IB Americas May 2011 eNewsletter by International Baccalaureate

Seventh Edition

IB Americas May eNewsletter

Welcome to the May 2011 edition of the IB Americas eNewsletter Dear Educator, Greetings from the IB Americas Global Centre in Bethesda. Earlier this year, we crossed the sixth month mark in our new offices in the Washington, DC area. In this short period, the centre has hosted numerous meetings attended by literally hundreds of members of the IB community from across the Americas and around the world. These meetings have enabled us to increase our level of engagement with the educators, schools, and stakeholders who we support every day. We are fortunate to have such a highly engaged and passionate community of educators. If you happen to find yourself in the Washington, DC area, please make an effort to visit us and spend some time with the regional and global staff members who share your same passion for the IB mission. In the spirit of sharing this passion for the IB mission, I would like to share three stories with you from IB World Schools across the Americas. These schools share both the struggles and rewards of implementing and offering the International Baccalaureate Programmes in their schools. The Washington School of Buenos Aires, Argentina, reflects upon improvements resulting from the implementation of the Primary Years Programme at their school. Santiago College in Santiago, Chile highlights three projects that have helped them reinforce the principles of the Middle Years Programme at their school. Finally, The Champlain College in Québec, Canada, describes the methods that they have used to broaden their students’ minds through the Diploma Programme. Thank you to all who participated in the March enewsletter survey. Due to your feedback, we will be including a feature on an inspiring IB World School in each edition. In this edition you can read about Liceo Experimental Bilingüe de Palmares in Palmares, Alajuela, Costa Rica. I hope this enewsletter provides inspiration and ideas for you as you implement and offer IB programmes to your students. On another note, I look forward to speaking with many of you at the IB Conference of the Americas from 21-24 July in San Antonio, Texas, USA. To learn more about the conference and to register, please visit our conference website.

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In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me with your ideas and feedback at iba.director@ibo.org.

Warm Regards, Drew Deutsch Director, IB Americas

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IB Primary Years Programme: The journey towards collaboration Maria Celia Mendez Casariego, (Primary School Principal and PYP Coordinator) and Norma M. De Real (Former Primary School Principal), The Washington School, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Washington School is a Spanish-English bilingual school located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2001, we began implementing the PYP after a thorough comparison between the principles and philosophy of the Washington School and those of International Baccalaureate. Prior to this, we held meetings with various members of the community, and it was agreed that our school’s philosophy and mission had many points in common with the IB philosophy. The learner profile served as a guide upon which we were able to compare our principles to those of the IB. After having received our in-school workshop, we started our first programme of inquiry and began familiarizing ourselves with essential PYP principles and elements. At this point in time, our school held classes in the morning in Spanish, and in the afternoon in English. There was little time set aside during which teachers could get together and share thoughts as a group, which would prove to hinder the proper implementation of the PYP. Despite all of our good intentions, we seemed to be separated into two schools: one in Spanish and one in English. That was when the need arose to develop new strategies and to adopt certain changes that would help us to truly implement the PYP at the Washington School. Planning and collaboration between both our Spanish and our English teachers were key to our training and implementation strategy. The six transdisciplinary themes that uphold the PYP (Who we are, Where we are in place and time, How we express ourselves, How the world works, How we organize ourselves and Sharing the planet) served as a unifying foundation throughout this process. In the Washington School, there are two classroom teachers per grade, one in Spanish and one in English. These teachers are in charge of teaching all of the subjects, with the exception of subjects taught by our single subject teachers - music, art, technology, physical education, and computer science. In our school, these single subject teachers support, and in some cases provide guidance within the unit of inquiry. Eliminating the subjects taught by the various classroom teachers was necessary in order to work more closely with the inquiry process and the instruction of each unit of inquiry. In other words, the classroom teachers, both Spanish and English, are now in charge of guiding their students’ inquiries from different areas of learning so that the work that the children do has a transdisciplinary implication. This structure favors a continuous and meaningful learning environment. Eliminating the split timetable and the division of subject areas helped us to adapt the process of inquiry, and was an important milestone in our journey.

