IBARMS Newsletter
As the season of renewal and growth unfolds, we're excited to welcome you to our final edition of the IBARMS newsletter for the 2024-2025 school year! Spring is a time of fresh ideas, new opportunities, and continued learning, and we're thrilled to share updates, events, and resources to support you on your IB journey!
In this issue, you'll find information about our final quarterly meeting, candidate bios from those running for positions on the IBARMS board, programme level updates, and information regarding Keystone 2025 and other professional learning opportunities.
Thanks for being part of the IBARMS community! We look forward to seeing you at our final meeting on April 4th!
Join us for our final IBARMS quarterly meeting of the 2024-2025 school year! This meeting will be held virtually on Friday, April 4 from 9:00-11:00. Click here for the link to the general session!
Andy Liddle
Andy Liddle is an experienced educator with 21 years in public education, including 13 years in an IB school teaching, coaching, coordinating, and in administration. Currently serving as the IB Director and Assistant Principal at Poudre High School in Ft. Collins, Colorado, Andy has a deep commitment to fostering excellence in an International Baccalaureate education. In addition to working in a school, Andy facilitates professional development workshops in Approaches to Learning and Approaches to Teaching, works as an equity & access consultant for the IB, and serves as a DP History Examiner. Previously, he has held roles as a DP and CP Coordinator in two other IB schools, demonstrating a strong dedication to student success and curriculum development.
Mandy Parton
I’m Mandy Parton, PYP Coordinator at Cache la Poudre Elementary in Fort Collins. I have been teaching in PYP schools since 2006. In that time, I’ve taught at three different PYP schools in two different states. I’ve served in various capacities including homeroom teacher, gifted and talented coordinator, media specialist and PYP Coordinator.
I find the time we are able to spend together as a consortium very valuable and the opportunities to spend time collaborating with colleagues in our IBARMS meeting leave me inspired. I value the time we spend together to learn from one another and share ideas to bring back to our schools.
A personal interest in the IB for me is cultivating international mindedness through the Learner Profiles and looking for ways to connect our own experiences to those of others.
LuAnn Tallman
Central Elementary Principal
With 40 years in education—20 as a teacher and 20 as a principal—I have had the privilege of shaping the learning experiences of students across diverse settings, both in the United States and Germany. My teaching journey spanned kindergarten through sixth grade, and as a principal, I have led five different schools across three districts, gaining valuable insight into the many ways children can be educated effectively.
What has remained constant throughout my career is my commitment to ensuring the safety, happiness, and academic growth of every child. Over the past four years at Central Elementary in Longmont, Colorado, IB education has provided me with a new and enriching perspective. The IB framework fosters a well-rounded approach, developing not only academic skills but also global awareness and a love of lifelong learning.
Elzbieta Towlen
My name is Elżbieta Woźniak-Towlen. My pronouns are she/her/hers. I am a native of Poland, currently serving as the IB Diploma Programme Coordinator at Niwot High School in the St. Vrain Valley School District in Colorado. In my 20+ years in education, I have worked with students of diverse cultures, language backgrounds, and learning needs, all while striving to remove barriers and create access to high-quality education. Outside of Niwot High School, my involvement in the IB includes being a DP Programme Leader for the Evaluation process and an Equity Access Advisor. I also currently serve on the IB ARMS Board in the at-large role and have been filling a vacated treasurer position until that position is filled. As a board member, I have enjoyed giving back to our local IB community and making a positive difference by sharing my unique perspective and collectively promoting the IB mission and value of IB education.
My professional journey in education began in New York City, where I first taught science and served as an Assistant Principal in one of the most diverse and one of the largest (4000+ students) schools, Edward R. Murrow High School. After moving to Colorado in 2005, I joined Niwot High School, where I taught various science courses and received my formal IB training in IB Biology. Between 2008 and 2012, I served as the Science Coordinator in the St. Vrain Valley School District’s PK-12 Schools before returning to Niwot High School as the IB Diploma Programme Coordinator. While serving the IB DP community at my school, I developed strong convictions regarding the significance and the impact of implementing IB programming with fidelity and the positive effects of the IB continuum. In my quest to make the world a better place as an educational leader who works tirelessly to provide equal access to quality education for all students, I received my doctoral degree in Education in Leadership for Educational Equity at CU Denver in May 2024.
Over the past 13 years, I have been very fortunate to have participated in many IB professional development training events and workshops. I am excited and ready to share what I have learned from my IB mentors with other rising IB educators and leaders while advocating for high-quality IB education from individual schools to regional, national, and international levels. I deeply value working collaboratively toward a desired goal while respecting and considering other perspectives and making personal connections. I am a risk-taker and am always excited and curious to search for innovative ways to solve problems and reflect on the challenges of the rapidly changing world while empowering others to recognize their leadership potential. My leadership style is guided by a belief shared by Bill Gates that “leaders will be those who empower others”.
Join us in beautiful Keystone, Colorado in June 2025 for official IB training! We will have session offerings for PYP, MYP, DP, CP, IB Leadership, and IB Education. Click here to see the workshops that will be offered this June and plan to join us in the beautiful Colorado mountains this summer!
Rocky Mountain PYP Coordinators,
Sending encouragement to you as one school year transitions into the next! Springtime in elementary schools marks a chance to celebrate student learning and revel in the learning community’s accomplishments. It is also a time when organizational efforts can be trained on budgets and staffing for next year. Amidst it all, the PYP Coordinator continues to facilitate collaborative planning, organizes upcoming workshop registrations and travel details, supports the Exhibition, performs school tasks like standardized test support and recess duty, all while guiding administrators, staff and students to maintain enthusiasm for implementing the IB program and philosophy. Recognizing the constraints under which you perform your challenging position, I’d like to commend your pivotal role in making the IB mission a reality. Without a PYP coordinator, the learning community loses the ability to elevate schooling into the international, conceptual, challenging educational endeavor it can be. Your sustained collaborative effort has made, and will continue to make a difference for many students.
