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MYP Information Meeting

Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 7:00pm in the Royal Oak Middle School’s Dondero Auditorium


Royal Oak Schools will be hosting a MYP Information Meeting to all interested parents from the Royal Oak community.  The meeting will take place on Thursday, April 2nd at 7:00 PM in the Royal Oak Middle School's Dondero Auditorium.  This will be an opportunity to learn about the MYP in more detail and how the program will work at ROMS. The IB website, http://www.ibo.org/, is also a great way to get more information about all three IB programs.


International Baccalaureate

Middle Years Program 
What does this have to do with ROMS? 

The Middle Years Program (MYP) is one of three high quality international education programs offered worldwide by the International Baccalaureate (IB) organization.  It has been specifically designed for learners aged 11 to 16 to, “help students develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills necessary to participate actively and responsibly in a changing world.” (IB organization)

All of the IB programs are based on a philosophy of developing internationally-minded learners.  In the MYP, three fundamental concepts create the foundation for this;  

1)        Holistic Learning – students can relate content to the real world;

2)        Intercultural Awareness – students develop a deep sense of their own culture through reflection and the awareness of other cultures;

3)        Communication – students use effective verbal and non-verbal communication to become life-long learners;

In addition, the MYP provides a balanced and flexible curriculum framework.  Eight subject areas, (math, language A – English, language B – other, science, humanities, technology, physical education, and arts), are taught through conceptual units of instruction.  That is, the big idea is presented as an open-ended, guiding question first, and then subject content (state/district benchmarks) is presented and student understanding developed through real world applications. The MYP promotes the idea that, “learning how to learn and how to evaluate information critically is as important as learning facts.”  This is a shift in the way many schools have been delivering instruction.  The MYP requires continued teacher training to develop these best instructional strategies.

Royal Oak Middle School is currently investigating the MYP as a way to increase student achievement and prepare students for the global economy in their futures.  This investigation, or feasibility study started with sending several staff members to Level 1 training in July, 2008.  These teachers have been creating and sampling MYP units and the international mindedness component of the program in their classrooms this year.  In addition, all ROMS staff will receive an introduction to the MYP by an official IB trainer as well as get periodic updates from their trained colleagues.  

If Royal Oak Schools ventures forward with ROMS becoming an authorized IB World School, ALL middle school staff and students will teach and learn following the MYP philosophy and curriculum framework.   While this would require continued training of staff to develop the IB philosophy and instructional practices, this would not change the middle school structure currently in place.  In fact, we’re looking to see if the MYP will enhance the way teaching teams deliver the state and district curriculum.  Unlike the IB Diploma Program (DP) for high school age students, the MYP is for ALL students.  State and local content expectations are still the expected outcome.  It’s the instructional methods and delivery of the curriculum that is the primary difference from the way we currently teach.