J. Colin English earns IB school status
The good news keeps coming for J. Colin English Elementary School.
A few weeks ago the school had its letter grade raised from a “C” to an “A” in the school accountability system for the state.
Last week, Principal Joe Williams learned that his school had been named an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School for the Primary Years Programme (PYP). This comes after three years of preparation and work by faculty, staff and students.
“I’m excited about the opportunity the school’s been given to acquire such a dynamic program,” Williams said. “It’s going to be a great experience for our students because it teaches them a different way of thinking.”
J. Colin English became an IB candidate school in 2011. Candidate schools are given three years to fully implement the PYP before being fully authorized.
“I was looking for a different experience for our students. We try to bring programs that expose our kids to different things,” Williams said. “A lot of our students haven’t had that exposure to real world things. IB allows you to think globally.”
The PYP is a curriculum framework designed for students between ages 3 and 12, which focuses on the child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the outside world, Williams said.
“We live in a microwave society, where everyone wants the answer fast, and sometimes you have to do a little digging to get those answers,” Williams said.
The IB is a non-profit educational foundation that offers programs for students aged 3 to 10 to help develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world, according to the school’s website.
Founded in 1968, the IB works with 3,662 schools in 146 countries to develop and offer four programs to more than 1.1 million students between ages 3 and 19.
As an IB school, Williams said he hopes this will bring more well-known speakers to the school.
“It gives us the opportunity to bring in popular speakers throughout the program. It also allows us to expose our students to other cultures because it is pushed to the social studies curriculum,” Williams said.
J. Colin English joins Heights Elementary in being the only two schools in the district to offer the PYP.
IB offers two other programs. The Middle Years Programme is offered at Lexington and Mariner middle schools, while the Diploma Programme is offered at Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Riverdale high schools.