“Veteran teachers give best comments,” Woodson said of the feedback on the training. The district will continue to provide training for teachers, redirecting money from traditional training programs to support learning about IB for teachers, Woodson said. There’s a bit of a learning curve for teachers and students. Helene Achgill, head librarian at North Central High School, said it was the “overarching philosophy of what we’re trying to do in the classroom.” Ashley Monroe, the science department chair at Westlane Middle School, described IB as “a lens to teach kids through.” That cost was significant but “not an insurmountable amount,” Woodson said the district leaders decided.Īssistant Superintendent Jon Milleman said the district needs to find its “elevator speech” in order to better explain and promote IB in the district.Īlthough it’s been around for more than 40 years, not every family is familiar with IB. When you single out the costs of IB, Woodson said, it adds about $32 per child per year in spending. The money pays for classroom world language resources, application and authorization fees, and curriculum writing. So far, $900,000 has been raised toward a $1 million goal to support IB. The program isn’t cheap, so the Washington Township Schools Foundation took up fundraising to help make it happen. “If this is good teaching and learning for one child, why isn’t that good for every child in our school district?” Woodson said. But she hopes going all-in will benefit more students. Woodson said at first the district considered more of a magnet school approach for integrating IB. The district is 65 percent minority today, up from 57 percent in 2005. The percentage of students learning English as a second language also nearly doubled to 15 percent, including an influx of foreign students at some schools. The percentage of students from families poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch jumped from 40 percent in 2005 to 60 percent last school year. Mitch Daniels and astronaut David Wolf.īut over the past decade, a demographic shift has brought new challenges. Washington Township schools have long been well regarded in Indianapolis, with suburban-like strong test scores and a slew of accomplished alumni, including former Gov. Woodson said the district decided to the K-12 IB plan as a way to transform teaching and learning. They just have a few extra classes and classwork components to complete. For those students, completing IB classes and passing a series of tests can earn them college credits in much the same way students do in Advanced Placement classes. However, IB is infused into existing honors classes at North Central, so students seeking a diploma will be in class with other honors students who are not. High school juniors and seniors will have to apply if they want to take IB classes under IB’s final stage, the Diploma Program. Curriculum for sixth-graders through high school sophomores will track the group’s Middle Years Program. From kindergarten to fifth grade, all Washington Township schools will follow a curriculum based on IB’s Primary Years Program. The most well-known program is the Diploma Program for juniors and seniors, which North Central High School has had in place since 1988.īut starting this year, students in every grade have the opportunity to learn the IB way. Its program is divided into four parts, which can be offered individually or as a “continuum,” which is what will happen in Washington Township. For example, IB students must learn a second language.Īround the world, IB works with almost 3,800 schools in 144 countries, Deutsch said. IB learning also encourages students to have “international mindedness” - they study culture and national identity. Instead, it sets high expectations for students to come up with their own ideas and do independent work. The curriculum does not tell teachers what content to teach. The original idea was to serve students in international schools who wanted to prepare for college, according to its website. ![]() IB is a nonprofit group that was created in 1968 by educators at the International School of Geneva, Switzerland. “Teachers embrace the ideals - inquiry based learning, critical thinking, making the world a better place and second language learning.” ![]() “When schools bring in IB, we see a revitalization and energizing of the instructional team as well as broader parent and student community,” Deutsch said. ![]() To get ready, the district’s principals, administrators and department heads and others - a few dozen in all - gathered last week at Maggiano’s restaurant.ĭrew Deutsch, the Maryland-based regional director of the Americas for the International Baccalaureate, urged them to spend some time telling the district’s “IB story” to students, parents and others in the community who might not be completely sure what the big deal is.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |