The Falls Church City Public School System became the first in Virginia to be certified as an all-grade, K-12, International Baccalaureate system last week, according to the schools’ IB coordinator Jeanne Seabridge. Being one of the first systems in the U.S. to adopt an IB diploma program for grades 11 and 12 in the 1980s, the Falls Church Schools added the Primary Years Program and finally the Middle Years Program to its IB offerings three years ago.

Qualifying for candidacy after three years, the system was evaluated by the Bethesda, Maryland-based IB headquarters with authorized visits, interviews and checklists regarding pedagogy and other factors, and an official letter was received last week certifying the program at all levels of the system, which permits the system to use official branding, logo and professional development programs.

The Falls Church School Board is scheduled to recognize this achievement at its meeting next Tuesday.