International Baccalaureate Program Selection Trend At American International School

With the advantages of comprehensive children’s education, high-value qualifications and recognized by many countries around the world, the International Baccalaureate (IB) program is creating a “trend” for Vietnamese parents when selecting international schools, especially American international schools in recent years.

Advantages of the IB program

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit educational program. Up to now, IB has 3 programs including Primary Years Program (PYP) – program for students from 3 years old to 5th grade; Middle Years Program (MYP) – program for students in grades 6 to 10; and Diploma Program (DP) – program for students in grades 11 to 12.

According to IBO (International Baccalaureate Organization), more than 5,000 schools have chosen to offer IB programs, with 1.95 million students in 159 countries. This program focuses on helping students develop the following qualities such as eagerness to learn, knowledgeable, caring and self-motivated elements to succeed. The IB program gives students a distinct advantage by building their critical thinking skills, nurturing their curiosity and ability to solve complex problems.

The IB curriculum framework is scientifically and effectively built towards individualization, encouraging students of all ages to think critically. Each student will develop independently, observe the real situation, and develop multi-language for easy integration. It also helps promote the initiative of each student to explore and learn, raise awareness and practice soft skills.

In addition, the IB program also encourages students to be active in the community, taking learning beyond the classroom. Students participating in the IB program are recognized by the world’s highest ranked universities.

The IB organization also believes that IB students have better academic results than other programs, because they are better prepared in the learning and research process. Most importantly, the IB degree is recognized by many prestigious universities and institutes around the world. The reason is that it provides an engaging continuing education program which is intellectually stimulating, personally uplifting, and imparts a personal message.

Currently, the IB program is more and more popular with Vietnamese parents. International schools, especially American international schools, that offer this program are also dominating.

Setting target as comprehensive development

The IB program focuses on four aspects including intellectuality, personality, emotion and soft skills, in order to develop learners’ ability to study and work in an international environment. In addition, this program also trains students’ reasoning ability to solve complex problems. As a result, students will develop comprehensively and have the opportunity to become global citizens.

With many outstanding advantages, many international schools in Ho Chi Minh City are choosing to teach the IB program or gradually apply the IB curriculum framework into their official curriculum.

In Binh Thanh area, as a candidate to teach International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP), International Preschool and Primary School Saigon Pearl (ISSP) is the only monolingual and high quality international school of Ho Chi Minh City in the region. This school is applying the IB curriculum framework to the official school curriculum. The school is committed to helping students develop comprehensively in knowledge, skills, physical and mental health.

In particular, the focus of the school’s curriculum is to develop the necessary qualities for students to become active inquirers, good thinkers and communicators, risk-takers and to be open-minded, knowledgeable, caring for others, balanced, principled and reflective. These educational principles transcend both intellectual growth and conventional academic success.

According to Mr. Lester Stephens, Principal of International School Saigon Pearl, the school’s curriculum is built according to the IB curriculum framework, combined with American and Vietnamese standards to provide the best and appropriate learning experience to Vietnamese students.

“ISSP recognizes that student development is tied to their learning path. As a result, students will develop relevant and positive knowledge, skills and attitudes across a variety of subjects. As Eroy Boyer once said “A truly educated student is one who makes connections between subjects, knows discover how to integrate disparate subjects together, and ultimately relate what they learn to life,” said Lester Stephens.

At International School Saigon Pearl, the prestigious American international school, students are the center, students’ voices are heard and respected, teachers always create authentic learning experiences and meaningful learning environments for students. The educational principle of the school is always towards the comprehensive development of children, helping children build their own learning when they are curious to learn more.

ISSP is accredited by two of the world’s leading prestigious educational accreditation organizations

ISSP is the only international preschool and primary school in Ho Chi Minh City accredited by two world-renowned educational accreditation organizations including CIS (Council of International Schools) and NEASC (Association of Schools and Colleges). This certification affirms that the school is meeting the rigorous international standards for a truly international school.

Teachers at ISSP are highly qualified and participate in ongoing professional development, including cutting-edge teaching and learning methods, and training programs in child protection, health and safety as a whole.

ISSP belongs to the oldest British education group Cognita. Students studying at ISSP can easily transfer to lower secondary school in the US, UK, Australia or other countries around the world. In Ho Chi Minh City, students can transfer to ISHCMC – American Academy (ISHCMC-AA) or International School Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC), which are also two member schools of Cognita Group.

Source: https://www.issp.edu.vn/international-schools-ho-chi-minh-city

dantri.com