10 CORDECHO SPIRIT. MIND. BODY. CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENTS or Strategic Plan committee members focused on Sacred Heart’s academic domain, the primary goal has always been clear: Our Franciscan tradition calls us to nurture lifelong learners who think critically, seek growth, and celebrate the diversity of God’s creation. When Sacred Heart earned the designation as an International Baccalaureate World School in 2020, we embraced an educational approach that – through inquirybased learning, a focus on metacognition, and an emphasis on service – is a natural vehicle for the delivery of our mission. Defining objectives that will guide Sacred Heart’s transition from a NYS Regents curriculum to a school-wide curriculum using IB-inspired approaches energized the Academic Domain team. As the team and faculty move this work forward, the benefits of an IB curriculum are shared among all students. SHA Director of Academics Michele Calandra says, “I don’t like to think of it as moving away from Regents; I prefer to think that we’re moving toward student-driven, experiential, conceptfocused, and application-based learning. In many ways, our transition to an IB curriculum just provides a new framework for the kind of expansive teaching and learning that has been at the heart of a Sacred Heart education since SHA was founded.” With the first class of IB Diploma Program participants graduating in 2023, SHA faculty and students have become progressively more familiar with the values underpinning the IB approach. That increased fluency with the IB pedagogy has been intentional. Several all-faculty professional development days during the 2022-2023 academic year were devoted to the theory behind the IB approach, with coaching for teachers on how to incorporate the philosophy into existing courses. Ms. Tracy Cercone, senior religion teacher, says that professional development programming has been enormously helpful to her implementation of IB approaches. She reflects, “The IB Diploma Program will not be for everyone, but the IB approach offers an outline that makes sure we incorporate communication, deep thinking, and self-management in every topic we cover. It forces the students to take ownership over their own learning, and that ownership sparks excitement.” In 2023-2024, SHA will be expanding the number of individual IB courses that are available to interested students beginning in their junior year. New offerings will include IB Environmental Studies, which incorporates the care for creation that is fundamental to the Franciscan tradition; IB Psychology; and IB Math Analysis. Existing sections of IB Literature and Language and IB World Religions will be open to all interested upperclasswomen, and additional IB courses will be added through the course of the Strategic Plan. Ms. Tracy Cercone Senior Religion Teacher Ms. Michele Calandra Director of Academics PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES/GLOBAL APPROACH How the International Baccalaureate philosophy is opening doors to discovery In Ms. Tracy Cercone’s senior religion classes, students applied IB approaches to complete an assignment inspired by the Clothesline Project, a nationwide effort that raises awareness for survivors of assault and abuse.
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