Following three years of dedication and hard work from our incredible Lower School faculty and staff, and with the support of our students and families, we are proud to announce that Ashley Hall is now an authorized IB World School for the Primary Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate. We look forward to focusing our efforts on developing the IB learner profile attributes with our students, along with the habits of heart and mind that predict success in our rapidly changing global world. Becoming an IB World School will further distinguish Ashley Hall as a place of educational excellence and provide a framework for maintaining that excellence across all divisions. 

What is the IB, and what does PYP mean? 

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a globally recognized and respected educational framework, designed to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, confident and caring learners who are empowered to take ownership in their own education. The goal of the IB is to develop students who are ready to take on this ever-changing world, who understand the role they play in it, and who have a set of future-ready skills that enable them to meet the challenges of modern life. If that sounds familiar, that’s because it is; the core IB values are very closely aligned with the mission of Ashley Hall, which is to educate girls and young women to be independent, ethically responsible, and prepared to meet the challenges of their world with confidence. 

The IB Primary Years Programme, or PYP, is geared toward Lower School-aged students and is the foundation of an inquiry-based, student-centered approach to education. It made sense to pursue the PYP designation first as we continue building on each IB programme — becoming a fully authorized IB World School. Our Lower School students are already experiencing the benefits of the PYP framework today, and we encourage you to visit the LoDome to take in some of the incredible learning we’re seeing every day. 

Why did Ashley Hall pursue this designation? 

The IB provides us with a framework—a way to organize the excellent education we’re already providing our students and, most importantly, a way to maintain consistency across subjects, divisions, and the entire school. It’s essential that our students learn to apply the same set of critical thinking skills across all disciplines and understand that asking questions, discussion, practice, and failure are part of the learning process in all areas. PYP learners are encouraged to take ownership of their learning, working directly with their teachers to gain confidence and deepen their understanding of the subjects they’re engaging with. This collaboration leads to higher confidence and self-motivation, helping to create self-regulated and efficient learners. An IB school has a reputation for academic rigor and also places an emphasis on preparing students for a globalized world with the human skills they’ll need in life: empathy, critical thinking, and a love for learning.

What does it mean for our students and families? 

You won’t notice much change overnight because the IB PYP framework closely aligns with how we already teach our Lower School students. You will notice that your children might ask more questions, wonder aloud, and make connections. We encourage you to lean into those conversations, help them explore, and encourage connection-making. Lower School parents will see new formats in our Report Card structure to align more closely with the IB learner profile’s 10 attributes which align with twenty-first-century learning skills, including creativity, collaboration, and curiosity. 

Where do we go from here? 

Our dedicated staff and faculty are engaged in the early stages of pursuing authorization in the Middle Years Programme for our Middle School students. We’ll share more on that as the timeline evolves, but we hope you’ll join in our excitement to explore how this new framework will benefit our students. Ultimately, we look forward to pursuing our accreditation as an IB World School, offering both an Ashley Hall diploma upon graduation and the option for an IB diploma as well. 

We invite you to dig deeper into the IB PYP by engaging with the following resources:

Primary Years Programme Overview

Middle Years Programme Overview

The IB Diploma Programme and university