Primary Source Partner School Begins International Baccalaureate Program

Brockton's Joseph F. Plouffe Academy, formerly Gilmore Academy, has been authorized as an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program school. Primary Source has provided globally minded professional development programs and resources to Brockton for many years, and is proud to congratulate the faculty and students of Joseph Plouffe Academy on their new status as an International Baccalaureate school.

From the Brockton Public Schools Communications Department:

Plouffe Academy Authorized As International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program Provider

The Joseph F. Plouffe Academy has been authorized as an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP) school, making it the first middle school in eastern Massachusetts and only the second in the state to offer the internationally-recognized global curriculum.

"This is an exciting opportunity for Brockton students," said Superintendent of Schools Basan Nembirkow. "This program is an internationally recognized curriculum that focuses on global understanding. Our students will be living their whole lives in the 21st century, and they will be competing with the best and brightest from around the world. It is imperative that we give them the types of 21st century skills that will help them to succeed in a global marketplace."

Plouffe Academy (formerly the Gilmore Academy) opened in September 2005 as the district's first middle school, which provided learning opportunities for students enrolled in talented and gifted, bilingual, general education and special education program. It will reopen this September as the Plouffe Academy at the former Plouffe Elementary School, a 750-student school building constructed in 1999. The new location will allow the Brockton Public Schools to expand the IBMYP's global focus and project-based learning experiences to a greater number of students, roughly 200 more than at its former location.

"The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program is a great opportunity for all students," said John R. Jerome, Executive Director of Teaching & Learning 6-8. "This is a rigorous academic program that appreciates all the different types of talents that students have – whether it's academically or socially, IB unmasks talents students don't know they have. And through project-based and collaborative learning approaches, students find those strengths and learn to work well together."