Being an IB school is so important to everything that we do at Dunn.
It means that we belong to an international organization along with over 5,000 schools in 158 countries. It means that what we learn is globally relevant, and that how we learn is based on best practices.
"What does it mean to be an IB kid?"
We are a school that loves to learn together as a community. We pride ourselves on being reflective. Together, we actively analyze our practices and strive to improve our relationships with one another, and with the world. When students brought up their concern about the amount of food waste in the cafeteria, we tried different recycling and composting solutions. When students reported that they have trouble knowing how to start a conversation, we researched effective options for supporting students in acquiring and practicing this important social-emotional skill. We are currently inquiring into how we can increase people's sense of belonging in our Dunn community. Again, we are partnering with students in our quest to know.
Students have agency for their learning, meaning they have a lot of decision-making. Sure, teachers take responsibility for the curriculum in terms of Colorado State Standards, but they take it one step further. Teachers collaborate to develop units of inquiry that promote in-depth conceptual understandings. The teachers at Dunn carefully design the units so that they include input from each student each year, making the learning meaningful and relevant. So, that means that if a science standard states, 'A variety of weather hazards result from natural process; humans cannot eliminate weather-related hazards but can reduce their impacts', teachers will open the inquiry to questions that students find relevant to their life currently. One year when wildland fires raged nearby, and smoke filled our playground, questions abounded and the desire to seek answers was intrinsic. We believe that children are naturally filled with curiosity and wonder. Being an IB teacher means constructing learning engagements that are designed to let children explore, investigate, and experiment, coming up with their own conclusions and gaining a sense of ownership for their learning.
We believe that we are life-long learners. Teachers don't have all of the answers to all of the content questions in this age of information. Instead, teachers are expert in developing students' approaches to learning. They cultivate students' abilities to read, to decipher, to research, to draw conclusions, and to think critically. At Dunn we love to learn together. Our whole lives long teachers, parents and students are aspiring to show the traits of what IB calls the 'Learner Profile'. We want to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective. It's a joy to learn this together, and it makes for a safe and inclusive community!
Learn more about the IB at www.ibo.org.
Dunn Elementary, an IB World School