ACPS approved to begin IB program this fall at Williams Elementary School
Lillian Lawson, Gainesville Sun
Alachua County Public Schools' plan to turn Williams Elementary into the district’s first International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) has been approved.
ACPS posted on Facebook Thursday evening that the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) has approved the application for Williams Elementary to become an IB PYP candidate.
Williams, 1245 SE Seventh Ave., Gainesville, will be the first school in the district to participate in the IB PYP program. The program, The Sun previously reported, is tailored to elementary school students and is a whole school program, which means all students at the school will participate.
The inquiry-based program operates across subject areas and grade levels and is in place at many schools throughout the world, including in Florida. The International Baccalaureate Organization says IB PYP “offers a stimulating, challenging learning environment that nurtures the whole child and fosters a lifelong love of learning for all.”
ACPS Superintendent Shane Andrew has advocated for an IB program throughout his time at the district. He previously proposed, amidst funding and rezoning troubles, to turn the vacant Prairie View Elementary School campus into a new east Gainesville magnet school. Andrew formerly led Eastside High School — which has had a successful IB program for decades — for five years.
Any students currently enrolled at the school — in addition to those zoned for Williams next year — will automatically transition into the PYP, including students in the existing magnet program. Additionally, the program will be offered to elementary school students throughout the district as a magnet program.
Beginning this fall, the district said, philosophies and practices related to IB will be implemented into the instruction at Williams, which will offer all students a “challenging and stimulating learning environment.”
Additionally, ACPS said the school, along with the district, will be working with IBO to have Williams become a fully-authorized PYP school.