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Our programme is taught in Spanish and in English, and the units of inquiry are developed in both languages. Generally speaking, each teacher takes a few lines of inquiry and works with them in his or her language. However, once it is time to discuss the unit, the students respond in the language of the teacher that they are working with and address all of the work they have done, not just what was done with one of the teachers. Tasks related to skills, attitudes and the learner profile, such as referencing sources or reaching conclusions, are shared amongst the teachers. We work hard to understand and make it understood that language is a tool that can be used to transmit and communicate concepts. For the English teachers, teaching the language at the same time they teach through the language, proves to be a challenging task. However, as we assess our students’ achievements, we feel that the objectives that we have set are being met. A few years ago, the Full-Time Teachers’ Project was implemented. Before this project was implemented, teachers worked half days (Spanish teachers in the morning and English teachers in the afternoon). They now work the entire day, teaching one grade in the morning and one in the afternoon. This project improved communication and planning among teachers, and led to overall improved productivity. Our work style has changed for the better. All of the work concerning planning, preparation, development, and assessment is carried out in collaborative groups which vary according to the issue at hand. For all of us, sharing with others is essential and we believe that this is passed on to the work the children do in the classroom. In conclusion, we believe that one of our school’s most important achievements lies precisely in the conviction that our work is still unfinished, and that we are amid a process fuelled by training, continuous learning, reflection, and exchanges with others. We are eager to continue with our work from a serious and professional standpoint since we have enjoyed its fruits over the years.

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IB Middle Years Programme: Approaches to reinforcing key components Andrea Strauszer, MYP Coordinator, Santiago College, Santiago, Chile

It is now 15 years since Santiago College, a pioneering school in Latin America which has been at the forefront of education for 130 years, first included the MYP in its academic curriculum. Over the years, we have been innovating within the programme's curriculum framework in order to strengthen the MYP. In this article I would like to share with you three projects we have developed which have enabled us to reinforce some key components of the MYP. Approaches to learning This project has two key focuses: improving thinking skills and study techniques. Within each of these units we carry out ingenuity challenges, which are very motivating for the students. We have noticed that students who use different study techniques achieve better results, and that those who develop different thinking skills are better able to expand upon, clarify, and more clearly organize the information they receive from the media. Furthermore, the ingenuity challenges which the students enjoy so much help to encourage observation and reflection from different perspectives. We believe that this project reinforces certain skills in our students, which are extremely important for writing the personal project in the fifth year of the MYP, and subsequently for the Diploma Programme, particularly the TOK component. We assign one hour per week during the third year of the MYP for students to focus on this. Over the years, and through our many years of experience with the MYP, “Approaches to learning” has proven itself valuable by developing student’s autonomy and laying the groundwork for the personal project in the fifth year. Personal project The personal project is an essential component of the Middle Years Programme, and becomes a major event at our school, with around 130 students and 40 supervisors from different areas of the school participating. The personal project is recognized as an official component by the Chilean Ministry of Education, so its assessment is treated in the same way as all other subjects in the curriculum. We have put together a structure to maximize this learning experience at our school. We begin by motivating the students before the summer break during November. We then create a supervisory team, which is trained by the MYP coordinator. Each supervisor is in charge of four personal projects. The MYP coordinator presents the personal project to the parents of the 5th year students. The MYP coordinator monitors the students closely during the year to see how they are progressing with their supervisors. Each personal project is corrected by the student’s supervisor and moderated by two different supervisors.

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Finally, there is a meeting and presentation with the parents of the MYP fourth and fifth year students and anyone from the school community who wishes to attend. The event celebrates the students' results with a presentation and some personal testimonials from the students. One student had this to say of the experience: “I feel that I had a great opportunity to create something good, something impressive, that had never been seen before”. This student made a book about dinosaurs, where he not only carried out the research and wrote the book, but also drew each piece. Community and service Community and service have always been very important at Santiago College, even before we started offering the MYP. Every MYP class partners with an organization, with which it works throughout the year, in addition to general community service activities. Some of the most important work we do is in the third year of the MYP, with the Escuela Nuevo Mundo for children with Down's Syndrome. Our students first learn what the syndrome is exactly; this activity is carried out with a doctor from the school community together with teachers from the Escuela Nuevo Mundo. Each class then goes to the school to carry out different activities such as dances, crafts and sports. We finish off with a celebration breakfast at our school with all the students from Escuela Nuevo Mundo and the MYP third year students. This activity is highly beneficial for both groups, since it facilitates real understanding among students, and creates real bonds between them. The MYP has been a great investment in our school, both from the students' perspective and from the perspective of the adults who work at the school. It has created a real continuum between the three IB programmes here at Santiago College.

