Although it’s located in a rustic setting that’s off the beaten path in Addison Township, Kingsbury Country Day School recently gained a prestigious designation known throughout the world.
Just prior to the start of Christmas break, the independent private JK-8 school located at 5000 Hosner Rd. was notified that it’s now officially an International Baccalaureate World School.
‘We’ve been celebrating ever since,? said Kingsbury’s Head of School Tom Mecsey. ‘It’s just brought this energy to the school that’s been amazing.?
Founded in 1968, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit educational foundation focused on the student.
It offers three programs for students ages 3-19 that help develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world. The IB works in four areas ? development of curriculum; assessment of students; training and professional development of teachers; and authorization and evaluation of schools.
IB currently works with 2,816 public and private schools in 138 countries to develop and offer challenging programs to more than 775,000 students.
Kingsbury is now one of only 25 IB World Schools in Michigan.
‘To be classified as a World School puts us in a company that makes us very, very proud,? said Mecsey, who noted of the 100 top schools identified by Newsweek magazine last year, 35 of them were IB World Schools as were five of the top 10 listed.
Kingsbury offers IB’s Primary Years Program (PYP), which is for students ages 3-12 and focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside.
‘They learn how to ask really good questions and how to find information. They learn to be open-minded, look at many different perspectives, then make their own conclusions,? said Jane Saxon, who serves as Kingsbury’s PYP coordinator.
Kingsbury, which was founded in 1953, began the process to become an IB World School in April 2006.
‘When this idea was introduced to Kingsbury, we recognized that the world is changing very rapidly and that we needed to become more internationally-minded,? Saxon explained. ‘It was common sense that we went in this direction. What IB offered is what we were looking for.?
Mecsey agreed.
‘We’re training kids to be a part of a world that we don’t understand yet because it’s still developing,? he said. ‘But one thing’s for certain ? they’re going to have interaction on a global level more so than their parents ever had.?
Being an IB school gives Kingsbury the opportunity to provide students with an education ‘that’s got a component of international-mindedness to it? which Mecsey believes is ‘exciting and . . . will prepare them well? for the future.
Because the IB program is so well-known and respected, it makes Kingsbury more attractive and marketable when it comes to recruiting prospective students and their parents.
‘There’s a lot of families moving back and forth overseas and that gives us a connection to other IB schools in Europe, where it’s been more prevalent than it is here in the United States,? Mecsey said. ‘It gives them an educational experience their children are already familiar with.?
The process to become an IB World School is a ‘fairly rigorous? one, but the benefits are more than worth it, according to Mecsey.
‘It requires much more detailed planning from our teachers than many of them were used to,? he explained. ‘But as a result, we have found that the teachers have become more excited about what goes on in the classrooms because of the approach they have to take.?
‘It has revitalized all of us,? Saxon said.
The IB process has also brought a feeling of unity to the school.
‘It’s a commitment that involves every aspect of your community, but in doing so, it brings people together because they have a common cause,? Mecsey said.
Instead of being isolated from each other in their respective classrooms and focused solely on their own lesson plans, Saxon said, ‘Since we’ve implemented this program, the teachers are often seen collaborating with each other. There’s no more teaching alone.?
Teachers discussing ways to connect what they do in their respective subject areas and classrooms help students ‘get a more concrete understanding of what they are learning,? according to Saxon.
But the collaboration and cohesion is just among the teachers. It’s extended to parents, administrators, school board members, bus drivers, maintenance staff and secretaries.
‘We all feel this closer connection and we have a deeper stake in our school,? Saxon noted. ‘There’s a deeper understanding of what we want the kids to walk away from Kingsbury with . . . Everybody has an investment in what the students are doing at Kingsbury.?
‘It’s brought more people into the curricular process,? Mecsey added.
Becoming an IB World School certainly isn’t cheap. ‘It’s an expensive process in addition to being an extensive process,? Mecsey noted. ‘I would say we’ve budgeted over the last four years, probably about $15,000 a year. That was application fees, training, preparation.?
The fees have increased since Kingsbury first applied.
Currently, the application process, which normally takes about two years, costs $9,500 per year. If a third year is necessary, that costs $5,000. The application cost is per program.
Once a school becomes IB authorized, it must then pay an annual fee for each program, which amounts to $7,000 for the PYP; $8,000 for the Middle Years (ages 11-16); and $9,600 for the Diploma Program (ages 16-19).
Those annual fees are set to increase by 4 percent in September.
In addition to the annual fee, schools offering PYP must pay a $3,500 fee for an evaluation visit three years after the date it becomes an IB World School. It must then pay the same fee for evaluation visits every five years thereafter. The same goes for schools offering the Middle Years Program (MYP), except the first evaluation is four years after becoming IB-authorized.
On top of these fees, there’s the cost for training staff to prepare for becoming an IB school, plus the cost of on-going training once the designation is obtained.
‘Every single teacher has to be trained. Every single administrator has to be trained,? Mecsey said. ‘It’s quite a commitment in effort and manpower as well as financially.?
Mecsey said Kingsbury plans to apply for MYP authorization. The school’s already made many modifications to its middle school classes to prepare for it.
‘That is our next goal,? he said. ‘In many ways, we’re already teaching as you would in an MYP school.?