monthly to consolidate learning and report on their findings regarding IB approaches to curriculum, teaching, and learning. Members of each group have served as liaisons with their school’s full faculty and have communicated their learnings to the ACSD Leadership Team.

Our inquiry process has included a review of official IB documents. We have consulted with regional coordinators employed by IB as well as

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An Overview of IB Inquiry Process (cont.)

coordinators and administrators working at IB World Schools. ACSD principals have facilitated discussions among school-based faculty, and many teachers and administrators have attended IB conferences and site visits to IB World Schools.

In the spring of 2016, the IB workgroups made a presentation to the ACSD school board and hosted a series of community forums in each town to inform families and interested community members of the ongoing inquiry process. Principals facilitated conversations at information nights and parent group meetings in the spring and will continue this communication in newsletters, parent nights, and other events through September. For information on opportunities to join the conversation, please contact your local school.

In October 2016, Superintendent Peter Burrows will present the unified ACSD board with a study assessing the feasibility of becoming an IB World District.

To learn more about . . .

the Primary Years Program, visit www.ibo.org/programmes/primary-years-programme/

the Middle Years Program, visit www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/

the Diploma Program, visit www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/

the IB Learner Profile, visit www.ibo.org/benefits/learner-profile/

Photo credits: “Earth Waves at Cassini” published by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, https://flic.kr/p/fz396F, Addison Independent photo by Trent Campbell, ACSU, Addison Independent photo by Trent Campbell, ACSU, ACSU

For more information:

The mission of the International Baccalaureate (IB) is “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.” IB programs provide an educational framework for establishing learning environments with similar philosophies, organization, and instructional practices where students learn about the world from both the curricula and their interactions with teachers, peers, and others within and beyond the school community. The Primary Years Program (PYP) is designed for students aged 3-12, the Middle Years Program (MYP) for ages 11-16, and the Diploma Program (DP) for ages 16-19. These programs provide curriculum frameworks and courses that offer a broad range of content and span academic subjects to develop both disciplinary and interdisciplinary understanding. Each program focuses on developing learners’ inquiry and thinking skills, risk-taking, and reflection. An IB education is student-centered, emphasizing not only the intellectual, but also the physical and personal development of every child. Students are actively involved in their own learning, take responsibility for that learning, and as a result, develop an understanding of the world in a manner and at a rate that is unique to each child.