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IB Diploma Programme: Opening minds, broadening horizons Dr. Steve Hreha, Diploma Coordinator, Champlain Regional College, St. Lambert Campus, St. Lambert, Québec, Canada

Champlain College has a long tradition of being an open and welcoming place of learning. From time to time, however, individual parents (and occasionally students) take certain aspects of the Diploma Programme. For example, a Diploma Programme student who identified himself as a fundamentalist refused to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, on the grounds that the novel promoted and condoned a sinful lifestyle. The student met on several occasions with the English A1 teacher and eventually his initial objections were overcome and he did choose to read the novel. It was clear to the teachers involved in the Diploma Programme, however, that the student would have to read the novel or withdraw from the program. However, this was not mentioned as part of the discussions between the English A1 teacher and the student, as the teacher did not want to place undue pressure on the student. The English teachers believed that allowing a student to opt out of reading assignments based on personal beliefs would set an undesirable precedent in which the curriculum was no longer prescribed, but rather determined by individual student (or parent) choice. In a different case, one student withdrew from the Diploma Programme after only a few weeks in the program on the grounds that he did not approve of the critical thinking required in various courses. He believed that he knew the truth and did not think he needed to reflect on his view. Similar issues have been encountered with “science” fundamentalists – student who believe that anything falling outside the scope of the natural sciences (this includes philosophy, English and the social sciences) is a waste of their time. The Champlain College Diploma Programme faculty continue to search for strategies to open minds and debate the ethical questions implicit in these situations. Champlain registers students from a broad range of cultural and religious backgrounds, who speak a variety of languages. Even given these factors, promoting international-mindedness beyond a surface level is an ongoing effort for the Champlain community. The school sponsors clubs for various groups and hosts an annual “Intercultural Festival” highlighting the food, music and dances of participating cultural groups. It also offers a World Studies Certificate Program, which offers economics, political science, history and literature courses that have a global focus. Part of this program includes bi-weekly meeting open to all students, focusing on topics of global reach. For example, past guest speakers have addressed topics dealing with Canada’s role in Afghanistan, fostering democratic councils in Pakistan, the war in the Sudan, and the world after 9/11. Following the presentations students have an opportunity to raise questions and to interact with the speakers. In this way everyone at the school, including IB students, benefits from global perspectives. Another significant highlight of the bi-weekly session has been a presentation by Diploma Programme students who participated in the school’s annual humanitarian aid trip to Nicaragua.

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This trip has been one of the most successful initiatives in promoting international-mindedness and setting the Diploma Programme apart from other programmes at the school. Every year since 2003, between 12 and 18 Diploma Programme candidates have spent close to one full calendar year raising funds to finance the building of a preschool in the region surrounding Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Once the funds have been raised, students go to Nicaragua (during the period between their third and fourth semesters) and spend just over two weeks in the country helping to build the preschool. While in Nicaragua the students stay with host families. This intersection of cultures (language, traditions, beliefs and economic status) proves to be a major learning experience for the students, many of whom come from a comfortable middle-class environment. One of the students participating in this trip remarked in his CAS journal: “I was very surprised and impressed by how happy these people were when they had, by comparison with us, so little.” Introducing international-mindedness into specific Diploma Programme courses and embedding the theory of knowledge component into the curriculum have proven to be challenging. The chief obstacle to this is rooted in faculty’s concerns that too many additional requirements are being placed on them, in addition to preparing students for international examinations. Brainstorming how the international-mindedness and theory of knowledge elements might be best incorporated into Diploma Programme courses and attending workshops are the chief means by which the school is handling this concern. Work in this area is ongoing as Champlain’s IB journey continues. The Diploma Programme has been in place at Champlain St. Lambert for close to twenty years. Over that period of time, it has gone from being an experiment to being a program teachers want to be involved in. In general terms teachers recognize that IB students are different in some ways. They are not always the brightest or the best students in the high school, but they are unequivocally very good students. They come to class prepared, they are involved in their work, they ask questions, they challenge each other and teachers, and they perform very well. Teachers prefer to have IB students in their classes because of the dynamism they bring to the group. One of the unanticipated consequences of introducing the Diploma Programme on campus has been the leadership role students have played. In 2001, a student from Russia established the first chapter of Amnesty International on campus. It has been in operation since then with students in IB classes playing key roles in its administration. In 2003 a Diploma student established a green club, which has now become a campus wide initiative with school-wide support. Diploma students also help fellow students through tutoring programs. IB teachers have had an impact on our school’s culture. As a result of IB workshops, Diploma Programme teachers return to the campus invigorated and eager to try new things. Many of the practices associated with IB pedagogy have been adopted as departmental practices. For example, the extended essay has been adopted as a required component of the Liberal Arts Department and the use of formal labs in the sciences has been partially introduced into chemistry.

