What is International Baccalaureate?
*The International School at Mesa del Sol is an authorized IB World school for its Primary Years Programme and is a candidate school for the IB Middle Years Programme, and is currently pursuing authorization as an IB MYP World School.
The International School at Mesa del Sol is a candidate school* for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme and pursuing authorization as an IB World School.
IB World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to improve the teaching and learning of a diverse and inclusive community of students by delivering challenging, high quality programmes of international education that share a powerful vision.**
*Only schools authorized by the International Baccalaureate can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.
For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org
**Mission Statement from the IB
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
The Mission Statement of the International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. Visit www.ibo.org for more information.
What is an IB education?
Imagine a worldwide community of schools, educators and students with a shared vision and mission to empower young people with the skills, values and knowledge to create a better and more peaceful world. This is the International Baccalaureate (IB). In 1968 the first programme offered by the IB, the Diploma Programme, was established. It sought to provide a challenging yet balanced education that would facilitate geographic and cultural mobility by providing an internationally recognized university entrance qualification that would also serve the deeper purpose of promoting intercultural understanding and respect.
With the introduction of the Middle Years Programme in 1994 and the Primary Years Programme in 1997, the IB identified a continuum of international education for students aged 3 to 19. The introduction of the IB Career-related Programme in 2012 enriched this continuum by providing a choice of international education pathways for 16 to 19 year old students.
Each of the IB programmes reflects a central desire to provide an education that enables students to make sense of the complexities of the world around them, as well as equipping them with the skills and dispositions needed for taking responsible action for the future.
They provide an education that crosses disciplinary, cultural, national and geographical boundaries, and that champions critical engagement, stimulating ideas and effective relationships.
These aspirations are summed up in our ambitious mission: The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. Watch the video to learn more about the International Baccalaureate curriculum.
Why the IB is different?
International Baccalaureate® (IB) programmes aim to do more than other curricula by developing inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who are motivated to succeed.
We strive to develop students who will build a better world through intercultural understanding and respect.
IB programme frameworks can operate effectively with national curricula at all ages; more than 50% of IB World Schools are state-funded.
The IB's programmes are different from other curricula because they:
encourage students of all ages to think critically and challenge assumptions
develop independently of government and national systems, incorporating quality practice from research and our global community of schools
encourage students of all ages to consider both local and global contexts
develop multilingual students.
In order to teach IB programmes, schools must be authorized. Every school authorized to offer IB programmes is known as an IB World School.
A continuum of international education
We provide a continuum of education, consisting of the Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme that are united by the IB's philosophy and approaches to learning and teaching. The programmes encourage both personal and academic achievement, challenging students to excel in their studies and in their personal development.
Quality practice
IB programmes incorporate quality practice from national and international research and the IB global community. They encourage students to be internationally-minded, within a complex and hyper-connected world.
Students learn how to learn
Throughout all IB programmes, students develop approaches to learning skills and the attributes of the IB learner profile.
Students are able to take responsibility for their own learning and understand how knowledge itself is constructed. They are encouraged to try different approaches to learning and to take responsibility for their own educational progress.
Our programmes help IB students:
ask challenging questions
think critically
develop research skills proven to help them in higher education.
IB programmes also encourage students to be active in their communities and to take their learning beyond academic study.
The IB teaching style
Education in International Baccalaureate® (IB) World Schools:
centers on learners
develops effective approaches to teaching and learning
works within global contexts, helping students understand different languages and cultures
explores significant content, developing disciplinary and interdisciplinary understanding that meets rigorous international standards.
An IB education aims to transform students and schools as they learn, through dynamic cycles of inquiry, action and reflection. Teachers enable and support students as they develop the approaches to learning they need – for both academic and personal success.
IB programmes aim to help students explore and construct their own personal and cultural identities.
A shared educational philosophy
The IB supports schools in the implementation of four high-quality programmes of international education:
Primary Years Programme (PYP), for students aged 3-12
Middle Years Programme (MYP), for students aged 11-16
Teaching and learning in the IB celebrates the many ways people work together to construct meaning and make sense of the world. An IB education empowers young people for a lifetime of learning, independently and in collaboration with others.
The IB learner profile describes the shared values that inform an IB education.
