Randolph’s Primary Years Program of the International Baccalaureate A New Option for Arlington Public Schools Nov. 5, 2006

Randolph—Arlington’s International Baccalaureate/Primary Years Program Randolph Elementary School is a neighborhood school implementing the Primary Years Program of the International Baccalaureate (PYP IB). As an IB school, Randolph teaches Arlington’s curriculum of study through transdisciplinary units that emphasize critical thinking skills and inquiry- based learning. Foreign language instruction in Spanish is included in the school day.

Randolph—Arlington’s International Baccalaureate/Primary Years Program The PYP IB teaches our students a global perspective and emphasizes respect for others, independent study, research skills and critical thinking. We encourage and challenge our students to develop the knowledge and skills of lifelong learners.

Randolph—Arlington’s International Baccalaureate/Primary Years Program Randolph promotes the attitudes and profiles of the Primary Years Program and the ideals of international understanding. Our goal is that all members of our school community will be critical and compassionate thinkers and lifelong learners who respect the variety of cultures and attitudes that make up the diversity of the world.

An Underutilized School Randolph’s building capacity is around 420 students. About 340 students are enrolled this year. Randolph has capacity for 60+ children based on projections of the next 6 years.

Policy background Transfers are limited to 5 percent of student enrollment. There is one exception: students from schools over 95% capacity may be accepted up to 95% of Randolph capacity. No transportation is provided.

Effect of Policy A handful of students from crowded schools now attend Randolph.

Proposed Changes Add bus transportation. Open countywide transfer option to children from all districts.

Impact on Class Size & Teaching Ratios Randolph has some of the smallest class sizes in the county and excellent staff-to- student ratios. Staffing would need to be increased for optimal ratios to remain.

Considerations Busing is a big cost. Could piggyback options be created to work with other clusters in place, e.g., Barrett, which is about a mile away? Randolph’s district is small and there is no bus transportation. All children walk or are dropped off.

Rationale Since Barrett was opened up to a wider cluster 3 years ago, it now has about 90 cluster students. Now that Barrett is nearing capacity, additional transfer options which include transportation are needed. While solutions to crowding are paramount, these need to be equitable too. Under current policy, many crowded school districts have more school choices than uncrowded ones. This is unfair to families from uncrowded districts and actually worsens the problem, as families often leave these districts because their options are fewer. This intensifies the strain of crowding on North Arlington neighborhood schools. Our solution gives access to any student in the county and alleviates crowding.

A New APS K-12 Option APS has accredited IB schools at all three levels: Primary (Randolph), Middle (Jefferson), and Secondary (W&L). Each level stands alone. Children can enter at any grade. W&L has a policy to allow countywide participation. Our proposal would be a second step in providing countywide access to all three levels of IB instruction for children of any age. Given the success of IB schools, such a policy for TJ may not be far off.

Q U E S T I O N S ?

The Primary Years IB at Randolph Randolph Elementary School is a neighborhood school implementing the Primary Years Program of the International Baccalaureate (PYP IB). At Randolph, we teach Virginia’s Standards of Learning through transdisciplinary units. Our program emphasizes critical thinking skills taught through inquiry. We include foreign language instruction in the school day. The PYP IB teaches our students a global perspective and emphasizes respect for others, independent study/research skills and critical thinking. We encourage and challenge our students to develop the knowledge and skills of lifelong learners. We also promote the attitudes and profiles of the Primary Years Program and the ideals of international understanding. We encourage our young people to become responsible, internationally minded citizens of the world. Our goal is that all members of our school community will be critical and compassionate thinkers and lifelong learners who respect the variety of cultures and attitudes that make up the diversity of the world. Student Profile - As a PYP school, Randolph strives towards developing an international person with these attributes: – Caring Open-Minded – PrincipledReflective – CommunicatorRisk-Taker – InquirerThinker – KnowledgeableWell-Balanced Attitudes - A Randolph IB PYP education focuses on the development of positive attitudes towards people, towards the environment and towards learning: – AppreciationEmpathy – CommitmentEnthusiasm – ConfidenceIndependence – CooperationIntegrity – CreativityRespect – CuriosityTolerance For more information, visit