IB Mission Statement
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.
ALBA is a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) and is currently pursuing IB PYP authorization for grades K3-5th Grade. Our 6th-8th grade team will begin the MYP candidacy process in the 2022-23 school year.
ALBA School Mission Statement
The mission of the Academia de Lenguaje y Bellas Artes (ALBA) is founded on the conviction that bilingual students can reach their full potential academically, in English and Spanish, when challenged through a rigorous curriculum that develops critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity through the integration of the fine arts. Our students will develop self-confidence and self-worth as their Hispanic cultural identity is both recognized and valued through the curriculum as they prepare to be internationally minded life-long learners. Parents are vital partners in this mission.
The PYP Curriculum Framework ALBA Programme of Inquiry
Taught in more than 109 countries around the world, the PYP curriculum framework aligns exceptionally well with state and national requirements. Guided by six transdisciplinary themes of global significance, students deepen their learning by developing their conceptual understanding, enabling them to strengthen their knowledge and skills across and beyond disciplinary areas. The themes are: Who We Are, Where We Are in Place and Time, How We Express Ourselves, How We Organize Ourselves, How the World Works, and Sharing the Planet.
Through inquiry-based learning experiences and reflection, students develop knowledge, conceptual understandings, skills and attributes of the Learner Profile.
In addition to embedding the Learner Profile attributes into inquiry-based units, at ALBA we also focus on one Learner Profile trait each month as a school and celebrate achievements at our student assembly monthly meetings, SAM Meetings.
What Are the Advantages of the PYP?
The PYP is a transformative experience for students, teachers and school communities as a whole. PYP students learn to take charge of their own learning, while teachers collaborate to deepen that learning and increase students’ self-motivation and self-confidence. Finally, it is considered that members of the entire school community, including parents, can collaborate in learning and actively contribute to a holistic educational experience.
More information about the PYP can be found at ibo.org/programmes/primary-years-programme/