International Baccalaureate

The Primary Years Programme (PYP)

For students aged 3 to 12 years, the PYP focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside.

The Middle Years Programme (MYP)

For students aged 11 to 16, the MYP provides a challenging framework that encourages students to make practical connections between their studies and the real world. The MYP is inclusive by design; students of all interests and academic abilities can benefit from their participation.

The IB Diploma Programme (DP)

For students aged 16 to 19, this is an academically challenging programme with final examinations that prepare students for success at the university level and beyond.

The IB Career-related Programme (CP)

For students aged 16 to 19, the CP consists of DP courses studied alongside a unique CP core.

Learn more about the International Baccalaureate® organization and educational mission:

International Baccalaureate: Our Mission

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) is a schoolwide framework that encourages all students aged 11 to 16 to make practical connections between their studies and the real world, preparing them for success in further study and in life. The MYP aims to develop active learners and internationally-minded young people who can empathize with others and pursue lives of purpose and meaning. The programme empowers students and celebrates inquirers. The result is young people who are creative, critical and reflective thinkers.

What does a MYP/IB classroom look like?

• Posted on walls and board:
  • Learner profiles
  • IB and school mission statements
  • Unit Statement of Inquiry and Key Concept
  • Student work/visible thinking
• Students are:
  • Making choices and decisions
  • Using materials in flexible/manageable ways
  • Initiating inquiry and asking questions
  • Working collaboratively
  • Developing an understanding
• Teachers are:
  • Facilitating student discussions
  • Encouraging questioning
  • Differentiating
  • Inquiring
  • Allowing time for thinking and reflection
  • Cultivating creativity
  • Using technology
  • Inspiring interest in a wide variety of perspectives

Summit Ridge Middle School teachers, staff, and community have written policies to align with IB Practices:

• Assessment Policy
• Language Policy
• Inclusion Policy
• Academic Integrity Policy

If you would like an input or would like to see changes to the policies, please join us at our School Accountability Meetings. 

Assessment Policy

Philosophy

The assessment policy of Summit Ridge Middle School is designed to promote a high level of achievement for all students, enabling them to receive a world-class education and be successful in a multicultural world.

We believe that various forms of assessment should:

• Tap into higher-level thinking and problem-solving skills
• Be an ongoing process with a variety of opportunities to demonstrate understanding
• Encourage self-reflection
• Ask students to create, perform, or produce something new
• Involve real-world application and meaningful tasks
• Provide self-assessment opportunities for students

Common practices in using assessment criteria and determining achievement levels

Assessment is used to support student learning and encourage student success. Assessments are designed to align with course outcomes, state standards, MYP objectives and criteria. 

It is important to understand that assessment tasks can be differentiated based on abilities, learning styles, and interests of students. All stakeholders have clear roles to play in ensuring the success of all students.

Teacher responsibilities:

• Work in collaborative teams to design rigorous common assessments
• Start with the end in mind by designing summative assessments to determine student learning outcomes prior to developing units of study
• Demonstrate an awareness of the diversity of learning styles and use a variety of assessment and instructional strategies
• Frequently and consistently implement formative assessments to monitor student learning
• Analyze formative assessment data to determine student needs and modify teaching as needed
• Collaborate to calibrate assessment and grading practices
• Provide timely written and oral feedback
• Provide opportunities for student self-assessment and peer feedback
• Be cognizant of assessment timeliness and demands placed on students, including workloads and personal well-being
• Adhere to all guidelines in administering standardized testing

Student responsibilities:

• Learn to exercise increased responsibility for assessing their own progress and meeting deadlines
• Learn to exercise increased responsibilities in communicating about their learning and academic standing
• Learn to reflect on their progress and seek opportunities for improvement
• Strive to be responsible for bringing necessary supplies needed for class
• Strive to maintain intellectual, physical, and emotional balance

Family responsibilities:

• Support and reinforce school expectations and student learning
• Use available resources to monitor student achievement
• Reach out to teachers to communicate about student achievement as desired
• Engage in the learning process with students and maintain communication about problem-solving, making wise choices and positive study habits

Administration responsibilities:

• Create a culture of collaboration, dialogue, and reflection about student assessment
• Provide information and support regarding how to use information to guide instruction

Common practices in recording and reporting student achievement

All teachers at Summit Ridge Middle School are expected to communicate progress to students and parents on student achievement in their subject. This communication takes place at a variety of times and forms. Report card cycles occur three times per year. Additionally, weekly snapshots and student reflections are available to parents to further the communication of student achievement.

