IB Program | Madison Country Day School

The International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a powerful continuum of student-centric learning frameworks that develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring students and supports faculty with innovative teaching resources and connections across the globe. Founded in 1968, the IB has earned a reputation as the gold standard for highly engaged students.

The IB encourages students to think across disciplines, seek their own answers to confounding questions, and develop a lifelong love of learning. Your IB diploma tells the world that you embrace complexity, you see beyond borders, and you apply your knowledge in the wider world.

Read our IB World School feature article in Onward V19

In summary, the IB Program:

Fosters critical thinking
Offers academic breadth and depth
Integrates learning across subjects
Creates independent learners who feel prepared
Provides global perspective
Develops qualities (IB Learner Profile) needed for changing world
Teaches outstanding time management
Assesses original thought, not examination techniques
Gives opportunity to earn significant university credit

IB learner Profile

VIEW COURSE GUIDE

A couple of years after starting the high school, the faculty wrote out their ideal vision of what an MCDS high school could look like: it would offer a coherent, challenging program that taught students to read, write, and think in all subjects as well developing their interests so that the students were not only prepared to succeed in college but in their personal lives and as active citizens. After research, it became clear that the Diploma Programme offered all these qualities, as well as a worldwide network of educators and experts who would continue to develop the program to meet the changing needs of students. As an educator, I am impressed that the IB offers teachers the highest standard in curriculum, as a parent of two IB Diploma holders, I am impressed how the IB challenges students to become thoughtful young people ready to make a difference in the world.

Mark Childs, IB Coordinator

IB Learning

Frameworks

Primary Years Programme

Madison Country Day School is fully authorized as an IB World School. IB World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to high-quality, challenging, international education—that we believe is important for our students. Learn more about PYP.

Grades Pre-K-4

Middle Years Programme

The MYP aims to develop active learners and internationally minded young people who can empathize with others and pursue lives of purpose and meaning. The programme empowers students to inquire into a wide range of issues and ideas of significance locally, nationally and globally. The result is young people who are creative, critical and reflective thinkers.

Grade 5-10

IB Diploma Programme

The DP is an internationally recognized pre-university program, known for its challenging curriculum that develops critical thinking, spirit of inquiry, exceptional written and oral communication skills, and global perspective. IB courses are characterized by an emphasis on depth over breadth, requiring students to question not just their answers, but indeed question their sources.

Grades 11-12

OUR MISSION

Madison Country Day School is an independent, college-preparatory, Pre-K to Grade 12, International Baccalaureate World School whose mission is to:

Inspire each student to discover their extraordinary capacity to learn and thrive in an evolving world by cultivating a challenging environment and a supportive community.