Dear Parents, Guardians and Community Members,

As you may recall, Case CLC completed an 18 month evaluation cycle with the International Baccalaureate last spring.  During this process, staff members were charged to examine their current practices as well as the practices within the building and how they align with the standards and practices of IB.  This work resulted in a 200+ page document that was submitted to IB for review.  At that point, an evaluating team interviewed every teacher, observed every classroom, reviewed units of inquiry, interviewed parents and students, reviewed work samples and action plans.  They then take their findings and submit to The International Baccalaureate American and the global office in Switzerland where there is another round of analysis.  

On August 5, we received our final report.   We are proud to share with you that during the process, IB identified a handful of areas in which we are exceeding the global expectations.  These areas include the level of involvement in the global community, the inclusion of all students into the PYP and our school, the partnership and communication between the school and the Central Office Staff (Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Directors and School Board Members), Professional Development, resources available to staff and student and the use of Learner Profile in the school and by the students.  

Over the next few months, staff members will work together to develop an action plan for the next five years.  Within this action plan, we will work to continue increasing the knowledge around and use of; inquiry, student agency and student action.  We will also work to increase the level of collaboration between special area teachers and classroom teachers to aid in the transdisciplinary connections.  An additional area of focus will be for all students to have additional exposure to individual, local, national and world issues in an age appropriate manner.

We look forward to building upon our partnerships with parents.  Through this partnership, we feel confident that all students will become lifelong learners who are able to become actively responsible for their own learning and demonstrate what it means to be Internationally minded while modeling the Learner Profile.

Finally, on behalf of the Case CLC staff and Akron Public Schools, I would like to thank you for your contributions to our evaluation process.  Each survey, interview, collaboration and input was factored into our evaluation process.  

Sincerely,

Jennifer Victor

International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme Coordinator