SNA students will graduate from the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP)

From the school year 2020-2021, students of the International Schools of North America (SNA) will be taking the IBDP with the first cohort to graduate in June 2022. SNA has just become an IB World School, joining a network of 4,500 IB World Schools in 150 countries around the world.

Teaching innovation, future domination

In order to be authorized to teach the IBDP, SNA has gone through a challenging 2-year process from the very first foundations of IB philosophy to the final interviews for authorization. The school attended the official IB training workshops, focusing on the teaching methodology of specific subjects (for teachers), DP Core’s elements (for Coordinators) and IB philosophy (for DP Coordinators and the school’s leaders).

SNA students in an IT class

The DP Coordinators have also organized regular workshops and discussions at the school with DP team members to share knowledge and decide on the curriculum which suits students the best.

Mr. Simon Lee, Principal of SNA, shared: “This will be a very exciting time for the upcoming grade 11 students who will enter the new school year to set foot on the journey to becoming the first SNA generation to graduate from the IBDP in June 2022. Representing the DP team, including our Teachers and Coordinators who are excited about this news, we want to say "We can’t hide our SNA pride!".

Ms. Lauralyn Stefureak, DP Coordinator at SNA, said: “SNA not only provides the appropriate IBDP, but the school's curriculum is well developed and even goes beyond the minimum requirements for being authorized. The journey to becoming an IB World School is a team effort - from upgrading and building new facilities (such as a complete STEM lab) to converting to e-textbooks and e-libraries for students which limits waste of resources and contributes to environmental protection.”

By taking the IBDP as a standard of teaching and learning methods, SNA’s experienced international teacher team always shows innovation, creativity and dedication.

The dream “launcher”

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit educational program established in 1968 and focuses on 4 aspects: intellect, individual, emotion and soft skills to develop ability to study and work in a globalized environment.
The Diploma Program (DP) for students aged 16 to 19, provides a balanced education, facilitates geographic and cultural mobility, and promotes international understanding. It aims to expand educational experience and offers the challenge of applying knowledge and skills into reality, the DP is composed of 6 subject groups: Language and Literature Studies; Language Acquisition; Individual and Societies; Sciences; Mathematics and Arts.

Students receive a great advantage in receiving scholarships, college credit waivers and other admission benefits in most international universities. Until now, there are 1.3 million DP graduates from more than 140 countries.

Graduation ceremony of SNA’s grade 12 students in the school year 2019-2020

The IB in general and the IBDP in particular are always recognized and acknowledged by the world's most prestigious universities. Therefore, in order to be allowed to bring the IB into high school education, schools must meet the strict requirements of teaching standards and be authorized by the IB Organization.

Students who successfully complete the IBDP and earn the IB diploma will receive a credit waiver when studying in an undergraduate program. Prestigious universities in the world such as Yale University, Harvard University, McGill University, University of Melbourne, etc., are ready to reduce credit for students if they meet the requirements for completing the IBDP.

According to Ms. Lauralyn Stefureak, the first batch of graduates in 2022, joining the IB family worldwide, will be trained to become socially responsible and also enter the open path to schools, universities and colleges around the world.

BRANDING & COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT