International Baccalaureate

IB Worldschool logo

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit foundation established in 1968, providing an international curriculum standard for three challenging programs: the Primary Years Program (PYP), Middle Years Program (MYP), and Diploma Program (DP). As of 2010, there are over 3,040 schools offering at least one of the IB programs in 139 countries around the world.

North Hills Preparatory was authorized to offer the Diploma Program (DP) in 2003, the Primary Years Program (PYP) in 2007, and the Middle Years Program (MYP) in 2010.

The Primary, Middle Years, and Diploma programs form a coherent sequence of education by promoting the education of the whole person through an emphasis on intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth.

In all three programs, the education of the whole person is manifested through all domains of knowledge, involving the major traditions of learning in languages, humanities, sciences, mathematics and the arts.

Furthermore, all three programs:

Require study across a broad range of subjects drawing on content from educational cultures across the world
Give special emphasis to language acquisition and development
Encourage learning across disciplines
Focus on developing the skills of learning
Include, to a varying extent, the study of individual subjects and of transdisciplinary areas
Provide students with opportunities for individual and collaborative planning and research
Include a community service component requiring action and reflection.

IB Learner Profile

IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers
Knowledgeable
Thinkers
Communicators
Principled
Open-minded
Caring
Risk-takers
Balanced
Reflective

International Education

The International Baccalaureate chooses to define "international education" according to the following criteria.

Developing citizens of the world in relation to culture, language and learning to live together
Building and reinforcing students’ sense of identity and cultural awareness
Fostering students’ recognition and development of universal human values
Stimulating curiosity and inquiry in order to foster a spirit of discovery and enjoyment of learning
Equipping students with the skills to learn and acquire knowledge, individually or collaboratively, and to apply these skills and knowledge accordingly across a broad range of areas
Providing international content while responding to local requirements and interests
Encouraging diversity and flexibility in teaching methods
Providing appropriate forms of assessment and international benchmarking

North Hills Preparatory IB Program Coordinators

PYP Coordinator (Primary Years, grades K through 5)
Dawn Burkholder
(dburkholder@uplifteducation.org)

MYP Coordinator (Middle Years, grades 6 through 10)
Shehnaz Wadhwania
(swadhwania@uplifteducation.org)

DP Coordinator (Diploma Program, grades 11 and 12)
Charles Ryder
(cryder@uplifteducation.org)