In 2007 H.I.S. became an IB World School when it was authorised to offer the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). In the years since then, it has been proud to receive authorisation for the Diploma Programme (DP) and finally the Middle Years Programme (MYP). Thus joining a select group of schools in the world authorised to offer three IB programmes.
Since IB authorisation, the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) have also accredited the school. Many of you will have participated in our CIS/NEASC accreditation self-study, which we successfully completed last year.
This school year we embark on another phase of development in our school’s improvement and quality-assurance, with an IB Multi-programme Evaluation.
Each IB World School is regularly evaluated to ensure that the standards and practices of its IB programmes are being maintained. Evaluation takes place usually once every five years. As part of the process, the school engages in a self-study that is a key element in the school’s continual improvement.
On-going development for this evaluation started from the moment of authorization, as the school used the feedback it received to update its action plan to continue to improve the delivery of its IB programmes. Specific preparation and planning for this Multi-programme Evaluation commenced last year and has continued over the summer break.
With the start of the new school year, the faculty has been focussing on a self-study that will provide us with an opportunity to assess the implementation of the three programmes, according to the IB’s Programme Standards and Practices and the specific requirements of the PYP, MYP and DP. This self-study will allow us to identify the major achievements during the period under review and to identify practices that may need further development.
The IB Multi-programme Evaluation will culminate in a visit to the school by an IB programme evaluation team, which will spend three days at H.I.S. in October 2016.
Whilst the bulk of the work for the self-study will be completed by the teaching staff, the parents, students, alumni, indeed the whole school community will be involved in some way over the next 12 months. You will receive further information about how and when you can be involved in this process in future newsletters.
We look forward to the challenge of the IB Multi-programme Evaluation and the opportunities it provides for the enhancement of our IB programmes and the further development of our school.
Kate von Gizycki Anke Schumacher Kevin Whitmore
PYP Co-ordinator MYP Co-ordinator DP Co-ordinator