‘Great atmosphere and great networking.’ ‘Validation of the reality of the work.’ ‘Ability to collaborate with other teachers and share resources.’ What’s everyone talking about? The PYP Additional Language Roundtable facilitated by Alpine Elementary PYP Coordinator and Spanish teacher, Bob Roy. Braving the snow and cold, coordinators and additional language teachers gathered to hear of program developments and support each other in practice. Thanks go to Bob for researching the upcoming additional language guidance by attending a virtual meeting with PYP Curriculum Manager, Nikki Welsh from the IB Global Center in The Hague. Thanks to International School of Denver for hosting the roundtable. Thanks to the group of educators who attended for the vital collaboration. We look forward to the contributions your continued expertise brings to our association.
As far as program developments are concerned, there are two new cross-programme publications available on the topic of language, found under the heading ‘Multilingualism’. The first is a two-page document entitled IB language tenets, and the second elaborates on the same topic and is entitled The IB Language tenets in practice. The tenets are 15 statements regarding the nature of language and its role in education and society. In practice, examples are given for three scenarios: classrooms where language is the primary object of study, classrooms where language is primarily a vehicle for study, and the environment and culture of the whole school. As PYP teachers all three of these contexts are useful. I could see the tenets being useful guides to many school decisions from allocating resources for individual student support to writing policy to a school’s considerations of the linguistic diversity of the parent community. Always refer to the Program Resource Center for updated, dynamic information, and use these links to static shared pdfs for immediate access without navigation.
The next association meeting will be held virtually on Friday, April 4 from 9:00-11:00.
If you missed the February meeting, please find the notes here.
IBARMS Keystone Summer Conference registration is available. Spending time focused on PYP learning amidst the pines in the subalpine region of Keystone has typically served IBARMS member schools well. This year’s PYP workshops are: Building your IB program, Developing your learning community, Evidencing learning, Leading the Learning, Learning and teaching for conceptual understanding, Local and global inquirers, Making space for learning, Planning for programme evaluation, The role of the coordinator, and The role of mathematics. In addition, the following continuum workshops are being offered for those interested in learning alongside MYP, DP and CP educators: Agency, action and engagement, Building teacher competencies, Multilingualism: philosophy, policy and practice, Principles of equitable and inclusive education, and Social and emotional learning. Find all of the workshop course descriptions on the workshops tab of the IBARMS Keystone website.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any ideas or questions.
Dear MYP Friends,
Please join us for our final meeting of the 2024-2025 school year on Friday, April 4th, via Zoom. We are excited for the opportunity to see you one more time amidst the end-of-year whirlwind.
General Session (9:00 - 10:15): Click here for the link to join. (Including elections for the board positions of Treasurer and Member at Large)
MYP Breakout (10:15 - 11:00): Click here for the link to join. (MYP Representative election and MYP Enhancements discussion)
We are pleased to welcome Carolyn Allison, IB MYP Curriculum Manager, who will provide updates on MYP Enhancements and connect with schools participating in the Beta program.
During the meeting, we will conduct elections for the MYP Representative in the breakout session, and for the Treasurer and Member at Large positions in the General Session. Thank you to those who submitted bios.
Even though school is not out yet, we are already looking forward to this year’s IB Conference at Keystone. Details, including the schedule, workshops, lodging, and more can be found at ibarms.org under Professional Development, or at https://www.ibarms.org/ib/workshop-details/.
Please contact Alex (armstrong_alex@svvsd.org) or Emily (emily.heinrich@asd20.org) with any questions. We look forward to seeing you.
Hello, fellow CP and DP coordinators!
I hope everyone had a great spring break. I hope you were able to charge your batteries before our final push. IA uploads and exam season are upon us!
Upcoming due dates
Due April 20, 2025
All predicted grades
All IA grades
Criterion marks for all sampled IAs
All sampled IAs uploaded to IBIS
Due April 30, 2025
Late components for all Group 6 subjects
Dance: Composition and analysis
Film: Comparative study
Music: Presenting music
Theatre: Collaborative project
Visual Arts: Process portfolio
Exams
Here is the link to IB's Conduct of examinations 2025, aka the book that tells you how to run IB exams. Read it, bookmark it, print it, highlight and mark it up. If you have ANY questions about how to run exams, do not hesitate to reach out! I am more than happy to help.
Updated fees for the 2025-2026 school year
March 18, 2025: IB fees are going up for the 25-26 school year. Hopefully this info gets to you before you need to submit your budget requests for next year.
If you prefer the TL:DR version:
DP annual fee is going up to $12790, an increase of $130
CP ONLY annual fee is going up to $90
CP+DP annual fee is going up $1630, an increase of $20
Exam registration fee is going up to $124, an increase of $1/exam
Late exam registration fee is going up to $40, an increase of $5/exam
Late late exam registration fee is going up to $157, an increase of $2/exam
For all details of the increase, see below:
CP coordinators: I just got back from training on the new PPS class for first teaching next school year. Let me know if you want an overview of the changes! I'm working on a one pager for PPS and the entire new core (Community Engagement, Language and Cultural Studies, Reflective Project).
Thanks, all! Looking forward to seeing you virtually on April 4 for our final IBARMS meeting of the 2024-25 school year. Reach out to me at melissa.knight@asd20.org with any questions!
