Barbara Bush and Ranchview Receive IB Authorization Giving C-FB an Elite Distinction

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (C-FB ISD) is proud to announce that Barbara Bush Middle School and Ranchview High School have received authorization through the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) as a Middle Years Programme school. C-FB ISD, now, is one of the 146 elite districts and schools in the world that offer an IB continuum from kindergarten through twelfth grade. There are only 17 schools in North America that can claim this special distinction. C-FB ISD is the second public school district in North Texas to offer the IB continuum through all grades.

In C-FB ISD, we offer a Primary Years Programme for elementary students in kindergarten through fifth grades at Las Colinas Elementary and Good Elementary. The Middle Years Programme serves students at Barbara Bush Middle School and Ranchview High School in grades six through ten. At Ranchview High School, we offer a Diploma Program for high school students in grades 11 and 12.

The Middle Years Programme

Over the last three years, Barbara Bush Middle School and Ranchview High School have traveled a journey to become part of the International Baccalaureate community. Although, the Middle Years Programme is in its infancy at Barbara Bush and Ranchview High School, IB is already having an important impact on the campuses. Students are showing a willingness to participate in community service as they begin to view their school as a community and not just a place to complete schoolwork.

Mavon Wall, IB coordinator at Barbara Bush explains, “The staffs at Barbara Bush and Ranchview are using IB to help students become well rounded, confident, independent, life-long learners with the awareness that other cultures are part of their lives and differences only mean a better understanding of their place in the world. In an increasingly global marketplace, the internationally minded can have the edge. These students develop problem solving and critical thinking skills that help them be part of a world community which believes in understanding through education.”

The IB program curriculum itself is no different than any other in C-FB ISD. All schools must teach the required state mandated essential knowledge and skills. What sets apart the Middle Years Programme is the philosophy and the framework of presenting the curriculum. As Ms. Wall explains, “Teachers utilize active learner-centered approaches which focus on questioning, critical thinking and problem solving to involve learners so they can better understand curriculum.”

The Middle Years Programme also includes:
• Problem and project based learning is used to promote understanding.
• Collaborative and cooperative learning helps students achieve a common academic goal.
• All students participate in a second language, sustained and continuous over the five years of the program.
• Students complete a minimum of 50 hours in a technology which promotes the design cycle.

For more information about IB programs, visit www.ibo.org.