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Students and teachers showcase IB Middle Years program and community projects at board meeting
Summary
SECA teachers and students described the IB Middle Years Programme (grades 6–8), inclusive co-teaching, electives, and community-service projects; students reported raising more than $900 and donating seven helmets to support a school flag-football team.
Teachers and students from SECA presented the district’s Middle Years Programme to the board on April 8, highlighting curriculum structure, inclusive practices and student-led community projects.
Christa Bier, introduced as the MYP coordinator, told the board the program serves about 225 sixth–eighth graders and frames instruction around academics, leadership/enrichment and service. “Our IB program is centered around international mindedness,” she said, describing academics as the program’s foundation and leadership/enrichment and acts of service as complementary pillars.
Special education teacher Sarah Gray described the district’s full-inclusion approach and co-teaching model for eighth-grade English, saying co-teaching lowers ratios and gives diverse learners access to IB curriculum without separation. “As co-teachers, we each have expertise based on our credentials and our strengths,” Gray said, describing station teaching and parallel instruction to meet student needs.
Teacher Ron Dawson explained how teachers use the online planning platform Toddle for IB unit planning and noted interdisciplinary units — for example, combining persuasive writing with a genetic-engineering unit so students practice writing in context.
Several students described program features and extracurriculars. Eighth-grader Andrew Martinez summarized a community-service project his group led on concussion awareness and fundraising: the group raised more than $900, collected seven helmets and used funds to support the school flag-football team. “This project has taught me a lot…we can make a huge impact on our school community,” Martinez said.
The board also recognized district teachers of the year (14 honorees) and honored county-selected band students. District staff praised student performance and noted the solar-panel installation beginning at SECA that will temporarily affect upper-field access.
The presentation highlighted classroom strategies the district is using to combine state standards with IB objectives and recommended continued support for teacher training and resources to scale inclusive instructional models.
