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Fremont students showcase International Baccalaureate projects, Spanish credit pathway
Summary
Fremont International Academy students presented IB exhibition projects and described schoolwide Spanish instruction that can lead to high‑school credit; board members praised student presentations during the March 10 work session.
Fremont International Academy students and staff presented student projects from the school’s International Baccalaureate primary years program and described a K–5 Spanish instruction pathway that can earn students high‑school credit.
The presentation, given during the Battle Creek Public Schools Board of Education work session on March 10, highlighted student inquiry projects, cultural celebrations such as Día de los Muertos, and a schoolwide learner profile that asks students to be “reflective, balanced, knowledgeable, open‑minded, inquirers, risk takers, communicators and thinkers.” Principal Caldwell told the board, “Fremont International Academy students are caring, open minded, and reflective lifelong thinkers who positively impact the world.”
Why it matters: board members said the showcase illustrated program-level work in literacy, math and social‑emotional learning and gave trustees an opportunity to observe student speaking and project work. The presentation also showed an academic pathway: Fremont’s K–5 Spanish instruction culminates in an end‑of‑year exam for fifth graders that, if passed, can earn high‑school Spanish I credit.
Details: Principal Caldwell described teacher‑developed units of inquiry, monthly guest readers through a Black Men Read partnership with the YMCA’s Youth Positive Impact Coaching (YPEC) and community volunteers, and periodic summative exhibitions. The school reported measurable gains on interim STAR assessments: reading up 4.5 percent and math up 7 percent since the start of the school year. Fifth‑grade ambassadors presented individual projects during the meeting, and trustees gave feedback and praise after the students’ presentations.
Public comment and connections: earlier in the meeting a public commenter, Jonathan Grajak, raised concerns about the nutritional content of school breakfasts; during the Fremont discussion Trustee Perry suggested partnering Fremont students with BC STEM students to examine breakfast nutrition as an inquiry project.
Next steps: the board did not take formal action on the presentation; it remained for information and feedback during the work session. The school will continue implementing the IB framework and the K–5 Spanish sequence as described.
