MANSFIELD — Discovery School has been authorized in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program for grades preschool through sixth, making it the first and only private school in the state to receive this authorization.
The PYP focuses on the development of the student and provides a framework that can meet the pupil’s academic, social, physical, emotional and cultural needs. It is inquiry-based and integrated across the curriculum.
Amy Oswalt, head of school, knows how beneficial the program can be, having previously worked at a PYP school in Columbus.
“I saw really positive things with the kids there,” she said.
In the spring of 2013, Discovery submitted an application to become an authorized IB PYP school.
The road to authorization was intensive and took almost three years. This process required Discovery School to demonstrate its commitment to a student-centered, inquiry-based education by creating a Program of Inquiry, submitting a detailed action plan, providing ongoing staff training, and ensuring the support for PYP across the Discovery School community.
Once this was established, the IBO sent representatives to the school for an authorization site visit.
The school was authorized Feb. 11, 2016.
As part of being an authorized IB PYP school, Discovery School will continue to be evaluated for quality every five years.
Oswalt said the program has a lot of collaboration built into it.
“Everything is set up for us (each grade level) to collaborate and know what each other is doing so that we’re all building on each other and not doing things in isolation,” she said.
The program also provides a standard language at the school, especially when it comes to the IB learner profile traits, she said.
According to the International Baccalaureate website, the IB learner profile describes a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success. The profile aims to develop learners who are inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective.
“What using that same vocabulary year after year does is it really teaches kids what those words mean, how they can be caring, how they can be reflective, how they can be open-minded,” Oswalt said.
With the PYP, students learn to take ownership of their learning and develop skills and attitudes to help prepare them for life in a global world.
“I think being able to center things around students, while still holding to the integrity of them achieving academically makes a really good fit,” Oswalt said. “It makes it a good fit for kids and a good fit for teachers.”