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The profile of the school has increased in the broader greater Montreal community. References to the Diploma Programme at Champlain have been made at school board meetings, university classes, and even neighbourhood watch meetings. This has increased the reputation of the school, and the administration believes it has had a positive impact on recruitment. In sum, the journey from non-IB to IB World School has been a long and challenging one. It has had its dark moments as well as its triumphs. Has it been worth all the work and sacrifice? Definitely!

Featured School: Liceo Experimental Bilingüe de Palmares in Palmares, Alajuela, Costa Rica Liceo Experimental Bilingüe de Palmares in Palmares, Alajuela, Costa Rica, graduated its second class of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme students on 5 March 2011. All 37 IB Diploma Programme students received the International Baccalaureate Diploma, and all were accepted to university. Drew Deutsch, Director of IB Americas, represented the International Baccalaureate at the ceremony, and gave words of inspiration to the graduating class. He thanked all of those who had a part in making these achievements a reality, and applauded the historic achievement of the graduating students. This is the second year this state-funded school has achieved exemplary examination results (last year 97% of students in the Diploma Programme achieved the Diploma). The public school initiative in Costa Rica is funded by the Asociación de Colegios del BI de Costa Rica (ASOBITICO). ASOBITICO drives the implementation of IB programmes in public schools across Costa Rica. ASOBITICO’s mission is to give young people greater opportunities regardless of their socioeconomic level, and to improve the quality of public education throughout Costa Rica. "We believe that education is a fundamental pillar for the development of the country and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme gives these students an invaluable opportunity for growth as it seeks to make them more critical thinkers and supportive students, better prepared to face the challenges of life today," said Ilse Chavarria, Coordinator of Social Responsibility of Café Britt, a company that sponsors the initiatives of ASOBITICO.

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Professional Development Highlights Contributed by Lisa Fanning, Professional Development Manager

2012 Workshop Calendar Changes The IB Americas Professional Development team is moving from a bi-annual (6-month) workshop calendar to an annual (12-month) workshop calendar. This means that workshops scheduled for January-December 2012 will be available for viewing and registration on 1 August 2011. Registration is still open for workshops scheduled through the end of 2011. To access the workshop calendar, please visit: http://ibo.org/events/workshops.cfm IB Diploma Programme: Subject Specific Seminars Subject specific seminars introduce curriculum changes to experienced teachers. The faculty will include master teachers and those involved in the curriculum review. Staff will be available to answer questions. Sports, health and exercise science, and group 5 are the revised subjects for 2012, with teaching beginning in September 2012 in the northern hemisphere, and February-March 2013 in the southern hemisphere. Subject specific seminars for group 5 will take place in early 2012. Check the occ for a summary of changes to the curriculum and the workshop events and conferences page for dates and locations in the coming months. Professional Development Needs Survey We will launch a professional development survey this May to determine how well we are supporting your professional development needs. The information gathered in the survey will play an important role in guiding the scheduling of 2012 workshops. IB coordinators will receive information on how to access the survey via email. The survey is scheduled to open on 23 May, 2011 and close on 3 June, 2011. Workshop Providers In February 2011, the Ecuadorian Association of IB World Schools (Asociaci贸n Ecuatoriana de Colegios con Bachillerato Internacional - ASECCBI) joined the growing list of workshop providers in Latin America. ASECCBI is scheduled to host Diploma category 2&3 workshops in September 2011. IB Staff Representation at Workshops In December 2010 and January/March 2011, members of the IB Americas Professional Development team travelled to Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil to participate in IB workshops and visit IB World Schools. During these visits, we spoke with workshop leaders, heads of school, faculty, and students. We enjoyed the opportunity to speak with many members of the IB community to discuss feedback and hear suggestions for change. As a result of these discussions, we are now implementing some of these suggestions surrounding workshop scheduling. We look forward to meeting many more of you over the next year.

