What is IB and MYP?

From the MYP Coordinator

-Lindsay Allen

It is a rewarding profession being a teacher in the Channing Hall Middle Years Program.  We provide our students with a challenging academic IB framework that involves all students in their own unique learning processes.  This encourages students to make connections between school and the real world, and helps them become critical and reflective thinkers.  We see our students grow more confident in themselves and their abilities, and we see them mature into thoughtful, compassionate adolescents. 

We have worked for several years to meet the rigorous standards set by IB, and to prepare for our authorization visit, which should take place this spring. The students and parents are as much a part of this process as the teachers.  Because of this, we wanted to share information with our (Channing Hall) families about the International Baccalaureate program.  It is our hope that in this newsletter, you will gain a clear perspective of the mission and vision of the IB program, and understand how we as teachers in the Channing Hall MYP are excited to be a part of this innovative and rigorous educational program. 

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Program is a non-profit educational foundation, motivated by its mission and focused on the development of a balanced student.  International Baccalaureate was founded in 1968, and is currently being taught in 3,463 schools in 143 countries to approximately 1,050,000 students. The program is the most widely recognized pre-university educational program. In fact, five IB World Schools in the United States were featured in the “Top 10 of Newsweek’s 2011 High School Rankings”.

The Middle Years Program is taught between grades six through ten, for students between the ages of 11 to 16.  The MYP was started in 1997 and is now offered by 980 World Schools.  Channing Hall was officially accepted as an IB MYP candidate school in 2011, and hopes to become an authorized IB MYP in 2013.  

It is a program of international education designed to help students develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills necessary to participate actively and responsibly in a changing world.  IB promotes intercultural understanding and respect, not as an alternative to a sense of cultural and national identity, but as an essential part of life in the 21^st century.