What is an IB Education?

Imagine a worldwide community of schools, educators and students with a shared vision and mission to empower young people with the skills, values and knowledge to create a better and more peaceful world. This is the International Baccalaureate (IB).

In 1968, the first programme offered by the IB, the Diploma Programme, was established. It sought to provide a challenging yet balanced education that would facilitate geographic and cultural mobility by providing an internationally recognized university entrance qualification that would also serve the deeper purpose of promoting intercultural understanding and respect. With the introduction of the Middle Years Programme in 1994, and the Primary Years Programme in 1997, the IB identified a continuum of international education for students aged 3 to 19.

Each of the IB programmes reflects a central desire to provide a problem and project-based education that enables students to learn as STEMists, historians and artists making sense of the complexities of the world around them.  IB students are equipped with the skills and dispositions needed for taking responsible action for the future. They are provided with an education that crosses disciplinary, cultural, national and geographical boundaries, and that champions critical engagement, stimulating ideas and effective relationships.

The IB focuses on the development of the whole student through the Learner Profile attributes both within and beyond the classroom.

Watch this short video to learn more about the IB Programme in AACPS!

The Diploma Programme is a pathway to university and employment

In her role as Assistant Dean of Admissions at Stanford University, Debra Von Bargen knows the value of an IB education.

Watch Debra Von Bargen