Three HISD elementary schools achieve IB status
Three HISD elementary schools have been named International Baccalaureate (IB) schools:
HISD’s River Oaks, Roberts, and Twain Elementary Schools have been named International Baccalaureate (IB) schools, the first elementary schools in Texas to be granted the prestigious honor.
The HISD elementary schools beat out 3,000 others throughout the country to join the select group of 30 IB elementary schools in the U.S.
The IB program encourages students to inquire, which is important because it moves students beyond the educational norm of force-feeding students information. An inquiry-based program can form the basis of true learning (a classical education), which is generally described as a process of discovering, reasoning and then applying. Students learning how to critically think! What a concept!
The IB organization works with schools worldwide and offers a supplemental curriculum to teach children to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners.
"The IB Primary Years Program encourages all children to wonder about the world,” said Joyce Dauber, principal of Mark Twain Elementary School. "Its inquiry-based approach teaches them to pursue their questions within the framework of the curriculum. At Mark Twain, we have formed a collaborative learning community that includes all students, teachers, and parents."
This IB authorization makes HISD one of only eight districts in North America to have an IB feeder pattern across grade levels. River Oaks, Roberts, and Twain Elementary Schools "feed" into Lanier and Pershing Middle Schools. Lanier is recognized as an IB school and Pershing is progressing towards IB authorization. Bellaire, Lamar, and Waltrip High Schools also offer IB programs.
The feeder program, with scaffolded grades, will be of tremendous benefit to HISD's students, since students in the IB program can now be taught early on to learn through inquiring. By the time the students get to high school, they should be able to do more and better with the IB curriculum. And generally speaking, IB programs produce high-performing graduates.
I have yet to see anything on this in the local media, which is truly a shame. HISD deserves a big pat-on-the-back for this achievement, and the community deserves to learn more about the IB program and what it can do for students.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/18/05 02:03 PM | Houston Miscellany | Print | Comments (12)
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