Language Immersion
The Baltimore International Academy (BIA) East is Baltimore City’s first international language immersion school, and, in contrast to most other existing international schools, BIA East is a public school that is available to all of Baltimore’s students. Beyond the international emphasis, the philosophy of the BIA East uses innovative (in Baltimore) yet proven teaching and learning methods to improve student learning and to expand school choice for students in the City of Baltimore.
International
Baccalaureate
Baltimore International Academy East (BIA East) is an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) IB World School for Primary and Middle Years Programmes.
IB World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to improving the teaching and learning of a diverse and inclusive community of students by delivering challenging, high-quality programs of international education that share a powerful vision.
We believe that all students can succeed in learning and that Baltimore’s children deserve a learning experience that is equal to the best schools, nationally and internationally; hence, our attainment of the IB World School authorization. Full details about IBO are on the organization’s website at www.ibo.org.
Assessment / Measuring
Student Progress
Assessment is the heart of teaching and learning. Our assessments are used to inform students, teachers, parents and guardians about where a student is succeeding and about what needs strengthening. On-going assessments serve as a feedback system to guide teachers in planning lessons and to individualize instruction. In our classrooms, assessments are (a) timely (given while learning is in progress), (b) focused on the current learning tasks, and (c) specific about improvement needs.
As required, we administer the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) in grades 3-8. The MCAP results from the first year are used as our baselines to judge the school’s performance and progress. We compare the current year’s scores with scores from preceding years to show the academic progress of the school, including information regarding each of the required subgroups. We also conduct a longitudinal examination of academic achievement for students individually so that we can establish rates of academic improvement for each student while attending BIA East. We compare the rates of academic improvement of students in BIA East against results for students in both the City of Baltimore and in the State of Maryland.
Curriculum
Theoretically, the curriculum in language immersion programs is the same as the state and district curriculum. As such, BIA East follows the same curriculum as other Baltimore City Schools, which in turn is aligned with the Maryland State Curriculum. The difference, however, is in the delivery of the curriculum. At BIA East, students study mathematics, science, social studies, reading, and language arts through the medium of Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, or French. As they acquire skills in the core subjects, students learn to understand, read, speak, and write the foreign language as well as English. In Kindergarten and First grade, students learn all their core subjects entirely in their target language. Formal English Language Arts (ELA) instruction begins in the second grade when students receive a period of ELA instruction daily and continues through the eighth grade.
Immersion programs must, by necessity, start entry (in pre-school, kindergarten or grade 1). Beyond the early grades, the gap in knowledge of the immersion language sometimes makes it difficult into the program. However late immersion with support have proven to be successful.
Additional Assessments:
Classroom assessments may include standard-based unit tests, class observations, quizzes, demonstrations, portfolios, work products, essays, and oral language proficiency.
Independently run national tests: BIA encourages all of its students to participate in various national language tests, such as the American Association of Teachers of French national French exam, “Le Grand Concours,” and the American Council of Teachers of Russian “Olympiada” and annual Russian Essay Contest. The performance of BIA East students as a group is compared to those of other state and national schools’ students who participated in the same tests.
Report Cards are issued four times each year. Opportunities for parent conferences are scheduled for each quarter, and may be arranged at other times should the need arise. As a part of these conferences, standardized test results are released to parents and discussed.
International
Baccalaureate
Baltimore International Academy East welcomes its families and community into the school and supports families in their efforts to be involved in their children’s education. There are unlimited opportunities for parents to serve as volunteers in classrooms, with clubs or sports teams, in the PTO, as classroom representatives/parent coordinators, on committees, or other activities. In May of each year, BIA East conducts a family satisfaction survey, the data from which will be used to modify, enhance or support programs.
Students at the BIA East wear uniforms. This is for not only the usual reasons that school uniforms are supported but also to identify the different language strands within the school and to promote a sense of school pride and community. BIA East’s uniform policy is in accordance with Baltimore City Public School System’s policy on the student dress code.BIA East has high expectations for student behavior and participation in the life of the school community. Service learning is incorporated into the educational program at every grade level in order to help students develop skills needed to become caring, involved citizens. BIA East has a discipline policy that is compatible with the policies of the Baltimore City Public School System. This policy is in writing and is distributed to all families and students to sign and return, to affirm that they were informed of the policies. All disciplinary actions are compatible with IEP requirements. The discipline policy is part of a complete parent handbook.
Support for Learning:
Baltimore International Academy East welcomes its families and community into the school and supports families in their efforts to be involved in their children’s education. There are unlimited opportunities for parents to serve as volunteers in classrooms, with clubs or sports teams, in supervision, in leadership roles on the board, as coordinators during family sessions, on committees, or in other activities. There is an area within the school (possibly a part of the Media Center, or in the administrative offices) where parents will be able to come to learn about the school, to work with other parents, or to have parent/teacher meetings. In May of each year, BIA East conducts a family satisfaction survey, the data from which will be used to modify, enhance, or support programs.
BIA East has high expectations for student behavior and participation in the life of the school community. Service learning is incorporated into the educational program at every grade level in order to help students develop skills needed to become caring, involved citizens. BIA East has a discipline policy that is compatible with the policies of the Baltimore City Public School System. This policy is in writing and is distributed to all families and students to sign and return, to affirm that they were informed of the policies. All disciplinary actions are compatible with IDEA and IEP requirements. The discipline policy is part of a complete parent handbook.
The BIA East creates a culture of high expectations for our student’s families, and similarly, we want them to hold the school’s professional staff to the highest expectations. Expectations will be written and agreed upon by signature. Language immersion requires a long-term commitment to a school, and families must be fully aware of that commitment when they first enroll a child. BIA East also expects its parents to provide a minimum time commitment to support their children’s and the school’s activities each year
Academic
Standards
The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) and Common Core standards define what students should know and are able to perform at each grade level in reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Baltimore International Academy East conforms to and works hard to exceed all requirements of the Common Core Standards.