Utica Community Schools

Academy for International

Studies

Class of 2019 Program Orientation

For Potential Parents and Learners

What is the Academy?

• The Utica Community Schools Academy for International Studies (UAIS) is a 4 year (14 – 18) Academy with 400+ students that promotes academic preparation through:– The International Baccalaureate Diploma

Program Curriculum– Natural / Brain-based Learning strategies– Research based decision making– Student voice and personalization of

learning

Why attend the UAIS IB Academy?

• Validity and Consistency• Integrated Curriculum• IB is favored by Universities and

Colleges• Learning how to learn• Well Rounded students with

specialized interests

IB 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 programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

What do Universities Say?

• MIT: Marilee Jones, Director of Admissions: “Send us prepared students à la IB…it is the best high school prep curriculum an American school can offer.”

What do Universities Say?

• Duke University, Christoph Guttentag, Director of Admissions: “One of the advantages of an IB curriculum is its structure and quality. It’s a coordinated program, well established, well known, and well respected. We know the quality of IB courses, and we think the IB curriculum is terrific.”

What do Universities Say?

• Harvard University, Marilyn McGrath Lewis, Asst. Dean of Admissions: “IB is well known to us as excellent preparation. Success in an IB program correlates well with success at Harvard. We are pleased to see the credentials of the IB Diploma Program on the transcript.”

UAIS Curriculum is…

UAIS Learning is…

• understanding that natural learning requires complex knowledge of the brain in learning.

• highly social and dynamic

• an environment that empowers co-construction of knowledge verse mono-directional delivery of information.

Caine, et al, 12 Brain/Mind Learning Principles in Action, 2008

What does this look like?

• Design and Organization– Philosophical shift in

instructional approach– Authority vs. Control– Student as the center of

learning• Curricular Changes

– Promoting teaching for learning

– Interconnectedness – Areas of Interaction

– Active Learning

Teacher

•Experts•Authority vs. Control•Facilitators•Student Feedback

Curriculum

• Student Centered• Solid Goals - Flexible Scope and Sequence

• Areas of Interaction• Student Directed

Students

•Constructors of Knowledge

•Experiential Learners• Inquirers and Thinkers NOT encyclopedias

What does the day look like?

Day Time A Day B Day

1st Block 7:20 – 9:10

English Geometry

2nd Block 9:15 – 10:56

Japanese History of World Civilizations I

Lunch 10:56 – 11:25

ToK / Production Team

11:30 – 12:16

Production Teams Production Teams

3rd Block 12:22 – 2:11

Visual Art Physical and Biological Sciences

How do the credits compare?

Michigan Diploma 2015• ELA - 4 Credits• Foreign Language – 0

Credits• Social Studies – 3

Credits• Science – 3 Credits• Mathematics – 4

Credits (Alg I, II and Geometry)

• Fine Arts – 1 Credit• Physical Education – 1

Credit• Online Experience

International Baccalaureate Diploma• Group 1 – ELA – 4 Cr.• Group 2 – W. Lang – 4

Cr.• Group 3 – I & S – 4 Cr.• Group 4 – Exp. Sci – 4

Cr.• Group 5 – Math – 4 Cr.• Group 6 – Arts – 4 Cr.• Theory of Knowledge,

TOK and CAS – 1 Cr +• EE

SL and HL Course

Standard Level (SL)• AP Level Course Work

and Expectations• 150 Contact Hours

with Students• All students must take

at least two (2) SL Courses

• SL Courses Require Mastery of Subject Matter

Higher Level (HL)• Beyond AP Level

Course Work and Understanding

• 240 Contact Hours with students

• All Students Must Take at Least three (3) HL Courses

• HL Requires Mastery of Subject Matter and additional Papers

IB Assessment

Internal Assessments• Ongoing• 20 – 25% of Student’s

Diploma Mark• Teacher generated

assignments that align with IB standards for assessment

• Externally Moderated by IB Reviewers

• Project, oral or paper based

External Assessments• May of Junior and

Senior Years• 75 – 80% of Student’s

Diploma Mark• Externally generated

and moderated• Paper, portfolio or oral

based• Only science has

multiple choice (only part)

Group 1: English

• One of the most effective and humanizing ways that people of different cultures can have access to each others' experiences and concerns is through works of literary merit. ~ Salma Jayyusi, The Literature of Modern Arabia

• 9th Grade ELA• 10th Grade ELA• 11th Grade

– IB English SL I or,– IB English HL I

• 12th Grade– IB English SL II or – IB English HL II

Group 2: Second Language

• The study of a modern language entails acquiring a language system and applying it in four active and interrelated ways: through listening, speaking, reading and writing.

