Before this school year, local students could only take International Baccalaureate (IB) courses at the middle and high school level. Now, Kate Sessions Elementary School is an authorized IB World School — a designation that allows cluster pupils to follow the IB curriculum from kindergarten through graduation. “It’s huge. The teachers here are so excited and they already want to plan how to get our kids down in the elementary schools,” said Mission Bay High Principal Fred Hilgers. “We think the IB program is more attainable when we have a platform and foundation for learning.” The PB cluster now has one school for each of the three levels of IB programs — Kate Sessions, Pacific Beach Middle School and Mission Bay High School. The curriculum is schoolwide until the 10th grade, when students have the choice of pursuing an IB diploma. “What it means to families is that their children will have better access to colleges in the future and that they will have a better understanding of how to be a learner,” said Kate Sessions Principal Sue DeVicariis. For local parents wanting their students to study in the IB program, Kate Sessions Elementary is now a starting point. “I lay the foundation at my program,” DeVicariis said. “We’re preparing them so that they can become independent thinkers when they get to the high school level.” According to DeVicariis, Kate Sessions has already been implementing IB curriculum for the last four years. What makes IB’s curriculum unique is project-based learning, replacing tests with projects. “They work from a central idea and essentially do a project based on that big idea. They have a lot of freedom to identify how they want to show their learning,” DeVicariis said. “We use that creativity to help kids think outside the box.” In spite of reduced testing, DeVicariis said standardized test scores at Kate Sessions Elementary have risen since campus officials implemented IB’s unique curriculum. Last year, the school’s average performance index score was 879 out of a possible score of 1,000. “I really believe it has made a huge difference in our academic achievement at Sessions,” DeVicariis said. “Our kids are really showing that the program is working for them.” Kate Sessions Elementary School, located at 2150 Beryl St., can be visited online at new.sandi.net/schools/sessions. For more information about the International Baccalaureate program, visit www.ibo.org.