International Baccalaureate Overview
The International Baccalaureate® (IB) is a non-profit educational foundation, motivated by its student-focused 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 programs of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
IB offers three programs for students aged 3 to 19 to help them develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world. There are more than 908,000 IB students at 3,158 schools in 140 countries. Over 1,200 of those IB schools are in the United States.
Hillsboro High School offers two of the three IB programs: the Middle Years Program (MYP) for all our 9-10th graders and the Diploma Program (DP) as an option for interested 11-12th graders.
- The IB Middle Years Programme provides a framework of academic challenge and life skills, achieved through embracing and transcending traditional school subjects.
- The IB Diploma Programme is a demanding two-year curriculum leading to final examinations and a qualification that is welcomed by leading universities in the US and around the world. It provides excellent preparation for post-secondary education and careers.
IB programs are unique because they:
- Provide a high quality education by holding students and teachers to rigorous standards.
- Encourage international-mindedness in students by helping them develop an understanding of their own cultural and national identity and the skills to live and work with others internationally.
- Encourage a positive attitude to learning by encouraging students to ask challenging questions, to reflect critically, to develop research skills, to learn how to learn, and to contribute to their communities.
For more information about the International Baccalaureate Organization and its programs, go to: www.ibo.org