Pilot Butte Middle School earns ‘IB World School’ label

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Ron Wilkinson will formally announce to staff at Pilot Butte Middle School Friday that the school has earned official authorization as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, a goal staff has been working to achieve for 3 1/2 years.

The designation means the school is authorized to provide the IB’s Middle Years Programme (MYP), making it the first public middle school in Oregon outside of the Portland Metro area to offer such a program.

“I want to offer my congratulations and thanks to staff for the dedication and hard work they put in to achieve this goal,” said Wilkinson. “This gives Pilot Butte a special identity as an IB World School, one of only four public middle schools in Oregon to earn this honor.” He said this program is in line with the district’s focus on academic rigor and excellence.

“This program is the best thing in education I’ve seen in all my years. It’s truly a world class system and structure,” said Principal Michael Hecker. To adopt the new structure meant intensive training and hard work from teachers. “The staff has been tremendous. I give kudos to our teachers for working so hard to earn this prestigious distinction.”

The IB Middle Years Programme differs from other education models in many ways. The grading is rigorous, based on international standards. Students are required to take a second language, arts classes as well as a design class, which incorporates technology and problem solving. Classes incorporate real world examples and provide students with a global perspective. Students also engage in many local and global community service projects. (See Fact Sheet for more examples.)

In order to become an authorized school, Pilot Butte staff completed an extensive application process to ensure the school met the rigorous requirements from IB. Hecker and Wilkinson are celebrating the news with staff members Friday afternoon. Students will learn more about the news in small group sessions Monday morning.

For more information, visit Pilot Buttes MYP website: http://web.bend.k12.or.us/karen.corson/MYP/Welcome.html

International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme Fact Sheet for Pilot Butte Middle School

The Basics

• Pilot Butte staff has been working towards the goal of becoming an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) World School for three-and-a-half years. The academic program is called the Middle Years Programme (MYP); the school is an authorized IB World School.

• Pilot Butte is the first public middle school in Oregon outside of the Portland Metro area to be authorized as an IB Middle Years Programme. It is one of four public middle schools in Oregon to earn the designation.

• The school-wide program includes all of Pilot Buttes 700 students.

How is IB different?

COURSES: All students are enrolled in eight subjects, which include a second language (Spanish, Spanish for Spanish Speakers or French), arts and a design course. The design class asks students to solve real world problems creatively, using technology and raw materials.

INQUIRY: IB is inquiry-based, which means students identify and research issues and questions to develop their knowledge. Students are asked to explore open-ended questions such as: Why do we use equations?

GRADES: The school uses the IB-MYP rubrics to grade students. This system is used in MYP, which ensures schools are consistent in their grading practices. Students have defined, rigorous expectations to meet. Students are graded only on academics and proficiency, not on behavior or work habits.

INTERNATIONAL/REAL WORLD FOCUS: The IB-MYP model focuses on international-mindedness. Students in all subjects are asked to consider issues from a global perspective. Teachers also use many real world examples in their teaching.

COMMUNITY ACTION: The school places a strong emphasis on community service and making positive changes in the world, both locally and globally. Students at Pilot Butte complete self-directed projects, which have included raising funds for an orphanage in Kenya, singing and speaking with residents at a retirement home in Bend and reading with elementary students at Juniper.

LEARNING SKILLS: Students are taught how to learn through the development five key skills: communication, research, thinking (creative and critical), social and self-management. These skills are listed as comments on a student’s report card, but are not included into a student’s GPA.