MPS adds an International Baccalaureate program at MacDowell Montessori

(MILWAUKEE, WI) – Milwaukee Public Schools has added a new International Baccalaureate program to the district: MacDowell Montessori School is now authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme for students in grades 7 through 10.

MacDowell, a K3 through grade 12 school at 6415 W. Mount Vernon Ave., already offers the IB Diploma Programme for high school students in grades 11 and 12. MacDowell combines the IB curriculum with the Montessori approach to education, which calls for multi-age classrooms and hands-on learning.

[inarticled]“We are excited to be providing the IB Middle Years Programme at MacDowell,” Principal Andrea Corona said. “Our staff has worked extremely hard to gain the training and knowledge required to deliver the curriculum.”

“The IB Middle Years Programme provides students with opportunities to engage in active learning, develop a strong sense of self, and effect change in their community,” Corona continued. “Our students have done incredible work preparing the Community Project and Personal Project as a part of our candidacy and authorization process. We are seeing our students in grades 7-10 apply what they learn in their courses to help solve real world problems.”

Schools must go through a rigorous, multiyear application before being accepted into the IB programs. The programs encourage critical thinking and helps prepare students for postsecondary life in a global society. International Baccalaureate, founded in 1968 in Switzerland, now is in more than 5,000 schools in 156 countries and territories.

In summer, International Baccalaureate accepted three more MPS schools into the Primary Years Programme. They are ALBA (Academia de Lenguaje y Bellas Artes), 1712 S. 32nd St.; Marvin E. Pratt Elementary School, 5131 N. Green Bay Ave.; and Gilbert Stuart School, 7001 N. 86th St. ALBA is a charter school whose staff is employed by MPS.

In all, MPS has 11 International Baccalaureate school sites with 16 IB programs:

• Five grade schools in the IB Primary Years Programme for students 3 to 12 years old;
• Five in the Middle Years Programme for students 11 to 16;
• Four in the Diploma Programme for ages 16 to 19;
• Two in the Career-related Programme, also for ages 16 to 19.

Milwaukee Public Schools was the first school district in the state to offer the entire IB program continuum. Students in Milwaukee can begin the IB program in their primary years and continue through secondary schooling, or they can begin at any time.

Completing the Diploma Programme also can give students a head start in college; it’s possible to earn college credit while still in high school.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.