Pine View Middle School has begun a quest to become the first school in Pasco County to offer a Middle Years Programme, under the auspices of the International Baccalaureate Organization.
While the school is launching its candidacy for the MYP designation, it also has ended its stand-alone program for academically gifted students.
Those decisions have sparked some pushback from parents who shared their concerns with the Pasco County School Board.
(Courtesy of Pine View Middle School)
Some said they didn’t want to lose the stand-alone gifted program.
Others complained about a lack of buy-in by stakeholders before going down the MYP path.
Principal Jennifer Mathews-Crosby acknowledged the pushback from parents, but said she’s excited about the opportunities the Middle Years Programme will offer.
Some people may have the wrong idea about what MYP is all about, she said.
“There is a misconception that when you have an International Baccalaureate program that it must be for those high-rigor type students,” Mathews-Crosby said. “We really needed to break through those perceptions. The whole premise behind the Middle Years Programme is about the whole child.”
The beauty of the MYP is that it celebrates the uniqueness of students, said Pio Rizzo, an assistant principal, whose children attended a Primary Years Programme in Manatee County.
“IB celebrates the fact that all students are different. They learn in different ways and different styles, and IB focuses on that,” added Rizzo, who also taught mathematics in an IB school. “We love the fact that it is for everybody, that everybody can benefit from this IB philosophy,” he added.
Parents of academically gifted students may be worried that their children will lose educational opportunities, but Mathews-Crosby believes those students will benefit from the MYP approach.
She also noted that obtaining the MYP designation doesn’t happen overnight.
“It is a multi-year journey. That journey for most schools is three years,” Mathews-Crosby said.
“There’s going to be some reflection and some learning for us, as we go through this,” she said.
“We’re going to be open-minded to people who maybe don’t necessarily agree with the direction that we may be going, and hear their thoughts,” Mathews-Crosby added.
Not every MYP operates in the same way, she noted. “We have visited other schools in the state, and they are very different in a lot of ways.”
To get things started, the entire staff at Pine View Middle will be trained in the MYP philosophy on Aug. 14.
Teachers will be building their unit plans with the global perspectives of the MYP.
Mathews-Crosby believes the program will expand learning opportunities for all students.
“It really takes it deeper and wider,” she said.
It takes what teachers are already teaching, but makes broader connections, she explained.
Kyle Ritsema, a new assistant principal at Pine View Middle, said he’s glad to be a part of the new program.
“It’s a challenge, and it’s an exciting opportunity that is not available anywhere else in the county right now,” Ritsema said.
To help parents gain a better understanding of the MYP, Pine View will be sending out an electronic newsletter monthly to showcase what the school is working on that month.
“Right now, the focus is on the task at hand,” Mathews-Crosby said.
But she’s optimistic.
“We are fired up. We’re excited. I think the sky’s the limit, honestly,” she said.
Published August 5, 2015