What is IB?
Home » Curriculum »
West Sound Academy is proud to be the only International Baccalaureate (IB) School in Kitsap County, offering students in Grades 6–12 a globally recognized education that inspires curiosity, independence, and compassion.
“There is no other curriculum anywhere that does a superior job of both educating students and inspiring a true and broad-based love of learning.”
-William Shain, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, Vanderbilt University
IB is A Global Education for a Changing World
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an internationally accredited program that challenges students to think critically, communicate confidently, and act responsibly. Founded in 1968, the IB now serves over a million students across more than 150 countries. Its mission is to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help create a better and more peaceful world.
IB at West Sound Academy
West Sound Academy offers a continuous educational pathway that nurtures academic excellence, personal growth, and global citizenship.
Students in Grades 6–10 explore traditional subjects through interdisciplinary projects and inquiry-based learning. Courses encourage creativity, reflection, and meaningful connections to the real world. Students learn how to learn as they develop research, collaboration, and problem-solving skills that prepare them for future challenges.
The IB Diploma Programme (DP)
In Grades 11–12, students engage in the two-year Diploma Programme and study six subjects across languages, humanities, sciences, and mathematics while also completing the program’s three distinctive core elements:
- Theory of Knowledge (TOK): explores how we know what we know.
- Extended Essay (EE): an independent, university-style research paper.
- Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS): hands-on experiences that build character and community awareness.
Graduates of the DP are well prepared for university study anywhere in the world. Beyond the value of the academic preparation, IB participation gives students a clear edge in college admission, and schools often grant advanced credit or scholarships for strong exam results or completion of the full diploma.
Preparing Students for Life Beyond School
Whether students pursue higher education in their home country or abroad, the IB equips them with the critical thinking, resilience, and international perspective needed to thrive in university and beyond. It’s more than a curriculum—it’s a philosophy that shapes confident, compassionate global citizens.
Who says the IB is excellent education?
"Students seeking the finest [high school] preparation available for an American college should consider the International Baccalaureate. The IB offers an integrated curriculum that provides students with the skill needed to be world-class scholars and an educational philosophy that prepares them to be first-class citizens. I do not know of a more comprehensive and appropriate learning model."
Jim Crowder, Director of Admissions, Macalester College
"One of the advantages of an IB curriculum is its structure and quality. It is a coordinated programme, well established, well known and well respected. We know the quality of IB courses, and we think the IB curriculum is terrific."
Christoph Guttentag, Director of Undergraduate Admission, Duke University
"I have always been a supporter of the International Baccalaureate. It is a thoughtful and genuinely intellectual curriculum with an unusually high degree of integrity and connectedness. There is no other curriculum anywhere that does a superior job of both educating students and inspiring a true and broad-based love of learning."
William Shain, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, Vanderbilt University
"For many years we here at CMC have considered the full-IB Diploma to be the ‘Gold Standard’. Unlike an AP program in which students can pick and choose which AP courses to take, sometimes based on playing to their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses, the full IB diploma is consistent, coherent, rigorous, and takes two full years to complete."
Richard Vos, Vice President/Dean of Admission, Claremont McKenna College
"IB is well known to us for excellent preparation. Success in an IB programme correlates well with success at Harvard. We are always pleased to see the credentials of the IB Diploma Programme on the transcript."
Marilyn McGrath Lewis, Director of Undergraduate Admission, Harvard University
"Send us prepared students á la IB... It is the best high school prep curriculum an American school can offer."
Marilee Jones, Director of Undergraduate Admission, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"The International Baccalaureate Programmes' emphasis on critical thinking skills, increased content knowledge and an interdisciplinary approach to education not only prepare students for success at the postsecondary level, but also for life and the world of work."
Dr. Kathleen Plato, Supervisor of Advanced Placement Programs, Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction