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The International Baccalaureate Program

What exactly is an International Baccalaureate Program, and what will it mean for our kids?

The program is an ambitious international curriculum for students between the ages of 11-16, our 5th to 8th grades. It aims to combine academic rigour and equipping students with skills and attitudes appropriate to the challenges and opportunities of our contemporary society and global community. The program will be administered by Jenks and montitored by the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

The program is founded on three principles which lie at the heart of all good international education. Firstly, that students should have a solid foundation in established subjects with a cross-curricular approach, Secondly, that they should be aware of the richness and diversity of other cultures; And thirdly that they should be able to communicate clearly with other people. The program offers an approach to learning which empowers students aged 11-16 to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and personal qualities they need to participate in life in the 21st century. The concept of balance is fundamental to the program in a number of ways.

The program provides learning in a broad base of disciplines to ensure that students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare for the future. Alongside the fundamental concepts of the course lie five basic themes which permeate the whole program.
  • Learning how to learn
  • Being aware of the role which individuals play in the community
  • Knowing that our actions have an effect upon the environment
  • Knowing how to live a healthy life
  • Being aware of the creative invention of humanity

The course objectives include skills and processes as well as concepts. The aim is to ensure that students are not only knowledgable about subject areas studied, but also develop a genuine understanding of principles and an ability to apply these in unfamiliar contexts, in preparation for further learning. The program promotes the principle of concurrent learning, whereby students study a balanced curriculum each year. As students mature and develop thinking skills, they explore the disciplines with increasing depth and realize how they are linked to each other and to global issues. In grades 7 and 8, subjects are studied to a deeper level than previously, in preparation for the Diploma program offered at many of the Philadelphia School District High Schools. The program culminates in grade 8 with a personal project, a major piece that encompasses the themes and skills of the whole course.