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2011 IB Conference of the Americas: Service in Action 21-24 July 2011, San Antonio, Texas, USA Please join us at the Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, Texas, USA from 21-24 July 2011 for four inspiring and thought provoking days of events. The 2011 IB Conference of the Americas will be the single best place to meet and collaborate with over 1,200 IB educators from across the Americas region and the world. Discover new ideas to further develop your IB programme, learn from IB practitioners, reflect on your practice, and leave with inspiration and renewed energy to bring back to your school. Don’t miss the incredible stories from our featured speakers and breakout presenters, including: • • • •

Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, Linda Darling-Hammond, professor of Education at the Stanford University School of Education in Stanford, California, United States, Cathryn Berger Kaye, global expert on service learning, Dr. Amanda Cespedes, thought leader in child and adolescent psychiatry and physician at the Universidad de Chile

The 2011 IB Conference of the Americas is the perfect professional development opportunity for heads of schools, coordinators, teachers, and district and school board officials to promote best practices across the broader IB community. To learn more and to register, please visit the official conference website at www.ibo.org/iba/conference. If you have any additional questions, please contact IB Answers at iba@ibo.org or call the IB Americas Global Centre at +1 212 202 3000 or via Skype: IBAmericas. We look forward to welcoming you to San Antonio!

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Launch of the IB Career-related Certificate The IB’s Director General, Jeffrey Beard, recently communicated about a new qualification by the IB called the IB Career-related Certificate (IBCC). We are delighted to inform you that IB World Schools that currently offer the Diploma Programme are eligible to add the IBCC to their educational offerings and can now apply for first teaching in September 2012. The IBCC embodies the IB learner profile and is unique in its offering. It is an academic qualification taken alongside a career-related qualification of the school’s choice. Unique to the IBCC is a core that includes community and service, and approaches to learning (ATL) course and a reflective project. Taken together they enhance individual critical thinking and intercultural understanding. Furthermore, students develop the communication and personal skills necessary for success. Surrounding the unique IBCC core is the requirement of a minimum of two Diploma Programme courses and the acquisition of language skills. This carefully constructed learning framework includes the IB philosophy already experienced by existing IB students and makes it accessible to a wider cohort of learners. The framework forms an effective link between the academic requirements of an IB qualification and the practical requirements of a career-related course. The IBCC is designed to provide a “value added” offering to those schools that already offer the IB Diploma Programme. It enables schools to widen participation to an IB education. Schools retain the ability to choose the career-related courses that are most suited to the needs of their students. We hope you will agree that this new, innovative qualification reflects our commitment to IB World Schools and our commitment to remaining leaders in international education. We would like to thank the schools that have already expressed their interest in offering the IBCC, and would like to invite you to visit http://www.ibo.org/ibcc and to let us know of your interest in the IBCC by submitting an IBCC Expression of interest form. Please feel free to contact IB Answers at iba@ibo.org if you have any questions or queries about the IBCC, or if you would like specific information.

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Announcements Introducing IB Answers Each year, the IB receives more than 90,000 queries from schools, examiners, workshop leaders, volunteers, government organizations and members of the public. This contact is through a variety of entry points, including telephone calls, emails and direct enquiries through the IB website. In order to streamline the response-handling process, we have recently launched IB Answers. IB Answers aims to enhance and improve the service currently being offered to stakeholders who contact the IB with queries. The full IB Answers service launched globally on Monday 14 March and now operates across all regions, 24 hours a day, Monday – Friday. Additional weekend assistance will be available at peak times, such as during examination periods. IB Answers provides coverage in the three working languages of the IB: English, French and Spanish. IB Answers also includes a self help tool, which includes frequently asked questions. To contact IB Answers, you can simply click on the IB Answers button on www.ibo.org or email ibid@ibo.org, where a representative will be on hand to assist you. You may also contact IB Answers by connecting to us via SKYPE: IBAmericas, and then entering extension 3025 or alternatively by phone at + 1 301-202-3025. The IB is committed to ensuring that members of the community are satisfied with the response they receive from the organization; IB Answers will strengthen this process.

