Dallas Mayor and Dignitaries Join Alcuin at Commemorative Letter Signing Event
Alcuin School, a leader in Montessori and International Baccalaureate (IB) education, today announced it has been officially accepted as an IB World School by the Director General of the International Baccalaureate® Organization (IBO), of Geneva, Switzerland, thereby authorizing the school to offer the Grade 11-12 IB Diploma Programme beginning in the fall of 2016.
Alcuin Upper School students will now complete all Diploma Programme requirements and be able to earn the IB Diploma in addition to earning the Alcuin high school diploma.
Alcuin commemorated the school’s historic event with a special letter signing ceremony that finalized the official IB Diploma Programme authorization.
Several dignitaries and constituents joined the ceremony to mark Alcuin’s important milestone including: Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings; Karen Phillips, Executive Director, Texas IB Schools; Maria Cintron Magennis, President, Alcuin Board of Trustees; and Walter Sorensen, Alcuin Head of School.
“We are honored to be authorized to offer our Upper School students the IB Diploma Programme,” said Walter Sorensen, Alcuin Head of School. “We prepare students for success in higher education and for life in a global society. Alcuin’s program is academically challenging and has now gained recognition from universities around the world.”
Alcuin’s IB Diploma Programme will also offer Upper School students a variety of advantages as they prepare for college.
A 2011 study of almost 25,000 IB Diploma and certificate students found IB students were more likely than the national average to attend college full-time, with nearly 70% attending selective or more selected colleges.
IB students tend to fare well during the overall application process at many prestigious institutions of higher learning. The acceptance rate of IB students into Ivy League schools (Princeton, Yale, Brown, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and the University of Pennsylvania) is between 3% and 13% higher compared to the total population rate.
The IB Diploma Programme is a rigorous, pre-university course of studies that meets the needs of highly motivatedsecondary students in the 11th and 12th grades.
The goals of IB are to ensure intellectual rigor and high academic standards, to teach young people to relate the experiences of the classroom to the outside world, and to assist students in becoming critical thinkers, lifelong learners, and informed participants in their communities and in the world. The program also fosters an international perspective by encouraging students to understand and to value others’ cultural perspectives.
Through successful completion of an IB program at an authorized IB World School, like Alcuin, students earn the prestigious International Baccalaureate® Diploma. The requirements of the program include successful completion of IB courses in literature, a foreign language, history, science, mathematics, and an IB elective.
Students must take three or four of these subjects at what IB refers to as the “higher level” and two or three at what is called the “standard level.” This is similar to having majors and minors. In each of the six IB courses, the student must complete required internal assessments and sit for an external examination.
The exams, written and scored by the International Baccalaureate Organization, measure student performance according to established international standards for excellence. In addition to the course work and satisfactory performance on all assessments, students must also take the Theory of Knowledge seminar class, submit a 3,000 to 4000-word Extended Essay, and complete 150 hours in Creativity, Action, and Service activities in order to be eligible to earn the IB Diploma.
“The IB Diploma Programme is renowned for providing a broad and well-rounded international education,” said Sorensen. “This will only enhance the many authentic learning experiences available through an Alcuin education, which encourages collaboration and inspires passionate learners and innovative thinkers.”
About Alcuin School
A vibrant, nurturing, coeducational academic community serving students from toddler to 12th grade, Alcuin School uses the Montessori and International Baccalaureate program methods to foster critical thinking and a lifelong passion for learning. With faculty support, students at Alcuin School are eager to embrace change, question the status quo, and prepare for their future as leaders in a global society. For more information, please visit www.alcuinschool.org.