What does IB’s Middle Years Programme Offer?

This image is available for use through South Salem’s partnership with the International Baccalaureate as an IB World School.

South Salem High School has officially adopted the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, (MYP) curriculum for underclass students. IB’s MYP is an internationally-minded and challenging framework to expand students’ personal understanding and develop active and inquiry-based learners. South has adopted the MYP curriculum with the hope of better preparing students for South’s IB Diploma Programme, (DP) Career-related Programme, (CP) and Salem-Keizer’s Career Technical Education Center, (CTEC). 

The MYP Curriculum

MYP implementation will not affect the day-to-day learning for students. However, there are a few curriculum changes that South has made to meet MYP standards. This new curriculum is present in eight different subject groups: Language Acquisition, Language and Literature, Individuals and Societies, Sciences, Mathematics, Arts, Physical and Health Education and Design. MYP emphasizes the importance of community and global engagement; they aim to provide students with transferable skills and hands-on learning abilities that are at an international standard.

Personal Project

Students are required to complete a personal research project during their sophomore year in the Higher Education Career Pathways course. The Personal Project is an in-depth research project where students explore an area of personal interest over the course of a semester. The project emphasizes the importance of service learning with the hope of impacting oneself, the school and the larger community. Both the CP Reflective Project and DP Extended Essay are reflected in the Personal Project. 

MYP Rubric 

Students will receive grades on a rubric scale, scoring between zero and eight. Established grading criteria can provide a more personalized evaluation of a student’s understanding of the material. This helps teach them skills like analysis and evidence provision.

Future of Academics at South

The implementation of MYP marks the beginning of a new era of academics at South. After the Salem-Keizer school district made the decision to upend the honors program and introduce embedded honors instead, the future of advanced academics for ninth and tenth graders was unclear. MYP’s implementation renders a new path for underclassmen.