International Baccalaureate

Jusdon Rhoads - I am in my 2nd year as the IB coordinator here at Riffenburgh and in my 21st year in Poudre School District.  I was a 1st/2nd grade teacher for 18 years before becoming the IB Coordinator.  I have also taught 3rd grade and at the migrant preschool program in Weld County.  I have Bachelor degrees in Elementary Education and in Human Growth and Development.  I have Masters in Elementary Education and in Educational Leadership.  I have been involved with IB as a teacher, coordinator, site visitor, trainer, and school consultant for the past 15 years.  It’s exciting to be at a school that is pursuing IB authorization.  I see my job as one of support for great teachers to become even better by helping students see that there is so much more to learning and the world.  My wife is a teacher in PSD as well as a workshop leader for IB.  We have one daughter out of college, two sons in college, and our youngest daughter is entering 1st grade.  During my free time I play golf, write, bike, work on cars, and do genealogical research.

Riffenburgh will begin implementing aspects of the IB program throughout the 2010-11 school year so that our current students can benefit right away from this integrated approach that helps students to make connections across curriculum areas. With the backing of Riffenburgh’s SIT and PTO, IB training was completed this summer by the principal and a 1st and 2nd grade teacher.

We have plans to complete IB training of one teacher at each grade level by the end of the fall of 2010 to have IB experience and perspective as teachers begin to develop planners for implementation in Kindergarten through fifth grades. In addition, weekly Spanish language classes are included in each grade level, thus addressing the IB expectation that all schools offer foreign language instruction.