• Students are assessed on teacher-designed units according to the criterion for each content area as provided through the Middle Years Program
• All teachers record assessment scores and assignments electronically in the Infinite Campus Gradebook

Implementation of formative and summative assessments

Summit Ridge Middle School prides itself on firmly rooting the MYP objectives and state/national standards into both formative and summative assessments. 

• Formative assessment takes place throughout a course of study, informing teachers about student learning and teachers then use the data to guide instruction. 
• Summative assessments occur at the end of any unit of study and are used to evaluate the students' acquisition of the learning objectives of the given unit.

Formative assessment:

• Utilized by teachers to analyze students’ progress towards the acquisition of key learning objectives and to provide meaningful feedback
• Used to deconstruct criteria to scaffold and support students to mastery of each individual component of the skills required
• Students are able to work with their peers or teachers to collaborate and develop a deeper understanding of the content, as well as identify areas of strengths and weaknesses
• Provides opportunities for students to engage in self-assessment through reflection and peer assessment
• Includes, but not limited to, exit tickets, quizzes, quick writes, warm-ups, constructed responses, clickers, on-demand writing and performances

Summative assessment:

• Rubrics are provided to students prior to the assessment
• When possible, students are provided with samples of work that has been marked previously, allowing the students to identify and apply what assessment standards will be used in evaluating student work
• Tasks can be created to be open-ended, providing differentiation by allowing students to showcase their knowledge and understanding in a variety of ways
• Includes, but not limited to, essays, presentations, examinations, projects, portfolios, document-based questions and performance-based tasks

Assessment Policy creation process

This Assessment Policy was created by a committee, which consisted of the Summit Ridge Middle School MYP coordinator, master teacher, administration, staff, student and parent. The work of the committee was guided by support from the International Baccalaureate Organization, as well as example assessment policies from IB World Schools. The committee followed the guidelines of the MYP standards and practices tied to assessment. Staff members were made aware of the policy-making process through regular updates of the progress and were provided multiple options to provide input.

Language Policy

Primary language acquisition

The primary language of instruction at Summit Ridge Middle School is English. All students will develop a level of fluency in English. Our literacy program is based on the Jeffco District Bridge to Curriculum standards. We expect an overwhelming majority of our students to meet or exceed grade level expectations in English by providing an engaging and rigorous program.

Secondary language acquisition

Students will learn a language in addition to English. Our traditional students (those without an Individual Education Plan or who are English Language Learners) will take mandatory classes of French, German, or Spanish while attending year two and year three of the MYP program (7th grade 1A and 8th grade 1B of the same language). Year one MYP students (6th graders) will take a mandatory trimester Introductions to World Languages and Cultures class to give them an idea of which language they would like to learn. Students who enroll in Summit Ridge Middle School midyear will enroll in Introduction to World Languages and Cultures, unless they have enough competency in a language we offer. If that is the case, the student will go to the level best suited for them in that language.

Students with an Individual Education Plan (IEP), or students who are English Language Learners (ELLs), will have the option to choose whether to take a second language. We will make additional language acquisition optional for ELL students or students with IEPs to ensure their needs are met in the English-based curriculum.

Secondary language continuum

We will place students at the appropriate level based on data, with a quick verbal test for incoming students, or a more comprehensive test for students moving between 7th and 8th grades. Students ideally will continue to learn their chosen language in high school. Our World Languages teachers will coordinate with Dakota Ridge High School to ensure students continue to the correct level.

Native language support

Summit Ridge Middle School supports families whose native language is not English. English speakers are inherently supported with the structure of the curriculum. This leaves students whose mother tongue is not English vulnerable to losing ability or stagnating in that ability. We believe in the development of both the mother tongue and English languages, so we encourage special attention to be given to the development of the mother tongue. We provide opportunities to families for them to share the language and culture with us by inviting them to participate. These opportunities include, but are not limited to, presentations in our World Languages and Cultures classes, club events, and class projects that reflect on home culture.

