About VVS

As part of our ongoing commitment to provide our students with the best possible academic program, VVS is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, and offers the IB curriculum to all our juniors and seniors. (Freshmen and sophomores are enrolled in our pre-IB curriculum.)

THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM

The IB Diploma Programme is a challenging two-year curriculum that leads to a high school diploma that is widely recognized by the world’s leading universities.   IB students learn to think creatively, globally, and independently – all goals that are congruent with Verde Valley School’s historical mission.

In grades 11 and 12, students study six subjects selected from the six subject groups over a two-year period. Normally three subjects are studied at higher levels (courses representing 240 teaching hours), and the remaining three subjects are studied at standard levels (courses representing 150 teaching hours).

TO EARN THE IB DIPLOMA, STUDENTS COMPLETE THESE THREE
ACTIVITIES (IN ADDITION TO THE SIX SUBJECT AREAS)

These three parts of the core curriculum – Extended Essay; Theory Of Knowledge (TOK); and Creativity, Action, Service (CAS)– are central to the philosophy of the IB program.

EXTENDED ESSAY: The extended essay of 4,000 words offers the student the opportunity to investigate a topic of individual interest, and acquaints him or her with the independent research and writing skills expected at university.

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE (TOK): The interdisciplinary TOK course is designed to provide coherence by exploring the nature of knowledge across disciplines, encouraging an appreciation of other cultural perspectives.

CREATIVITY, ACTION, SERVICE (CAS): The CAS program encourages each student to become involved in artistic pursuits, sports, and community service work. This program fosters in each student an awareness and appreciation of life outside the academic arena.


ADVANTAGES OF THE IB PROGRAM

There are many advantages for students who earn the IB diploma as well as for those who participate in an IB curriculum. For one, its world-class academic standards are accepted throughout the world at selective universities, making it a passport to higher education. Universities around the world welcome the unique characteristics of students who have earned an IB diploma and recognize the way in which the program helps to prepare students for university-level education. IB students routinely gain admission to some of the most prestigious universities in the world, most of which have established recognition policies for the IB diploma.

An added benefit to IB status is the advanced training offered to both new and experienced teachers. The majority of the faculty at VVS have already completed IB training, and the rest will complete the training process in 2006-2007.

The Verde Valley School academic program is designed specifically to carry out our mission statement. Our curriculum is international in scope and is supplemented by our Field Trip program, which takes students into other cultures to live, work and interact with other cultures, as well as doing community service projects. But the most important aspect of international education takes place because of the diversity here on our campus, where about half of our student body is made up of international students from many different countries.
 
We are a college preparatory school that stresses competition with oneself rather than with others.  We challenge our students to fulfill their own potential in every area: academics, sports, physical work, the arts.  With small classes (average 11) and the availability of our faculty outside of class, we are able to stress a very student-centered approach to learning, knowing students’ interests, strengths and weaknesses, and how to motivate them. Our goal is that our students will be independent young men and women who are in charge of their own lives and their own educations by the time they leave us, who have the academic knowledge, skills, attitudes and work habits, and the self-motivation to be successful in college and beyond.
 
Verde Valley School is a well-rounded program that stresses knowledge, skills, creative expression, critical thinking, and hands-on learning in a community that is itself an exercise in international living.