Governance of International Baccalaureate Schools

1. Governance of International Baccalaureate Schools An American Perspective

2. International Baccalaureate • An NGO (Non-governmental office) of the UN’s UNESCO • United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization • Formal Consultative Status http://ngo-db.unesco.org/s/or/en?page=7&order=birthyear&sort=desc&amp%3Bsort=asc&amp%3Baddcity_1_en=Santiago http://ngo-db.unesco.org/r/or/en/1100014533

3. Formal Consultative Status “II. Consultative status The Director-General may, if he deems it useful for the development and implementation of UNESCO’s programmes, cooperate with any non-governmental organization in the category of official partnership known as ‘consultative status’ according to the admission procedures laid down in section IV”.http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=33137&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html#2

4. “This category of partnership is designed to enable UNESCO to establish and maintain flexible and dynamic partnerships with any organization of civil society that is active in UNESCO’s fields of competence…benefit from its expertise, the representativeness of its networks for the dissemination of information and…its operational capacities in the field. Moreover, this category of partnership should make it possibleto facilitate the emergence of organizations which are representative of civil society, and their interaction at the international level, in those parts of the world where they are weak or isolated”.http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=33137&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html#2

5. UNESCO & IB Share the Same Address UNESCO Liaison Office in GenevaLiaison Office to the United Nations in Geneva15 route des Morillons1218 Grand-Saconnex / Geneva http://www.ibo.org/offices/hq/ http://www.unesco.org/new/en/geneva/about-this-office/contact-us/

6. UNESCO: Creating A World Society UNESCO initially attempted to impart an international plan to prepare students for world citizenship in 1949 using a series for teachers titled: “Toward World Understanding,” which stated “The ideal to be pursued is that, whether in the home, the social environment or the school, our children should be educated to prepare themselves… for citizenship in a world society”. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001443/144393eb.pdf http://freedom.org/reports/unesco356.htm

7. UNESCO ‘Towards World Understanding’ states, “As long as the child breathes the poisoned air of nationalism, education in world-mindedness can produce only precarious results. As we have pointed out, it is frequently the family that infects the child with extreme nationalism. The school should therefore use the means described earlier to combat family attitudes that favor jingoism.” http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001443/144393eb.pdf

8. President Ronald Reagan abandoned the United States’ relationship with UNESCO in 1984, citing “the U.S. has no business being affiliated with such an utterly corrupt organization”. http://www.sonorannews.com/archives/2011/110608/frontpage-CSHS.html

9. Bi-Partisan Break from UNESCO Until committed by President George W. Bush to rejoin UNESCO in 2002, presidents Reagan, George H. Bush and Clinton had kept America out for twenty years. http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul245.html

10. IB is an NGO of UNESCO Today, “The United States is cutting funding to the U.N. education and science agency UNESCO after the agency voted to accept a Palestinian bid for full membership, the U.S. State Department said”.-October 31, 2011 http://articles.cnn.com/2011-10-31/middleeast/world_meast_unesco-palestinian-membership_1_united-nations-educational-cultural-organization-palestinian-bid?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST

11. “The decision of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization to approve full membership for Palestine provides America an opportunity not only to halt its funding of the organization but to withdraw entirely — and permanently. The halt in funding is required by a law passed by Congress in the 1990s and signed by President Clinton. Unesco was warned of this consequence by Secretary of State H. Clinton, shortly before Unesco took its vote”. http://www.nysun.com/editorials/the-unesco-opportunity/87546/

12. UNESCO & ‘Civil Society’ “In the past twenty years the influence of civil society has risen dramatically, marking out the democratic boundaries for a new form of governance and redefining the processes of interaction at world level. For an intergovernmental organization such as UNESCO, this increasing power of non-state actors represents a real promise”-UNESCO http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0016/001633/163367e.pdf

13. Civil Society Is… “…an opportunity to coordinate worldwide all the forces that are determined to confront the challenges of the new millennium alongside the Organization. Clubs for UNESCO, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), parliamentarians, municipalities, local and regional authorities and the private sector - all these actors have demonstrated their unfailing commitment and their resolve to take part in and to contribute to achieving the Organization’s objectives & priorities”-UNESCO http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0016/001633/163367e.pdf

14. Appeals and Arbitration “Any dispute arising from or in connection with the general regulations…that has not been resolved by means of reconsideration or appeal procedures, or is not subject to the reconsideration or appeals procedures, shall be finally settled by one arbitrator in accordance with the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce”.-IBOhttp://handbooks.ibo.org/exist/rest/app/pub.xql?doc=d_0_dpyyy_vmx_1009_1_e&container=1&part=9&chapter=9

15. Improper Conduct by a Coordinator or Teacher “Breaches of regulations are not confined to candidates: improper conduct by a coordinator or teacher may be brought to the attention of the final award committee.”–IBO Ihttp://handbooks.ibo.org/exist/rest/app/pub.xql?doc=d_0_dpyyy_vmx_1009_1_e&container=1&part=9&chapter=5

16. STAGE 1 : DETERMINE WHETHER THE IB CAN DEAL WITH YOUR COMPLAINT Contact your school. The IB cannot deal Questions to ask yourself : Is my complaint about an administrative or 1. with decisions made by schools educational decision by an IB school ? Yes www.ibo.org /become/guidance No Contact the Diploma Coordinator of your IB Is my complaint about marking or 2. School; he/she is the only person who can examination results ? Yes initiate an Enquiry upon Results No Is my complaint about an IB service 3. or the application of IB regulations by an IB school ? If yes : move to Stage 2 below STAGE 2 : SEND YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE IB INFORMATION DESK (IBID) Send your complaint in writing to the IB Information Desk (IBID) at : ibid@ ibo.org which will acknowledge receipt within 3 business days A director will review the Complaint is resolved The IBID will be your first point of contact and complaint within 15 will forward your query to the relevant business days department Deputy Director General Regional Director Asia-Pacific Chief Academic Officer Advancement Director If not, option to escalate Chief Financial Officer Assessment Director Alternatively, contact the the complaint to the Chief Operations Officer, Schools IT Director Ombudsman at Division General Counsel Director General at Regional Director Americas School Services Director ombudsman@ ibo.org ibhq @ ibo.org Regional Director Africa, Europe, Professional Development Director Middle East IB Complaints Procedures IB Complaints procedure http://www.ibo.org/documentlibrary/complaintsprocedure/

17. IB Ombudsman • Indu Sen serves in the role of the IB Ombudsman. The role offers the IB's internal and external stakeholders the opportunity to raise, manage and/or resolve questions and concerns, clarify issues and provide feedback in an informal, confidential and impartial environment. External stakeholders with IB-related questions are encouraged to try the new services available throughIB Answersas a first resort. • The IB Ombudsman is an independent, informal, impartial and confidential resource, and for further details on the standards of practice to which the role adheres, please visitwww.ombudsmanassociation.org. http://www.ibo.org/council/ombudsman/

18. Student Exams are Exchanged Worldwide Diploma Programme assessment Examiners The IB uses about 5,000 examiners worldwide. They ensure that student work is assessed fairly and consistently. Many IB examiners are experienced Diploma Programme teachers. Examiners receive detailed instructions on how to mark the work sent to them. Examiners send a sample of their marking to a more senior examiner for checking. http://www.ibo.org/diploma/assessment/examiners/

19. “Getting the Conditions Rights Governance of the school: By being informed, open, caring, participatory and ethical, boards establish enabling conditions in which global citizens can flourish. They can also play a more direct and active role, initiating or offering overt support to relevant action and activities. Of course the converse also applies. In a school for global citizens the board must be leading or on side”. http://store.ibo.org/download/EfGCCh4.pdf

20. Global Citizens? Definition ofCITIZEN 1:an inhabitant of a city or town;especially:one entitled to the rights and privileges of a freeman2:a member of a stateb:a native or naturalized person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it 3:a civilian as distinguished from a specialized servant of the state. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citizen

