On Monday-Tuesday, April 6-7, Brooks Middle School will be visited by a three-person team from the International Baccalaureate organization. The primary purpose of this two-day evaluation visit is to identify the progress that has taken place at Brooks since we became an IB candidate school. Their team will spend the two days visiting classrooms, and having conversations with teachers, administrators, students and community members. Our overall goal for this visit is to highlight what the educational experience is like here on a daily basis. We are excited to share all of the amazing things occurring, such as the engaging unit plans teachers have created collaboratively, improvements to the overall physical environment, the meaningful conversations students are having in classrooms, and the way students are seeing issues from multiple perspectives.
As a reflection opportunity, what has been most compelling about this entire process has been the ongoing conversation about the school’s climate and culture. The heart and soul of great education is not about the simple acquisition of facts and data. Rather, it is about learning how and when to ask the hard questions that lie hidden beneath that information. We want to encourage our children to look at the world through a telescope, not a microscope.
Later in the summer the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) will communicate to us whether the criteria for authorization has been met.