International Baccalaureate

The IB Mission Statement:

The International Baccalaureate Program aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who can help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end, the International Baccalaureate Organization works with schools, governments, and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people with their differences can also be right.

The IB Learner Profile is the IB Mission Statement translated into a set of learner outcomes for the 21st century. Providing a long-term vision of education, the Learner Profile is a set of ideals that can inspire, motivate, and focus the work of both students and teachers, thus uniting them in a common purpose.

Risk-takers – They approach unfamiliar situations with courage and are willing to explore new ideas.

Inquirers – They develop their natural curiosity by acquiring skills to conduct research and enjoy learning.

Communicators – They understand and express ideas in more than one language and in a variety of ways while working with others.

Reflective – They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experiences.

Open-minded – They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories and are open to values and traditions of others.

Caring – They show empathy and respect towards the needs and feelings of others.

Thinkers – They learn to think critically and creatively in order to make decisions.

Principled – They act with honesty with respect for individual groups and communities while taking responsibility for their own actions.

Balanced – They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance.

Knowledgeable – They explore ideas and issues that have local and global significance to develop an understanding in many different areas.

As the sole IB school in Wilson County, Fike has a proud tradition of graduating successful IB students who go on to flourish in college. Students in 9th and 10th grade who express interest in pursuing IB are placed into a pre-IB cohort in order to prepare them academically for the rigor of IB and ensure they are selecting the proper classes for admittance into the Diploma Program in eleventh grade. As juniors and seniors in the DP program, students engage in collegiate-level coursework for which they have the opportunity to receive college credit.

At Fike, IB students are actively engaged in school activities beyond their academics. Many of our past and present students play multiple sports, hold leadership positions in clubs and organizations, and are involved in community service as well. We encourage the development of the "whole student" and stress the benefit of being well-rounded individuals.

In many ways, IB teachers, students, and parents are a close-knit family. IB students have small class sizes and stay together as a group for the vast majority of their classes. Consequently, the students form bonds with their peers and teachers that last long beyond graduation. While the IB students work extremely hard, we try to provide rewarding experiences beyond the classroom for them as well.

To learn more about the IB program at Fike, feel free to contact Jill Wheeler, IB Coordinator, at (252)399-7905, extension 5082 or at jill.wheeler@wilsonschoolsnc.net. You can also learn more about IB by accessing the IB website at www.ibo.org.