• All students will take four years of a language

• French• German• Japanese• Mandarin Chinese • Spanish• SL or HL?

– Most students will be SL students.

– HL requires a minimum 6 years of language.

Group 3: Individuals and Societies

• 9th and 10th Grade: History of World Civilizations– 10,000 BCE –

Present– Integrated World

History, Government and Economics Course

– Will require significant novel readi

• HL Strand– 11th History of

Americas (HL)– 12th 20th Century

Topics (HL)• SL Strands

– 11th History of Americas (SL)

– 12th SL Course• Economics SL• Psychology SL

Group 4: Experimental Sciences

• Laboratory Based Science education is at the Core of the IB

• 9th Grade: Physical and Biological Sciences

• 10th Grade: AP Biology

• SL and HL sciences are two years 11th – 12th

– Biology (SL/HL)– Chemistry (SL/HL)– Physics (SL/HL)

• All students must take Biology in the 10th or 11th/12th to graduate

• Group 4 Project

Group 5: Mathematics

• Academy Inquiry based mathematics.

• 9th Grade:– Geometry– Algebra I or II

• 10th Grade:– Algebra I or II– AP Statistics

• 11th – 12th Grade– SL Math Studies

• Statistics and project based

• Enters some pre-calc– SL Mathematics

• Statistics and Advanced Alg. and Trig

• Calc AB– HL Mathematics

• Stats, Adv. Alg, Trig• Calc BC

Group 6: Fine Arts

• The impulse to make art is common to all people. From earliest times, human beings have displayed fundamental need to create and communicate personal and cultural meaning through art.

• IB Arts: Theory, History and Practice

• IB Music– Instrumental – Vocal

• IB Visual Arts• IB Theatre

– Performance– Design

The Hex Core

• CAS– Creativity, Action

and Service– 150 Hours (Junior

and Senior Years)• Extended Essay

– 4000 Words– One or more Groups– Original Hypothesis

• TOK: Theory of Knowledge– Ways of Knowing – Areas of Knowledge– Knowledge Issues

• Interdisciplinary• Learning How to

Question

The IB Diploma

• Looking for a Complete Student!– 24 Marks *

• Possible 7 marks per exam

• 3 Marks for TOK / EE• International Avg. 4.3

– Minimum 3 HL Courses

– Maximum 3 SL Courses

– Completion of EE*, CAS and TOK*

• HL Deal Breakers– Score 2 or below on

any HL Examination– Score 3 on more

than one Exam• SL Deal Breakers

– Score 1 on any Exam– Score 2 on more

than one Exam

The Student Life

IB Learner Profile

• Inquirers• Knowledgeable• Thinkers• Communicators• Principled• Open-minded• Caring• Risk-takers• Balanced• Reflective

Students at the AIS...

• Have access to clubs and activities

• Have access to home school sports/activities

• Lead through student voice

• Create a community of friends and learners

• Enjoy working with their teachers

Teachers at the UAIS…

• Seek students’ input on curriculum and assessment

• Prescribe to IB curriculum and methods of teaching and learning

• Teachers plan together and create a team atmosphere in the school

How will learning be different at the UAIS?

• Relaxed but challenging • Engaged learners• Project based learning• Socratic dialogues• Reading and writing• Independence• Ethical Learners

• Embracing Confusion!

Opportunities

• Student Development Days

• International partnerships

• Student Lead Clubs and Activities

• International Travel• CAS Projects /

Community Work• The IB Community

http://uais.uticak12.orgEmail us at:

Thomas.Lietz@uticak12.orgChristopher.Layson@uticak12.orgCall us at:

586-797-3190

UAIS online can be found at: