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Are you wondering what International Baccalaureate school is best for your child in the United States? The US homes several international schools that offer the International Baccalaureate. Going to a top IB school gives your child international exposure, a more rigorous education, and a path to pursue higher education anywhere in the world.
The IB program is an alternative to the local or national curriculum. All of these top IB schools offer some combination of the Primary Years Program (PYP—corresponding to primary school), Middle Years Program (MYP—corresponding to middle school), and Diploma Program (DP—corresponding to high school).
Top 10 IB Schools in the US
- Windermere Preparatory School, A Nord Anglia Education School
- The Newman School
- The Village School, a North Anglia Education School
- International Academy
- City Honors School
- Sturgis Charter Public School
- Washington Liberty High School
- Verde Valley School
- Atlanta International School
- Newark Academy
Below, you will find 10 of the top IB schools in the US, with a brief description of the school and what programs it offers:
Windermere Preparatory School, A Nord Anglia Education School
6189 Winter Garden-Vineland Rd, Windermere, Florida, 34786 USA
WPS is a boarding school for primary, middle, and high school students. They have a PLP (personal learning plan) along with academics, tailored to age groups, to build good habits, a good work ethic, independence, and self-reflection in students. The school provides culturally enriched, relaxing holiday trips to local attractions such as Walt Disney World, the Kennedy Space Centre, basketball games, etc. The school offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) for its secondary students.
The school has well-developed sports grounds and compulsory athletic time along with Laptop and iPad learning programs for younger children. WPS also offers entrepreneurial studies developed by “the startup studio”, Performing arts-such as dance, music, and theatre as part of the curriculum. The school is also in collaboration with the Juilliard Performing Arts School for nurturing talents and high calibre artistic education. The school also offers extra-curricular activities such as Community service, Sports like golf, volleyball, soccer, swimming, basketball, that go on to participate in regional competitions, with trophy-winning teams.
The Newman School
247 Marlborough St, Boston, MA 02116, USA
This day school was established in the year 1945 and offers education from grades 7 to 12. TNS allows students to take one or more IB courses out of interest even if they do not sit for the exams. They also offer college counselling from ninth grade, alongside IB development of academic focus and organizational skills. They currently offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (IBDP) to their students. The school homes experienced counsellors in a tight-knit student-mentor community, relationships with many major colleges and universities, flexible school timing, and a system that allows students to hone non-academic passions. The school also offers an array of co-curricular activities from Visual and Performing Arts to Sports. Sports include training for soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, lacrosse, and sailing.
The Village School, a North Anglia Education School
2005 Gentryside Drive Houston, TX 77077 United States
Established in 1966, TVS is a day and boarding school offering education from the primary to secondary level. The school offers options for both 5 days (weekends with families) or 7-day boarding options. The school has Health insurance built in for full-time boarders and 24/7 access to campus facilities. The school offers a choice between the national curricula and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in grade 11. Students may pursue single IB courses alongside standard national curriculum to be awarded extra credit, which helps for college.
The school offers co-curricular activities such as dance– classes in a broad range of styles, from ballet, pointe, tap to musical theatre style, hip-hop, and multicultural styles. Music– a part of the educational career throughout, with after-school programs too (for all performing arts). Visual arts: painting, pottery, sculpting, photography, and digital arts. Theatre: The school is also in collaboration with the Juilliard Performing Arts School. The school also offers athletic facilities from a field with bleachers, multiple tennis courts, track circling the field, 1000 seat indoor gymnasium, and a swimming centre. The school partakes in Team competitive sports on district and state-level competitions.
International Academy
The International Academy is a Day school only. They offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (DP). The school has Multiple National Merit Scholars, and alumni at respected universities including CalTech, Nottingham, Cornell, Stanford, and Brown. The school also has several clubs from campus to campus, to balance academic life and passions; from traditional clubs like art, yearbook, debate, and film to robotics, anime, and esports. Clubs also include GSAs and cultural-ethnic clubs to help students find a belonging environment. The school also homes Multiple counsellors for non-academic purposes as well as college and academic counselling, to provide students with all the support required to bring out the best in them and reach their educational and self-improvement goals. The school also offers a range of facilities in Performing and Visual Arts and Sports to help students grow on every front.
website: www.iatoday.org
City Honors School
186, East North Street, Buffalo, New York 14204
CHS has been affiliated with the IBO since 1989 but the school’s rich history begins in 1897. As an IB only school, CHS offers the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) from classes 5 to 10 and Diploma Programme (DP) from classes 11 to 12. The school offers a tailored program for students with autism with a team specializing in the disorder. They also provide Counselling to students who are struggling with anything from academics to college admissions and career choices. The school homes a well-equipped library, with several computers and printers for completing projects and research. They also have several athletic teams, from baseball and tennis to lacrosse, diving, and curling alongside a Cheerleading team. The school also hosts several clubs for students to find something that interests them, and find others who share their passions.
