GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) announced that Williams Elementary School has been selected as the site of district’s first International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP).

The district sent out a release late Friday afternoon after it made the announcement to the school staff.

ACPS says the IB PYP is in place in schools throughout the world, including in Florida, and has a long history of educational excellence worldwide. The district adds that Eastside High School has had a highly successful IB program for decades.

“As outlined on the International Baccalaureate Organization’s website, the PYP ‘offers a stimulating, challenging learning environment that nurtures the whole child and fosters a lifelong love of learning for all,'” the district said in the news release.

The website also says, “The PYP curriculum framework begins with the premise that students are agents of their own learning and partners in the learning process. It prioritizes people and their relationships to build a strong learning community.”

Unlike the high school IB program, the district says the PYP is a ‘whole school’ program, which means all students at the school participate.

The district says IB PYP will launch at Williams Elementary this fall. All students currently enrolled at the school and those zoned for Williams next year will automatically transition into the IB PYP, including those in the existing magnet program.

District officials say it will also be offered to elementary students throughout the district as a magnet program.

The district’s magnet application window for the 2024-25 school year runs through February 13.

|RELATED: Window to register your child for Alachua County’s Magnet Program open now thru Feb. 13

ACPS leaders will hold an open house about the Williams IB PYP for families who may be interested in applying for the program. It will be held Thursday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. at the school. If you can’t make that one, the district says it will also schedule additional informational sessions in the future.

ACPS says Superintendent Shane Andrew has advocated for the IB PYP. They say at first they considered it for Prairie View Elementary School but decided to establish it at an existing school with a diverse student population, staff and infrastructure already in place. The district also said Williams Elementary has room to accommodate students zoned for other schools who want to apply for the program.

“I’ve been a principal at an International Baccalaureate school, and I’ve seen the benefits it offers students,” said Andrew, who led Eastside High School for five years. “I’m very excited about the opportunities that the IB PYP will provide for all students at Williams to learn, thrive and grow.”

More information about the IB PYP can be found here.