21. Global Citizenship? cit·i·zen·ship  [sit-uh-zuhn-ship,-suhn-]Show IPAnoun1.thestateofbeingvested withtherights,privileges,& dutiesofacitizen.2.thecharacterofan individualviewedasamemberof society;behaviorintermsoftheduties,obligations,and functionsofacitizen:anawardforgoodcitizenship. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/citizenship

22. UNESCO’s Education for All “What Governments Can DoEvery country faces a different set of constraintsand challenges in education. That is why effectivenational planning is the starting point forgovernance reform and for the developmentof national strategies to accelerate progresstowards EFA". http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0017/001787/178719e.pdf

23. New Hampshire House Bill 1403 Passed the State House on March 28, 2012 by a vote of 209-102. The House Education Committee amendment states that no school can be approved by the state unless it“promotes state and national sovereignty and is not subject to the governance of a foreign body or organization.” http://www.nhteapartycoalition.org/tea/2012/03/29/hb-1403-will-outlaw-ib/

24. NH HB 1403… The bill also establishes a committee to study the International Baccalaureate program. Rep. Ralph Boehm, a Litchfield Republican, asked the House, “Do we want our students indoctrinated to be world citizens or citizens of the United States?

25. HB 1403 Supporters “The committee amendment states that school programs cannot be governed by a foreign body or organization.Proof of governance might be shown in any of several ways, including, but not limited to:authorization to use a specific name in promotion of the school (for example "world school") or being subject to inspections or visits to ensure compliance with programs, rules or policies of the foreign body or organization or the determination that any arbitration of disputes relating to the implementation of any program take place outside of the state of New Hampshire, or be settled by or be in accordance with, non-state or non-U.S. law”.-Rep. Ralph G Boehm for theMajorityof Education http://nhrepjennaroberts.blogspot.com/

26. Supporters Continued “We have tried to give as much autonomy as possible to the local school district over the state department of education, however we should not allow school districts to give away that autonomy to a foreign government.The amendment also creates a committee to study the IB program and determine whether or not it is in the best interests of the state.The Committee will look at security concerning student information being sent out of state or country, whether or not sending money to this organization is against federal law, as the IB organization appears to be funded by UNESCO, what to do with existing IB school districts and any other issue that may come up”. -Rep. Ralph G Boehm for theMajorityof Education http://nhrepjennaroberts.blogspot.com/

27. Minority Opposition “Rep. Mary Stuart Gile for theMinorityofEducation:HB 1403 as amended includes two sections:Section I states that a public school or public academy shall be deemed to meet school approval standards only if the curriculum and instruction of the school or academy promotes state and national sovereignty and is not subject to the governance of a foreign body or organization.Section 1 also describes what is expected as proof of governance.Section II establishes a committee to study issues related to the implementation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program in the State of New Hampshire.The minority supports the formation of the study committee (Section 2) to research the IB program, originating in Switzerland and singled out by the U.S. Military as a rigorous academic program for children of U.S. service personnel assigned to bases around the world.Issues to be studied include governance, personal and information security, arbitration of disputes and effects of IB programs already implemented in New Hampshire.The minority is opposed to Section I of HB 1403 as amended, which if implemented would supersede every decision made by local school districts in their choice of curriculum and instructional methodology.As stated, it could also impose sweeping changes to New Hampshire school districts who may have already adopted education programs and methods from other states and countries (e.g. Montessori, Reggio Emilia-Italy; Waldorf-Germany; Khan Academy-India; Early Literacy-Australia).Enforceability of Section I would be complicated and intrusive.Perhaps the most damaging effects of Section I would be to limit educational opportunities for New Hampshire students.This is, after all the 21st century, and our students are the next generation of global citizens.It is our responsibility to ensure that they are prepared and have access to the best educational practices and programs”. http://nhrepjennaroberts.blogspot.com/

28. Ohio School Boards Association “School governance The association believes that the cornerstone of public education in Ohio is locally elected boards of education that exercise local control in establishing policy and governance of their public schools while remaining accountable to the citizens who elected them. Local control includes control over financial matters, curricula and educational programs, personnel, school calendars and educational priorities based on the unique needs of local communities”. http://www.ohioschoolboards.org/legislative-platform