Yale? Stanford? Cambridge? Harvard? Melbourne? - IB World ...

Mirabeau B Lamar Senior High School11149
Head of School
James McSwain Ed D
MYP coordinator
Philip Mantaring
Diploma coordinator
Jon Mallam
Status State
Boarding/day Day
Gender Coeducational
Language of instruction
English
Authorised programmes
MYP, Diploma
Address
3325 Westheimer Road
Houston Independent School
District
Houston
tx 77098 | usa
tel +1 713 522 5960
fax +1 713 535 3769
Email
jmcswain@houstonisd.org
There is a saying here that, ‘Everything is bigger in Texas’ and
the typical first time visitor to our campus can see why.
Located in Houston, Texas, MB Lamar High School services
over 3000 students each year. Within this large population,
diversity is the standard, not the exception. Our students
originate from more than 50 different public and private
middle schools; represent many ethnicities, and hail from
every neighborhood in Houston – from homeless shelters to
the wealthiest homes.
Like any urban high school, we face the challenge of
meeting the individual needs of such a large and diverse
group of students, while at the same time fostering a sense of
community and shared responsibility. Therefore, it was only
natural for Lamar to choose the International Baccalaureate
(IB) to meet those needs.
MB Lamar began offering the IB Diploma Programme in
1982. While it addressed many of our concerns, it also created
some new ones. For many of the students and faculty, the term
‘IB’ had become synonymous with ‘elite’ students. This
situation became ironic in that the IB ideals of respect for
diversity and shared responsibility amongst all people were
only being communicated to a select few. To address this
problem, Lamar turned once again to the IB, and
implemented the IB Middle Years Programme campus-wide;
the first year of full authorization was in 2003. The MYP does
much to foster our sense of academic unity. The MYP
practices, such as interdisciplinary study, inquiry-based
instruction, and real world relevance, helps improve
assessment scores in all disciplines, paving the way for MB
Lamar High School to earn the Texas Education Agency’s
‘Recognized’ campus designation.
Today, both programmes work in tandem to ensure that all
students are prepared to face the challenges of a world that is
growing smaller every day. One of the results of this pairing is
that more than 100 IB diplomas are awarded at Lamar High
School each year.
365