Sturgis Charter Public School
SCPS has a system of non-selective admissions, with a lottery system, and being a public school, there are no costs to attend. The school has two campuses, the East and West campus. The school is affiliated with the IBO and offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (DP) curriculum, with prep for IB(DP) offered in grades 9-10. 98% of the graduates from the school have successfully continued to further education. The school also offers Counselling for all students, as well as screening for any underlying mental health troubles. The school is highly accessible, with provisions for students with special needs, ELL programs for students who are linguistically diverse and need support in learning English.
Apart from academics, Sturgis also keeps a balance with extracurriculars, with options of the creative arts (music, theatre, art), athletics, and several clubs to hone other passions and interests of the students. The school offers Sports provisions and training, with varsity programs. They train students in a variety of sports, from field hockey, cross country, and sailing to lacrosse, softball, and basketball alongside Cheerleading teams. They have a range of Different clubs varying for each campus, offering unique activities such as skiing and sailing, apart from traditional ones such as debate and chess clubs.
Washington Liberty High School
WLHS is a top-rated Public school, in the top 10 best college prep public high schools in Virginia. The school is affiliated to the IBO and offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP).
The school has Special Educational needs for students with disabilities, to ensure they get a learning experience academically on-par with peers. There are Counselling resources available as well if students need extra help be it academically or non-academically. Students in grades 11 and 12 have MacBook airs issued to them from the school, giving all students access to the technology required to reach full academic potential.
The school library has a host of e-books and audiobooks alongside traditional resources. They also offer a wide range of sports taught from baseball, soccer, and lacrosse to track, hockey, and even rifle, as well as school teams. For non-athletic and academic passions, students have a variety of clubs and societies to be a part of, including MUN club, e-sports, and even a GSA.
Verde Valley School
Founded in the year 1948, Verde Valley is a co-educational Boarding and day school offering education from classes 9 to 12. It is considered the best boarding school and 4th best private high school in Arizona. The school offers both 5-day and 7-day boarding options to its students. With a student-teacher ratio of 5:1, VVS ensures each student gets personalized attention for their learning.
The school offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) curriculum hand-in-hand with a range of practical applications. The school includes well-furnished, well-maintained dorms divided by gender, with set study times and extra-help always available alongside access to campus facilities. The school’s country-side campus, amongst the green, outdoors, birth the term “IB+Dirt”. The school provides College counselling and several creative arts such as music, art, and theatre, along with photography and ceramics. Sports and athletics are offered as well, such as dance, soccer, golf, and even horseback riding.
The school also offers regular Field trips including Kayaking, hiking, and camping. The school also instils values of community service and giving back to the world, from campus projects of composting food waste and sewing clothes from unused material, to creating backpacks of healthy food donations for less privileged children in local elementary schools as well as fundraising.
Website: https://vvsaz.org
Atlanta International School
AIS is a Private school offering classes from pre-K to grade 12. The school offers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Diploma Programme (DP) among its students. Atlanta International has Counselors available to students both on a one-on-one basis and in groups along with College counselling.
The school has Learning support for children facing difficulties, even providing parents with necessary resources and coaching for helping their child at home. Lastly, the ESOL program is created to aid students who speak languages other than English and the library even has multilingual staff.
Language learning is celebrated at AIS with several language immersion programs, the ‘Heritage Language Program’ for students with specific secondary languages along with regular Exchange programs and cultural exchange visits. Art classes in theatre, music, and other visual arts are also provided. Sports too are key parts of extracurriculars throughout the grades, with varsity teams, volleyball, basketball and tennis, and even an esports team.
Newark Academy
Founded in 1774, Newark Academy is one of the top three private high schools in New Jersey. With a student-teacher ratio of 7:1, the school has a high graduation rate with alumni in universities like Yale and Cornell. The school offers education from Grades 6 to 12 with college counselling services beginning from 11th grade. The school offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP).
Each student is also provided with a faculty advisor and access to the school resource centre along with a professional learning consultant for students who have diagnosed learning difficulties. The school homes a large, modern library named “Hawkes Memorial Library”, classrooms with a smartboard and an AppleTV, 3D printers, and film-making gear. Newark hosts an array of creative arts classes such as dance, digital arts, app development, classical music, and a jazz band with members prominent in state competitions.
Athletics are equally important, with provisions for tennis, fencing, wrestling, basketball, field hockey, and cross-country to name a new of the competitive sports at the school, divided by seasons with varsities as well. Students are open to spending after-school hours engaged in the gym, tutoring local students, or community service.
These are 10 of the top IB schools in the US. Each of them is capable of offering you access to one of the most reputed curricula in the world. Before you enrol, you may benefit from making a site visit and talk to parents and students studying at the school currently.