Latest IB Research on Students’ Post-secondary Achievement IB Research is excited to announce the release of three new studies on post-secondary achievement of IB Diploma Programme students in the US. SRI International looked at the college enrolment, performance and graduation rates of Diploma Programme students from high schools within and outside the US who went on to enrol in US universities, and graduates from Florida high schools who enrolled in the University of Florida. The studies examined enrolment patterns, destination types, and graduation rates for more than 26,000 students. The Florida study examined the IB exam scores and college performance in the same subject. Highlights include: • • • •

The majority of IB Diploma Programme students enroll directly in a 4-year institution (67% of domestic, and 84% of international students) The majority of IB Diploma Programme students enrolled in “somewhat selective” or “more selective” institutions (64% of domestic, and 79% of international students) Graduation rates for both groups were found to be generally higher than institutional and national averages There is a positive association between students’ scores on an IB exam and grades in the first college courses in that subject

The UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has also just provided the IB with another report on students studying at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UK. The report identifies characteristics and trends of IB students compared with students holding the more traditional A level and similar qualifications. Findings indicate that IB students are more likely to: • • • •

be enrolled at a top 20 HEI achieve first class honors and to leave with an award in most subject areas go onto further study after university be employed in graduate level jobs and in higher paid occupations

These studies are part of a growing body of research on the IB as evidenced in part by the dozen plus papers presented last month at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, one of the world’s most influential educational research institutions. Presentations on the IB were given by individuals from Harvard, University of Chicago, UPenn, and NYU among others. To read more on these studies and others, please visit the IB Research Programme Validation Studies page: http://www.ibo.org/research/programmevalidation/index.cfm. For more information on, or questions about IB Research, please contact: research@ibo.org. The 2011 IB Diploma Programme Graduate Destinations Survey – Canada, Mexico, United States The IB Recognition division is pleased to announce a new global initiative to improve recognition of the Diploma Programme. In 2011, the IB has commissioned I-graduate, a UK-based research consultancy, to conduct a study of the Diploma Programme students in Canada, Mexico and the US who are completing their exams this year and is available to schools at no extra cost. This study, the IB Diploma Programme Graduate Destinations Survey, aims to capture data on the trends in university application and admissions for DP graduates completing their exams in 2011 and entering university. With your participation, we will be able to provide valuable insights into the plans of diploma graduates after they complete the Diploma Programme, including a profile of DP graduates globally, with their relevant scores on entrance exams or other assessments, any special distinctions, fields of study, scholarships or awards, and their acceptance rates into university. We will also be able to obtain a profile of universities they are attending in various countries. At the end of this study we will provide all IB World Schools participating in the survey with an individual and confidential summary report showing a profile of the diploma graduates at their school, benchmarked against the country and global totals. Participating in this study involves three easy steps: 1) Go to the I-graduate website, http://www.i-graduate.org/ibdp, and register your school. Upon registering, you will receive a confirmation, a user guide and more information about the survey. All IB schools must register by 13 May 2011 to participate.

2) Collect the email addresses of your students so that they may receive a copy of the survey to complete online. 3) Encourage all of your students to complete the survey! We hope that you will register today to participate in this important study. Please feel free to contact us at recognition@ibo.org, if you have any questions or concerns about this survey, or if you would like to provide any specific feedback or advice. The IB looks forward to working with you to improve recognition of the Diploma Programme and expand opportunities for diploma graduates in universities around the world.

New IB World Schools in the Americas We are pleased to officially welcome schools that have been authorized to teach an IB programme between 1 November 2010 and 1 April 2011:

Primary Years Programme Academy of Accelerated Learning, Milwaukee, WI, United States Charter Oak International Academy, West Hartford, CT, United States Conant Elementary School, Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States Dooley Global Studies Magnet School, Long Beach, CA, United States Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, Riviera Beach, FL, United States Eagle Valley Elementary School, Eagle, CO, United States École élémentaire publique L’Odyssée, Orléans, ON, Canada École Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, Québec, QC, Canada Escuela Bilingüe Internacional, Oakland, CA, United States H.D. Cooke Elementary School, Washington, DC, United States Hayden Meadows Elementary School, Hayden Lake, ID, United States Helen Keller Elementary School, Royal Oak, MI, United States Instituto Kipling de Irapuato, Irapuato, Mexico International Magnet School for Global Citizenship, East Hartford, CT, United States King-Murphy Elementary School , Evergreen, CO, United States

