As a small school, in a continual process of growth and development, each new school year brings with it improvements and changes aimed at reaching our goal of ongoing innovation and adaptation designed to meet the needs of our ever changing student population and the challenges of an ever-changing global reality. The 2020 school year is no exception and I share with you here some staffing and curricular highlights for the coming school year.
Curricular Changes
The 2020 school year will be a year of school wide redesign for mathematics! All of our subject areas go through a regular and programmed revision cycle and math has been an area of reflection, research and development this past 2019 school year. For the 2020 school year we are ready to fully roll out our modifications and adjustments. New approaches include:
Math
- A new math end goal in 11th and 12th grade: As you will remember, Futuro Verde students can receive both the MEP and IB high school diplomas through minimum scores in IB Math examination. Starting in 2020, all IB Math courses will follow the newly adopted framework which has us shifting from teaching IB Mathematics to teaching the Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation course which will be offered at Standard Level and is targeted at students who are interested in developing their mathematics for describing our world and for modelling and solving practical problems using the power of technology. Mathematics: Applications and interpretation is developed for students who do best with math when seen in a practical context.
- Redesign of curricular structure PreK-10th grade: In order to shift our mathematics instruction to better prepare students for this new math goal, we will be redesigning middle and beginning of high school math classes in order to integrate into more practical context, mathematical modelling and real world applications. In preschool and primary grades, math will be taught on both the English and Spanish side within a complementary format that will allow more minutes of math instruction weekly and the integration of more problem-solving opportunities.
- School wide implementation of IXL: IXL has been adopted at Futuro Verde since October of the 2019 school year, but the 2020 school year will bring with it systematic implementation of IXL within and outside the math classroom. IXL is intended to support, not replace, mathematics instruction and teachers will be using IXL as a tool designed to intervene when students are in need of filling gaps in their math development and also to extend learning when students have successfully attained a new concept or objective.
History Instead of Business in IB
The 2020 school year will bring with it a change in our IB programming. The switch will come in what is referred to as the Group 3 subject area, Individuals and Societies. Due to a staffing change, our 12th graders will finish with Group 3 Business Management and our 11th graders will now take Group 3 History.
MEP Graduation Requirements Change from Bachillerato to FARO
This year brings with it a switch across Costa Rica away from MEP graduation exams known as Bachillerato and a switch to the new exam format called FARO. The exact details of this change are still being finalized and communicated to schools, but as an IB World School we do not anticipate the transition impacting our students in a significant manner.
Integration of Information Sciences in Middle School
In 7th through 9th grade this year, students will combine their technology and library times for a new course called Information Sciences. This course will focus on using the knowledge of the Information Sciences as a tool within other subject areas; for research, effective use of MLA, wide reading, and word processing and presentation tools.
Staffing Changes
1st Grade Bilingual Assistant
As Futuro Verde continues to grow to full capacity at all grade levels, we are adding a new position this year with a bilingual assistant who will be assigned to accompany our 1st graders. This extra set of hands and presence will ensure that groups run effectively and smoothly and will allow for small group and individual attention and instruction as needed.
New Position: School Psychologist
This year we are proud to announce that we will be fully funding a full-time school psychologist! Massiel Arroyo is a certified, bilingual psychologist excited to join the Futuro Verde community in support of school climate and well-being as well as the individual counseling and support that may be needed by students, families and staff members at Futuro Verde.
New Position: Costa Rican Social Studies and Civics Specialist, 1st-9th grades
In an effort to provide a more complex and meaningful structure in primary grades, while providing additional teacher prep and collaboration time, we will be adding a Costa Rican Social Studies and Civics specialist for the 2020 school year. This new specialist will be working with all classes from 1st through 9th grades in social studies and civics only. We are very excited for this new opportunity and the scheduling and hiring flexibility it brings!
Integration of Music and Physical Education in PreK-3rd grades
With a change in teacher in our specialist generalist position in PreK to 3rd grade, along with the division of the art position into two separate positions, we will be reducing the subject matter for the specialist generalist to teaching only PE and music. With our new specialist generalist, Juan, on staff in 2020 we have the unique opportunity with two professional PE teachers, to integrate music and PE with choreography, rhythmic dance and collaboration between both PE teachers for meaningful music integration into PE for the PreK-3rd grades.