English language support

Students who need support will be assisted through carefully prepared and organized structures via in-class instruction and support classes. We will make every reasonable effort to help students learn the necessary skills, concepts, and content to master the content. Programs will emphasize student success by remediating identified obstacles. Students shall be identified and referred to these programs in accordance with state regulations and guidelines established by the district.

Inclusion Policy

Philosophy

Summit Ridge provides an equal opportunity to include all students in a rigorous education. We aim to provide appropriate levels of support and intervention to allow students to maximize their abilities and achieve academic success. Our goal is to provide students with the most academically appropriate classes based on student learning needs.

Teachers provide all students with opportunities to achieve these goals by carefully constructed differentiated teaching strategies. Differentiated teaching attempts to maximize students’ potential, and also allows the student to demonstrate their learning in different ways.

Leadership in rigorous education

We acknowledge that in order for students to reach their greatest personal potential, both as leaders and learners, they need to be provided with the least restrictive environment possible. This means ensuring that students receive meaningful and equitable access to the curriculum while safeguarding their interests and removing barriers so they can find success.

Inquiring, knowledgeable and caring citizens

To help our students develop their true potential as citizens of our world, we recognize the need to enhance their motivation to learn. By providing a curriculum that is accessible and appropriately challenging for all students, we can foster inquiry and offer students opportunities to build upon their knowledge so they can become caring and active members of our communities.

Intercultural understanding and respect

Nurturing intercultural understanding and respect among students happens when educators understand and respect the needs of all learners. Being cognizant of the unique personal and educational needs of each student, we recognize and appreciate that not every individual can have the same educational experience. We see diversity in our learning community as a positive resource that can enrich learning, provide opportunities for students and staff to heighten their awareness and expand their thinking.

Special Education

Special Education services are individualized to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities. Special Education may include individual or small group instruction, curriculum, or teaching strategies, specialized services such as physical, occupational, and speech-language. These services are provided in accordance with the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which is specifically tailored to the unique needs of each student. A study hall has been established for all students along with extra tutorial instruction available after school on designated days.

Special Education program goals

The goals of Summit Ridge Middle School Special Education Program are:

• To provide a positive and friendly environment for all learners with varying needs, recognizing and capitalizing on differences and diversity
• To provide all students access to curriculum through inclusion and differentiated teaching methods
• To monitor student success as shown through data, and communicate with all stakeholders about students, their progress, and their changing needs
• To guide all students to reach their unique intellectual capabilities

Support

• Classroom support: Support for students with special education needs and abilities may include curriculum accommodations, enrichment activities, classroom accommodations, small group instruction, or one-on-one support.
• Other Services: When it is determined that a student would benefit from additional support outside of the classroom, pull-out services are provided to meet academic, social, or behavioral needs. Additionally, paraprofessionals may provide further support to some students.

Inclusion

At Summit Ridge Middle School, every effort is made to provide the least restrictive learning environment that appropriately matches the needs of each student. Therefore, inclusion can be implemented differently for each student depending on many factors such as, but not limited to:

• The student’s skill level
• The student’s previous learning experiences
• The unit of study

 At Summit Ridge Middle School, inclusion can take many forms including:

• Students present in the general education classroom
• Access to common curriculum for all students
• Support in the general education classroom from paraprofessionals, special education paraprofessionals, special education teachers, collaborative co-teachers, and accommodations from the general education teacher
• Additional time to work in another setting

Documentation

When students change schools or move from one IB program to another, all cumulative folders will be transferred. For students with IEPs, the special education staff will help to ensure a smooth transition from one program to another. The special education teacher will make sure that all IEP goal progress monitoring is completed.

Differentiation and accommodations

As each student’s educational needs are different, our school uses a differentiated approach to allow for each student to receive the best academic setting possible based on their individual needs. Our school works to provide all teachers with ongoing professional development including differentiated instruction strategies.

Accommodation provided for each student depends on the nature of their educational needs as defined under state, local and national guidelines. Below is a sample of some accommodations that have been approved by the Colorado Department of Education. As a school, we are open to using accommodations as needed to provide an appropriate and challenging education for all students — as determined by their educational needs and defined by supported educational documents.

• Extended time
• Preferential seating
• Extended time on testing
• Text to speech/read aloud on tests and texts
• Graphic organizers
• Small groups
• Verbal responses
• Ability level text/audio versions of text
• Technology when appropriate