Lee F. Jackson Elementary School, White Plains, NY, United States MacLachlan College, Oakville, ON, Canada Massey Ranch Elementary School, Pearland, TX, United States Matoska International, White Bear Lake, MN, United States Mt. George Elementary School, Napa, CA, United States Northern Heights Elementary, Bellingham, WA, United States Ridgewood Elementary School, Portland, OR, United States Sale Elementary School, Columbus, MO, United States Sharp Park Academy, Jackson, MI, United States Shepherd Elementary School, Washington, DC, United States South Street Elementary School, Castle Rock, CO, United States Strong John Thompson Elementary School, Washington, DC, United States The Academy for Science and Foreign Language, Huntsville, AL, United States Young Elementary School, Louisville, KY, United States

Middle Years Programme Albert W. Merrill Middle School, Des Moines, IA, United States Baltimore City College, Baltimore, MD, United States Battery Creek High School, Beaufort, SC, United States Bloomfield Hills Lahser High School, Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States Bloomfield Hills Middle School, Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States Cajon High School, San Bernardino, CA, United States Cesar E. Chavez Middle School, San Bernardino, CA, United States Columbia High School, Decatur, AL, United States Dougherty Comprehensive High School, Albany, GA, United States Dougherty International Education Middle School, Albany, GA, United States East Hills Middle School, Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States École secondaire Bernard-Gariépy, Sorel-Tracy, QC, Canada École secondaire Camille-Lavoie, Alma, QC, Canada

École secondaire catholique Nouvelle-Alliance, Barrie, ON, Canada École secondaire catholique Saint-Charles-Garnier, Whitby, ON, Canada École secondaire Fernand-Lefebvre, Sorel-Tracy, QC, Canada École secondaire Monseigneur Euclide-Théberge, Marieville, QC, Canada École secondaire publique Gisèle-Lalonde, Orléans, ON, Canada Fairfield Middle School, Henrico, VA, United States Fort Caroline Middle School, Jacksonville, FL, United States Goodrell Middle School, Des Moines, IA, United States Gulliver Academy Middle School, Coral Gables, FL, United States Highland Park Junior High, St Paul, MN, United States Highland Park Senior High School, Saint Paul, MN, United States Hillsboro Comprehensive High School, Nashville, TN, United States Huda School and Montessori, Franklin, MI, United States International School of Indiana, Indianapolis, IN, United States John Randolph Tucker High School, Henrico, VA, United States Joshua D. Kershaw Elementary, Chicago, IL, United States Laredo Middle School, Aurora, CO, United States Mount Mourne School, Mooresville, NC, United States Northview School, Statesville, NC, United States Old Mill High School, Millersville, MD, United States Old Mill Middle School North, Millersville, MD, United States Oscar F. Mayer Elementary School, Chicago, IL, United States Polyvalente Marcel-Landry, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, Canada Ranson Middle School, Charlotte, NC, United States Robert Smalls Middle School, Beaufort, SC, United States Ronald Reagan High School, Milwaukee, WI, United States Smoky Hill High School, Aurora, CO, United States St. Michael School, Calgary, AB, Canada The Academy for Science and Foreign Language, Huntsville, AL, United States The Leo Baeck Day School, Thornhill, ON, Canada Tuckahoe Middle School, Henrico, VA, United States

Diploma Programme Ancaster High School, Ancaster, ON, Canada Bachillerato UPAEP Angelópolis , Puebla, Mexico Bachillerato UPAEP Santiago, Puebla, Mexico Berkeley High School Moncks, Corner, SC, United States Colegio Mayor Secundario Presidente del Perú, Lima, Peru Colegio Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Arequipa, Peru Colegio Peruano Alemán Beata Imelda, Lima, Peru Cumberland Valley High School, Mechanicsburg, PA, United States Dexter High School, Dexter, MI, United States Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy, Markham, ON, Canada Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Bellevue, WA, United States Gimnasio Campestre Los Cerezos, Bogotá, Colombia Grand Island High School, Grand Island, NY, United States Harrison High School, Harrison, NY, United States International School of Columbus, Columbus, IN, United States Kenmore West High School, Buffalo, NY, United States Liceo Gregorio José Ramírez Castro, Alajuela, Costa Rica Manheim Township High School, Lancaster, PA, United States Millbrook High School, Raleigh, NC, United States Notre Dame Academy, Toledo, OH, United States Pueri Domus School, Sao Paulo, Brazil Strawberry Crest High School, Dover, FL, United States The Classical Academy Flint, MI, United States Unidad Educativa Bilingüe Mixta Sagrados Corazones, Guayaquil, Ecuador West High School, Knoxville, TN, United States West Sound Academy, Poulsbo, WA, United States Woodrow Wilson High School, Dallas, TX, United States