Monarch Global Academy achieves International Baccalaureate status

Monarch Global Academy, a public contract school in Laurel, Anne Arundel County, was authorized as an International Baccalaureate World School providing the Primary Years Programme, which offers a curriculum designed to prepare students for future education and careers.

“Achieving International Baccalaureate status is no small accomplishment,” said Donna O’Shea, principal of Monarch Global Academy. “It shows the unsurpassed education we provide our students, preparing them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in an increasingly complex, globalized world.”

Monarch Global Academy, as an International Baccalaureate World School, develops students’ academic, social and emotional wellbeing, focusing on international-mindedness and strong personal values. The program incorporates local and global issues into the curriculum, asking students to look at six related, transdisciplinary themes, including ‘who we are,’ ‘where we are in place and time’ and ‘how the world works.’

Achieving International Baccalaureate status requires an authorization process that usually takes between two and three years. The process includes an application, candidacy period and verification visits before final authorization.

International Baccalaureate World Schools “are part of a global community of schools committed to developing knowledgeable, caring young people who will be ready to negotiate their futures successfully and make contributions resulting in a more harmonious and peaceful world,” said Andrew Macdonald, chief schools officer for the International Baccalaureate.

Founded in 1968, the International Baccalaureate is a nonprofit educational foundation offering four programs of international education that develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills needed to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.

Monarch Global Academy, part of the TranZed Alliance, offers an International Baccalaureate education for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, emphasizing transdisciplinary learning and international-mindedness. In addition, the school offers an information technology curriculum and Transformation Education, an organizational philosophy that infuses a school’s beliefs and values into the look of the school building, instructional approach, teachers’ mindset and behavior and operating systems. (www.monarchcharter.org)