Students at Clark and Whittier elementary schools are thinking a little bit differently these days. They are taking more control of their lessons and are becoming more aware of the world around them, as they are now International Baccalaureate (IB) world schools.
Whittier Principal Andy Kramer, whose school officially became an IB institution in the spring of 2024, said that after a teacher takes students to a certain point in a specific subject — whether it is science, social studies or language arts — the students then have a say in what they learn.
Kramer said third graders might start learning about forces of nature like magnets. As they begin asking and answering questions, the teacher will help them take a more thorough look at how magnets work.
“The students have a deeper understanding of what they are learning,” he said. “They don’t just learn about the force of a magnet, but how those forces change our surroundings. The kids become more engaged in the learning experience.”
Whittier and Clark elementary schools are currently pioneering the IB program for Waukegan Community Unit School District 60, with the goal of enabling as many students who wish to undertake that style of learning to have the opportunity.
Clark Principal Gladys Rodriguez said her school received the IB designation on Jan. 6. Clark began the process to earn IB status three years ago, taking steps to integrate the teachers, students and staff into the method of meeting the requirements and passing inspection.
Rodriguez said she wants a significant academic opportunity for the Clark community, and the IB program provides it. As the school went through the process there, she could see the change in both teachers and students.
“This is what you see in more affluent school districts,” she said. “We have a diverse community, and Waukegan students deserve the same opportunity students in affluent schools have. They are learning innovative real-world principles.”
An IB designation starts with an inquiry and then lets the international organization understand more about the school and where it wants to go. Rodriguez said it started with a definition of Clark’s purpose. It can take between three and five years.
“They want to know where we are in this place and time,” she said. “They want to know how we express ourselves, how (we believe) the world works, how we organize ourselves, and how we plan to share the planet.”
District 60 Board of Education member Rick Riddle said he is proud the district has the only two IB elementary or middle schools in Lake County. It enables youngsters to start developing a global perspective at a young age, he said.
“It gives them an understanding of other peoples and other countries at an early age, and we are a multicultural world right now,” Riddle said. “We want to continue that all the way through high school so they can have an IB designation on their diploma.”
Jennifer Rice de la Sanchez, the district’s director of teaching and learning, was the principal at Whittier when the IB process started. She said there are plans to initiate the process for Robert Abbott Middle School to gain IB status in the 2026-2027 school year.
“We want to involve all the stakeholders,” de la Sanchez said. “That includes teachers, students, parents, community members and district personnel. You want the parents behind it. You want the whole community to believe in it, too.”
Enabling one of the district’s five middle schools to offer the IB curriculum gives students who worked with it through elementary school the opportunity to continue when they reach sixth grade.
When de la Sanchez started the journey at Whittier, she said it was important for it to be available to children at a neighborhood school rather than a magnet school. There will be an effort to enable students who want an IB program to have it regardless of where they live in the district.
“There was always a dream for students across Waukegan to have it, even if they live outside the Whittier boundary,” de la Sanchez said.
As the program is implemented, she said the teacher’s role changes from being strictly an imparter of knowledge to acting as a facilitator as well. They plan a unit of study that the students should learn, but then there is a pause.
“The teacher operates like a broker, learning what the kids are into and starts teaching what was not planned for,” de la Sanchez said. “It’s cool because the kids are taking responsibility for part of the curriculum. At the end, the teacher brings it all together.”
