IB in WT Update

Choose. Act. Reflect.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (January 9, 2017) – Having been authorized as International Baccalaureate (IB) World Schools in 2013, all seven Washington Township elementary schools have recently undergone their first official International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP) evaluation. Washington Township is pleased to report that none of the schools received matters to address indicating that ALL elementary schools are upholding the integrity of the IB program.

Being evaluated by the International Baccalaureate Organization allows Washington Township to realize how well the district is meeting the standards and practices that IB has established as part of their quality assurance framework. There are seven standards and approximately one hundred practices regarding philosophy, organization, and curriculum that are implemented by IB schools all over the world.

The framework for the IB evaluation is built in such a way as to recognize each school’s strengths (commendations) and at the same time, explore areas for improvement (recommendations).

“The Washington Township elementary schools consistently received a good ratio of commendations to recommendations,” said Mr. Chad Hyatt, Washington Township Curriculum Coach. “One of the common commendations across the board was the commitment of the governing body of the school district to the implementation of the IB program. One of the common recommendations across all seven elementary schools was a recommendation that is seen frequently among ALL IB schools, and that is to improve the transdisciplinary aspect of the program. The PYP is committed to students learning about their world through the integration of subject areas, just like they naturally do in life.  With mandates from the state for segmented instruction in subjects like literacy and math this can often be a challenge especially for public schools to overcome. As a district, we are constantly exploring ways to keep this philosophy at the forefront of our efforts so that we meet our state standards, satisfy state requirements, and implement an IB program within a transdisciplinary focus,” concluded Hyatt.

The International Baccalaureate Organization does not run or operate schools, but instead they work with schools to offer quality international education. Washington Township elementary schools will not be evaluated again for five years. The three middle schools and North Central High School will begin their first evaluation process in the 2018-19 school year with an official visit from IB the following year.

For more information about the International Baccalaureate programs in Washington Township, visit http://www.msdwt.k12.in.us/academic-programs/

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