There is cause for celebration at Hunt Middle School. Last month, they received official International Baccalaureate (IB) authorization for its IB Middle Years Program. The IB approach to learning and teaching allows IB students to develop transferable and lifelong skills and attributes such as critical thinking, international mindedness, creativity, agency, and resilience while meeting internationally recognized qualifications.

Becoming an IB school is no small feat. It’s a seven-step process and often takes years to complete. Each step requires schools to meet IB’s strict and high standards.

As Hunt Middle School was preparing to re-open in 2021, Principal Kim Messersmith assembled a core team focused on creating a plan for Hunt to become an IB school once again. Before the school’s closure in 2011, Hunt was an IB school, giving students an opportunity to go from Hunt to Foss, where they could earn an IB diploma.

“From the start, every staff member we hired was committed to making Hunt an IB school,” said Hunt IB Coordinator, Sue Gregory. “The positive feedback from the IB organization and the smoothness of the process reflects that commitment and whole school effort.”

The International Baccalaureate framework

IB is a framework, not a curriculum, that provides a structure and guidance aimed at empowering students to take ownership of their learning through a global lens. IB has a continuum of programs: Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma. The IB Organization was established in Geneva, Switzerland in 1968. Today there are around 5,700 IB schools in 160 countries across the globe.

IB may sound exclusive or elitist, but TPS Director of Advanced Programs Equity Justina Johnson is clear that IB is for all students.

“It’s about helping students learn through a global perspective,” said Johnson. “You are thinking broader about your role as an individual and how it impacts that whole world. You are making the world smaller and more accessible by cultivating diverse critical thinkers and learners. These skills broaden college and career opportunities.”

Hunt has worked to implement the IB framework within all classes and be intentional about student experiences and offerings at each grade level.

“Sixth grade is about exposing them to everything,” said Messersmith. “Then in seventh and eighth grade, students have a little more discretion to choose classes, while still encouraging kids to explore, be curious, be risk-takers.”

Another key element of the IB framework is community service. For example, Hunt teaches students about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In eighth grade, students select one goal and design a community service project related to the goal. Project time is embedded into extended advisory classes each month, ensuring students have support from their teachers and classmates.  

“It’s important for students to understand learning doesn’t just happen at school,” said Gregory. “And for students to see how they can impact the world.”  

IB schools across TPS give students opportunities at all levels

The IB framework is not new to TPS. Foss High School has the oldest IB Diploma Program in Washington state. However, over the past decade, the school district worked to expand IB offerings and create a continuum of IB schools. Hunt is the sixth TPS school to receive IB authorization.

“We are trying to increase the number of students in college-level courses. By expanding our IB offerings at all levels, we create a pipeline of students who might consider and feel prepared for the IB Diploma program,” said Johnson. “The diploma program is very rigorous. Students are locked in for two years. It is a commitment. We want students to see themselves as capable and feel confident if they are going to be an IB Diploma candidate.”

TPS IB schools:

·         Foss High School (IB Middle Years and IB Diploma Program)

·         Giaudrone Middle School (IB Middle Years Program)

·         Hunt Middle School (IB Middle Years Program)

·         Travis Elementary (IB Primary Years Program)

·         Wainwright Intermediate (IB Middle Years Program)

·         Whittier Elementary (IB Primary Years Program)

As a choice enrollment district, students and families wanting IB can choose the school that best fits their needs.