Recently, Park Center was observed by an International Baccalaureate Visiting Team. This team was in Minnesota to inspect North View Junior High and Park Center. Both of these schools are partners as IB Candidate schools. This means that they are currently in the process of applying for acceptance into the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP). This visit is just one of the many steps on the road to becoming IB approved.
To become a part of the IB program, a school must undergo a long process: The school must file two applications, Application A (which PC filed about a year ago), and Application B (which was filed last December). Application B is a very lengthy report that provides a detailed overview of the school and what it is doing to prepare for the MYP. If Application B is accepted, a team is sent to visit and make sure that everything that was stated in the application is true. The visit team then creates a report for the North American IB Director.
The visitation team was originally supposed to be three members of the MYP, but one member was unable to attend due to an emergency. The two representatives that were able to make it were Ms. Barbara Norgaard-Reid (Team Leader) from Seattle, Washington, and Ms. Sharon Pope from Richmond, Virginia. Both of these representatives are experienced teachers and administrators from their areas.
PC IB Coordinator:
Jon Peterson
The visit was split between two days; the first day was held at North View Junior High, and the second day took place here at Park Center. Most of the time was not spent with school administrators, but instead the visitors met with students and teachers that are participating in the program. In addition to visiting with students and teachers, there was a brief visit with parents, and an exit interview with the Principals and IB Coordinators of both schools. During the exit interview, the visiting team was not able to share their confidential report, but they were able to comment on aspects of the schools that they liked, and areas that they felt needed more work.
Park Center's IB Coordinator, Mr. Jon Peterson, believes the visit went well. "I'm very proud of the staff and students of both PC and North View," says Mr. Peterson, "Everyone really pulled together and helped to make the visit successful." Among the positive remarks the visitors expressed that the two schools had excellent planning and great district support. Areas to improve upon included the continuation of teacher training and the strengthening of North View / Park Center ties.
Park Center will not know if it is accepted into the IB Program until July. Until that time, we are considered an "International Baccalaureate Candidate School", meaning we are not officially teaching the MYP, but instead we are on the road to it. There are three possible outcomes as to what will happen with the school:
Authorization is granted and the school can begin teaching the MYP.
Authorization is postponed until the school makes small adjustments to show it is ready to teach the MYP.
Authorization is denied and the school can choose to continue to prepare for authorization or not.
It is currently anyone's guess as to what will happen in July, but it could greatly affect the lives of the students of both North View and Park Center. If you have any questions about the IB program, Mr. Peterson can be emailed at petersonp@district279.org
