Healdsburg school 3rd in county to be certified for International Baccalaureate

A Healdsburg school has become the third in Sonoma County to be authorized through the International Baccalaureate program.

The Healdsburg School, a private institution that serves about 175 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, was notified that it officially was an International Baccalaureate World School on Oct. 31. That’s five years after it began efforts to qualify for the rigorous program by developing curriculum and training teachers to impart an international perspective. The school was founded in 2007.

It joins Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, which has been an International Baccalaureate school since 1995, and Park Side Elementary School in Sebastopol, authorized in 2009.

There are just under 4,000 International Baccalaureate schools worldwide, with different programs for elementary, middle and high schools. At the high school level, students can pursue a special diploma. In the earlier grades, the focus is on teaching children the skills and outlook they need to be curious and self-motivated students, said Head of School Nick Egan.

“There’s a commitment to critical thinking through a global perspective,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is prepare them for really successful work anywhere they go.”

Fifth-grade teacher Ashley Lapham said one of the things that sets the IB program apart is a focus on learning about things through an international, rather than only an American, lens. Recently, she said, her students spent the majority of a day learning about migration by simulating what it’s like to be a refugee.

“We want our kids to be inspired to take action, to feel they are active world citizens that have a responsibility,” she said.

Staff Writer Jamie Hansen blogs about education at extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach her at 521-5205 or jamie.hansen@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jamiehansen.