When Noe Ortiz returns to Crockett Middle School as principal, he’ll be working on a transformation of the campus to a Middle Years International Baccalaureate program.
Ortiz is currently finishing his second year as principal of Ireland Elementary School. There will be a transition year of building and training before Crockett transitions in the 2024-25 school year.
According to the IB website, the Middle Years Program cost $10,050 for 2022-23 and the high school was $11,650.
“I had had some experience already with Crockett you know when I moved to Odessa from Austin, I really got some good experiences under Ms. Maribel Aranda’s leadership there. I knew at some point I would see Crockett again, not in this capacity. But then I was informed that Crockett would be an IB campus and that we would have a transition year and then we would move in strong with IB requirements, so that we would start in the 24-25 school year. This next year, again, would be a transition year for me at Crockett so lots of planning and lots of learning the IB program; lots of training for teachers, so that we can be ready the following year,” Ortiz said.
His only previous exposure to IB was at the elementary level in Austin.
“As an instructional coach, you get to visit different campuses and see what works well there and on many occasions we were at IB campuses just because of the great things that were happening for kids in those classrooms. That just excited me thinking about how we can move that to middle school and really make an impact,” Ortiz said.
The IB program is currently only available at Odessa High School. According to its mission statement, in part, the program “aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.”
There also is an experiential learning component.
“It’s going to allow them to think more globally,” Ortiz said.
He added that it will help students fit into the international workforce.
“The work that they’ll be doing would be a little bit more intense but also thinking why am I doing this and how is this impacting the world … I know very little about the middle school (program), what they call the Middle Years Program. … I’m excited to learn a little bit more about what it is, how that is going to change Crockett and how it’s going to impact teachers as well. Right now, teachers are super-excited about the program. I’ve done my meet and greet over there at the week that my position was announced. The entire campus was excited to get to see me again, but also to start thinking ahead for next year,” Ortiz said.
He added that the program will change a lot of things at Crockett, especially the way students will be thinking at higher levels.
“Just super excited for the community there and for ECISD,” Ortiz said. “We don’t have another IB middle school years program. The closest one is actually in Lubbock. This will be the first one that’s in the Permian Basin.”
Crockett’s IB program will feed into the one at Odessa High School and build it up.
“I’m excited to see what they’re doing at the high school, as well. My team, we’re gonna get to take some visits to very prosperous campuses so that we can see what IB looks like at its highest levels and then hopefully bring that back to … Crockett Middle School,” Ortiz said.
He added that great things go on in IB classrooms like student collaboration and engagement.
Ortiz said he has heard about the community service component to IB, but doesn’t have much information on it.
“I know Crockett is already involved in some of those things. They do the Empty Bowls event in the food pantry and they currently have the food pantry that goes right along with that. But again, with that in mind, we want to enrich it and bring an added value to what they’re already doing,” Ortiz said.
While he’s excited about his new school and program, he’ll miss Ireland.
“This school really showed me what we can do together when everybody’s working together. I came in two years ago and it was already a great campus. But the leadership that was here with teachers and staff members was already great. It was a challenge to move from an F to a B (under state accountability standards), but the teachers were so willing, … motivated to work together to get to where we are today,” Ortiz said.
“It’s been a great experience working with these teachers. I’ve learned so much from them and in my welcome letter to Crockett, I let them know I’ve been gone for two years, but in the meantime I’ve been at Ireland Elementary, really learning to become the leader that I want to be,” he added.
Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Lilia Nanez said IB is an internationally recognized diploma.
“Our students would have access and would be required to not only master the Texas standards, but to learn and engage with standards from the IB program, which include international standards. The study goes beyond what the state requires; it’s more global,” Nanez said.
She added that the Middle Years Program will be schoolwide.
“You do not have to test into IB. All the students at Crockett who want to stay, that would love to engage with this kind of program, are more than welcome to stay,” Nanez said. “Crockett does have the capacity to have choice students transfer in for those who want their children to engage in the MYP program.”
Nanez said ECISD is very interested in bringing the program to what’s called the Primary Years Program, which would be the elementary level.
“We could have a true feeder into the IB program at the high school,” Nanez said.
The middle years program can be up to five years, but ECISD is implementing the three-year version for sixth, seventh and eighth grade.
The Primary Years Program can be implemented at all elementary levels.
“We can start teaching kids with the primary curriculum framework at the age of 3, so technically, a pre-k 3-year-old could engage in IB world studies. Those decisions have not been made yet by the district and so we are pushing and moving forward with the MYP and we’re very excited about bringing that option to our community,” Nanez said.
The district partners with the International Baccalaureate organization for the first several years. Year 1 will be preparing and training, “so when we actually bring students in they stay with us and help us make the adjustments as needed, provide us with evaluations and provide us that feedback that will align us perfectly to the MYP and IB standards,” Nanez said.
“We don’t do this alone,” she added.
Ortiz is excited about bringing the Middle Years Program to Crockett.
“He’s a proven principal,” Nanez said, “taking Ireland from F to a B. He’ll be a great leader for the MYP program.”
