Our Mission Statement
Our goal at Alice Birney Elementary, an International Studies Magnet School, is to promote students who demonstrate an age-appropriate depth of understanding of the world around them, politically, socially and culturally.
We will develop and inspire students to use knowledge to promote peace, tolerance and understanding of others in their daily endeavors.
Our aim is to nurture the inquisitiveness, independence, and caring in young people so they will act to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
By fifth grade, our students will be well on their way to becoming active, compassionate and peaceful citizens of the world community.
The IBO Mission Statement
"The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end, the IBO works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right."
Why International Baccalaureate?
The International Baccalaureate Program was founded in 1968. There are now about 1,800 schools in more than 120 countries offering an IB program, with students ranging from 3 to 19. In the United States, IB high schools rank among the highest performing: 40 of the top 100 schools in the U.S. offer the IB Diploma. Introduced more recently, the Middle Years Program (MYP) and the Primary Years Program (PYP) also enable teachers to set their expectations high while addressing the needs of every child on the campus.
More specifically, Birney faculty identify closely with the IB Learner profile and Attitudes, while at the same time sharing the IB philosophy o developing the whole child, addressing the entire curriculum and setting expectations high while addressing all student needs.
The Primary Years Program (PYP):
What is it all about?
The PYP is more than just a curriculum or a program - it is an international way of looking at life, emphasizing critical thinking in a global context. Developed by educators from around the world, the PYP emphasizes international-mindedness while focusing on the development of the whole child, both within the classroom and in the world outside. Providing a comprehensive framework to support a child's academic, social, emotional, physical and cultural needs, the PYP promotes teaching children through structured and guided inquiry. In addition, the PYP provides students with an international perspective that helps them to relate their local world to a larger community.
A key element of the PYP is the development of a 'Programme of Inquiry' (POI) with 36 units of inquiry - 6 units are taught each year in kindergarten through 5th grade. The units are created at each grade level, with opportunities for classroom differences, and aligned horizontally and verfically with the rest of the school. The POI functions as a thematic framework for our teachers to address the California Content and Performance Standards in all subject areas, using the SDUSD curricuum.
The PYP promotes a child's self-esteem by encouraging them to ask questions that drive the inquiry. The students become more independent and responsible for their own learning, and more independent in their studies. By developing individual talents and setting high academic standards, PYP students are expected to become responsible citizens, thinkers and internationally-minded, life-long learners who respect the cultures and the attitudes of others from all over the world. The development of explicit attitudes and the expectation of socially responsible behavior are also essential elements of the program.
How does it work?
A structured inquiry approch to learning is the basis of the program. Students learn to ask and formulate answers to meaningful questions. Teachers team together at each grade level with our curriculum specialists in art, physical education and Spanish to develop units of inquiry that provide significant, relevant and challenging learning experiences across the curriculum. Our teachers also collaborate with specialists including the district counselor to develop community service opportunities and activities which promote caring and responsible attitudes among the students.
Foreign Language Instruction
In keeping with the international focus of the IB PYP, Birney students are required to learn a language other than the language of instruction. All Birney students receive from 30 to 90 minutes of Spanish instruction every week from a full-time Spanish instructor. Our focus is to increase non-Spanish speaking students' vocabulary and conversational abilities, and Spanish speaking students' written language skills, while also introducing all students to the rich hispanic culture around the world.
Student-Teacher Enrichment Program (STEP) and Language Enrichment and Assessment Program (LEAP)
At Birney, we value a curriculum that provides students with access to state and national standards while also consdiering the range of vastly different skills and needs. We offer two forms of differentiation for all students through our STEP and LEAP programs, while maintaining highly diverse classroom environments where students contribute greatly to the community of learners.
In STEP, students at each grade level experience enrichment classes for one morning a week. These classes include additional PE time, Spanish or keyboarding instruction and Art. Our art classes feature 6-8 weeks of instruction from teaching artists (hired specifically to teach art by the district's Visual and Percorming Arts department in each art discipline (music, drama, visual art and dance). While students are learning from these teaching zpecialists, grade level teachers meet to collaborate in planning, unit design and assessment calibration.
In LEAP, a 30-minute lesson which occurs four days a week, all students receive specifically designed language instruction according to their specific needs. Our students who are at or above grade level in language receive enrichment instruction which may be related to a unit of inquiry, a subject area or specific instruction in technology. Other students receive support in English language arts or math, while our English Learners are taught in small groups at their English Proficiency level.