The IB Programme

Roberts became an authorized International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) World School in 2005. It is very difficult to become an IB school and we are very proud of our school’s achievement! Many parents cite the school’s IB Programme as one of the main reasons they chose Roberts for their child. Through its emphasis on inquiry and critical thinking, the IB Programme helps students build the skills they need for lifelong learning and success. All students enrolled at Roberts participate in the IB Programme.

What is IBO?

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) is a nonprofit educational foundation founded in 1968 and based in Geneva, Switzerland with offices worldwide. There are currently IB PYP schools in 93 countries, with 1000 programs worldwide.

Working with schools, governments and international organizations, IBO has developed four international education programs (based on grade level) that develop the intellectual, personal, emotional, and social skills needed to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. (For more information, visit www.ibo.org.)

To become an IB school, a school must undergo a rigorous qualification process that typically takes over two years to complete, and then continue to meet the IB’s stringent requirements and evaluations on an ongoing basis. In addition, the school is required to provide its teachers with continuing IB education.

What is IB PYP?

IB PYP is the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Programme - IB Programme designed for children aged 3 to 12. The IB PYP focuses on the development of the whole child in the classroom and in the world outside. Through different transdisciplinary planners, students explore six areas of inquiry: who we are, where we are in place and time, how we express ourselves, how the world works, how we organize ourselves, and how we share the planet.

The IB PYP Portfolio

The school maintains an IB portfolio for each student, preserving representative samples of his/her IB work through his/her years at Roberts. Parents are invited to attend a student-led conference each spring (the “Portfolio Picnic”) to review the portfolio, and the complete portfolio is presented to the parent upon completion of elementary school.