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Carver Middle School is committed to empowering all of our students to be inquirers and to meet high academic standards in a nurturing, enriching, supportive environment where individual differences and talents are respected. One program that helps us achieve this goal is the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme.

This five-year program aims to develop active learners and internationally minded people who can empathize with others and pursue lives of purpose and meaning.

Christian Davis, an eighth-grade student at Carver, first learned about the program from his advisory teacher, Ms. Abraham.

"She was very excited about the International Baccalaureate Programme and really drilled its significance into us," he said.

Christian has really enjoyed the program.

"It's what's special about Carver. No other middle school offers this program."

Christian believes that many students, including himself, struggle with the more traditional method reading information from a textbook then taking a test. This program, he said, offers a more interactive approach and helps students "soak up information and apply that knowledge to something else." He said the IB programme changes the approach for students and provides them an opportunity to explore knowledge in a physical form and in multiple situations. The program, Christian said, is intertwined into their core curriculum and is more like a concept of how to learn, rather than a set learning plan.

One example of this he gave was in gym class. Christian said each week the line leader has to create and present a poster. When he first heard this, Christian said it seemed odd, but then realized the teacher was taking language arts, organizational skills, and even public speaking, and incorporating them into gym class, providing students an opportunity to work on other skills, while also getting their physical activity.

"Maybe someone has social anxiety and they get to work on that in gym class," Christian said.

Now in eighth grade, Christian said the biggest benefit he's noticed from the program is being able to retain information. He said he's amazed at how easy it has been to retain and recall the information he learned in sixth and seventh grade.

Christian said he would recommend the IB Programme to all students, and wanted to give some helpful advice to incoming Carver Middle School students.

"Take the program seriously. I know it seems boring at first, but it is a great way to learn and retain information. Try it and give it your best effort. It will pay off in the end."

The IB Middle Years program begins in sixth grade and is completed in grade 10. This program is offered in partnership with Booker T. Washington High School, which offers years four and five of the program.

You can learn more about the IB Middle Years Programme here.