- Desert Mountain High School
- International Baccalaureate Program
International Baccalaureate Program (IB)
-
The International Baccalaureate (IB) program, created in 1968, is a very rigorous series of academic programs for students world wide. IB encourages students to: ask challenging questions, learn how to learn, develop a strong sense of their own identity and culture, and develop the ability to communicate with and understand people from other countries and cultures.
Desert Mountain High School now offers a fully authorized IB Middle Years Program. Ninth and tenth grade students may apply to participants in this highly acclaimed internationally recognized academic program.
The IB MYP exposes students to six of eight subject areas, developing skills, and creating experiences so that students will learn to see knowledge as an interrelated whole. The instruction reflects and is responsive to the different perspectives of all students and should guide them in forming their own international outlook. The IB MYP framework seeks to shift the emphasis from teacher-led instruction to student-led learning wherever possible. A focus on higher-order thinking skills gives students opportunities to develop a growing awareness of themselves and others as they explore real-world issues (International Baccalaureate). The Middle Years Programme aims to help all students develop their personal understanding, their emerging sense of self and responsibility in their community.
Nov. 9: IB 8th Grade Information Night
Nov. 9: IB 8th Grade Information Night (Spanish Flier)
Video of 2023 DMHS IB 8th Grade Information Night
Video of the Nov. 9, 2023 DMHS IB 8th Grade Information Night
2023 IB Shadowing Registration Link
DMHS IB MYP Frequently Asked Questions
DMIBPA.org - DMHS IB Parent Organization
Desert Mountain High School also offers the IB Diploma Programme, which has specific aims and assessment objectives, the distinctive aims of the program as a whole are to: provide an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, promote international understanding, educate the whole person, emphasizing intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth and develop inquiry and thinking skills, and the capacity to reflect upon and to evaluate actions critically. In order to be accredited by the IBO, schools go through an intensive application process and are reviewed every five years to make sure they are applying the IB standards. IB currently has authorized about 1300 schools in 100 different countries. Desert Mountain has been an IB DP authorized school by the IBO since 1999. The rigorous nature of the program is widely recognized by many selective and highly selective colleges and universities.
DMHS IB Diploma Program Application 2024-2025
CAS Presentation- November 1, 2023
DMHS IB Diploma Program Classes Offered
DMHS IB Diploma Program Testing Statistics
Three Core Components of the Diploma Program
Click here for the SUSD IB Homepage for more general program information
-
The Three Core Components of the IB Program: Extended Essay Creativity, Activity and Service
Theory of Knowledge
Aside from the IB curriculum, all students are required to complete the following three core components during their junior and senior years:
The Extended Essay is an independent, self-directed 4000-word research paper. The EE helps provide research preparation that is required at the college level, and it gives students an opportunity for an in-depth study of a topic that interests them. Emphasis is placed on formulating an appropriate research question, engaging in a personal exploration of the topic, communicating ideas and developing an argument. Students will ask a faculty mentor to support and supervise them throughout the process with advice and guidance.
Creativity, Activity and Service, otherwise known as the (CAS) requirement takes seriously the importance of life outside the world of academics and provides a counterbalance. Creativity is interpreted broadly to include a wide range of arts and activities as well as the creativity students demonstrate in designing and implementing service projects. Activity can include not only participation in individual and team sports but also taking part in local or international projects. Service encompasses both community and social service activities. Some examples include helping children with special needs, visiting hospitals and working with refugees or homeless people. A system of self-evaluation encourages students to reflect on the benefits of CAS participation to themselves and to others.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is a required interdisciplinary class that offers students an opportunity to reflect critically on diverse ways of knowing and on areas of knowledge while considering the role and nature of knowledge in their own culture, in the cultures of others and
in the wider world. Also, it prompts students to be aware of themselves as thinkers, encouraging them to become more acquainted with the complexity of knowledge and recognize the need to act responsibly in an increasingly interconnected but uncertain world.
From www.ibo.org
Contact Us
-
IB Middle Years Program
(9th and 10th Grade)
Kevin Sheh
(480) 484-7046
IB MYP Coordinator
IB Diploma Program
(11th and 12th Grade)
Laura Kamka
(480) 484-7062
IB DP Coordinator
Life After IB
-
Our Desert Mountain IB Alums did an excellent job fielding questions and sharing their experiences of life after high school through a Zoom meeting.
View the video here!