It’s been a long journey for St. Luke School in Shoreline—after nearly six years of extensive preparations and staff training, it has officially become an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School for both the Primary Years Program (preschool - 5th grade) and the Middle Years Program (6th - 8th grade). But what exactly is IB and what made St. Luke aspire to become recognized as one?
The International Baccalaureate (IB) offers high quality, challenging educational programmes to students ages 3 to 19. It focuses on fostering critical and creative thinking and building problem-solving skills, while nurturing students curiosity, inquiry and research abilities. It moves away from the traditional approach of delivering instruction to students to an inquiry based model instead.
“It is all conceptual,” says Rick Boyle, Principal at St. Luke. “We take a central idea—for example that being a good steward of the Earth is our right and responsibility—and transfer it to a familiar setting, like Shoreline, Washington, and an unfamiliar one, like another city or country in the world.” By doing so, students not only learn what it means to protect the planet where they live, but also how to solve the challenges in other areas of the world that they may not be as familiar with. “By allowing students the time to think and using relatable, real-life scenarios, the knowledge sticks with them for longer because it is all connected, it makes sense and it is interdisciplinary,” says Boyle.
In addition to its unique inquiry based approach—or perhaps because of it—IB allows teachers to assess the knowledge base of its students early on and be more inclusive. As Alicia Sullivan, Director of Marketing and Admissions at St. Luke, says: “What I observed is that, until you ask students what they know about a given subject, you can only assume that they know very little or a lot.” As a teacher, you may not be aware that your students have been watching science shows on a regular basis, for example, but “by asking leading questions you get to assess their actual knowledge base and alter your teaching accordingly to ensure full engagement.”
What is more, IB’s distinctive assessment process is something that allows teachers to offer three different pathways to achieving learning outcomes to its students. And although the overall expectations are the same for all—if a student demonstrates a strong foundation in a subject based on its test results, he or she may be offered a more advanced material to fully utilize their potential without compromising anyone else’s learning. “We are always looking for growth and seeing that students are showing progress,” says Boyle.
Principal Boyle—who initially brought the idea of IB to St. Luke—remembers the method working really well in an international school in Germany where he taught students of about sixty different nationalities. “What surprised me about it was the impact that adjusting our teaching had on students' learning outcomes,” he recalls. “Similarly, at St. Luke, we have a diverse group of learners with some who are on the spectrum. IB allows all of those types of learners to engage in whatever the central idea that we are teaching is and to be successful, which I think is great.”
As the demand for skilled and independent workers who can address global challenges in creative ways continues to grow, it is no surprise that the school’s administration was so on board with advancing its teaching to set its students up for success in the future. “We know very well that companies such as Amazon, Microsoft or other startup companies are hiring people who can problem solve and are able to help them address complex challenges they are facing,” says Boyle. “I love this community—that is why I wanted to bring IB here.”
For more information about St. Luke’s School and its admissions process, please visit stlukeshoreline.net/ or contact its Admissions Director, Alicia Sullivan, at asullivan@stlukeshoreline.org or (206) 542-1133 x132.
This story was published in June 2021 issue of Richmond Beach Community News