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“Why IB?” Is No Longer Asked in Dobbs Ferry (#IBGC2026)

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This year’s IB Global Conference (#IBGC2026) in Denver, CO is buzzing with energy as IB educators gather under the theme “Shared Learning, Shared Futures.” On a personal note, this is my first time back since Toronto in 2023, and being here with colleagues after three years away makes the trip even sweeter. During the Toronto conference, I had the chance to sit with Phil Evans from the IBO to share our “IB for All” story in Dobbs Ferry, and he brought a team of filmmakers to our high school this past spring to capture it. We’re proud that our story will be shown at this year’s opening general session. I’m also looking forward to joining a panel on expanding access to the DP on Friday at 11:15 (Mile High Ballroom, 1EF), and co-facilitating a work session on the same topic later that afternoon at 3:45 (Mile High Ballroom, 2c). It’s an honor to contribute to these sessions and to build on the conference theme by sharing our experiences with fellow educators.

The “Why IB?” question is one that I’ve returned to at nearly every global conference since 2013. While it’s an easy one for those of us living the program every day, it’s still a question many families ask, especially those who grew up with different high school experiences. When I started as principal in 2011, our school was at a crossroad and had an identity crisis of sorts. “Why IB?” was a very real question, and the future of the IB program in Dobbs Ferry was getting fully challenged, so we started by talking not about IB but instead about the skills and qualities that we wanted for every graduate. It didn’t take long for us to discover that our values directly aligned to the IB Program, and we quickly rallied behind shared vision and mission that the entire community could get behind. Over time, we trained all our teachers, opened co-taught sections, created more pathways to the full diploma, aligned our curriculum, and prepared every student for IB English and IB Math. We also built complementary programs and systematic academic support programs so that every student could thrive. 

The momentum grew so strong that by 2014 the community supported bringing the Middle Years Programme to grades 6-10, and we were authorized in 2016. Our efforts were further recognized with a National Blue Ribbon in 2020. Fast forward to 2026, and our most recent graduating class had 54 IB Diploma candidates and 629 subject area registrations, both all-time highs for our school. That’s also nearly five times the number of diploma candidates we had in 2012 (we had 11), and almost double the total subject registrations.

We’re truly “all in” with IB, and we believe our students are far better prepared as a result. So, back to the question of “Why IB?” Here’s why…

The Program is Fully Inclusive. Perhaps the greatest strength of the IB is that it gives every student meaningful and equitable access to a rigorous curriculum. At DFHS, all students take at least two IB DP courses, with an average just under five, and all of our teachers—including special education—are IB trained. Every student also completes the MYP along with the Personal Project. In 2026, we had all-time highs in terms of our total number of full IB Diploma Candidates as well as the total number of subject areas registered.  Those numbers reflect years of intentional work and a genuine “IB for All” philosophy. The IB Learner Profile and our early use of the E2 framework also made our district-wide focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion feel completely natural. Creating a welcoming environment and offering a curriculum that reflects our diverse student body is at the heart of who we are.

It Promotes International Mindedness. The IB curriculum naturally encourages students to think globally while staying deeply connected to their own culture and community. At DFHS, we live this through “think globally, act locally.” All students engage in CAS experiences, service learning runs throughout our curriculum, and our “Hands-In Dobbs Ferry” club has become one of our most popular. This mindset has led our students to make meaningful contributions in our Dobbs Ferry village while understanding the broader global impact of their actions. We’ve also welcomed more students from around the world who specifically chose us because we’re an IB World School. That diversity has enriched our community and given our students the chance to examine every subject through multiple perspectives.

Preparing Students for an Interconnected World. The theme “Shared Learning, Shared Futures” captures exactly why the IB remains so powerful. In a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence and rapid technological change, the skills that matter most are the ones the IB has always emphasized—critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, collaboration, and creativity. These are precisely the human skills that technology cannot replace. Our students learn to approach complex questions from multiple angles, communicate effectively across cultures, and adapt to new situations with confidence. The Approaches to Learning skills we develop through the MYP and DP also provide students with a strong foundation to thrive in jobs and challenges that are yet to exist. The IB doesn’t just prepare students for college—it prepares them to shape the future.

The Research is Clear. Study after study continues to show that IB students are accepted to top colleges at higher rates, graduate on time at higher percentages, and earn stronger GPAs than their peers. Our own graduates regularly return to tell us they felt exceptionally well prepared—sometimes even over-prepared—for the demands of college. The IB Diploma is recognized and respected by universities around the world, and that recognition only continues to grow.

The IB Community. One of the most valuable parts of being an IB World School is belonging to a global network of educators who are all working toward the same goal. This conference is the perfect example of “Shared Learning, Shared Futures” in action. The chance to reconnect with colleagues, share what’s working in our schools, and learn from each other’s experiences is incredibly powerful. Whether it’s through panel discussions, workshops, or informal conversations, we leave these gatherings energized and better equipped to serve our students. The leadership strand this year has been especially strong, and it reminds us that when we learn together, our students benefit.

At its core, the IB gives a school a singular, clear vision and mission that everyone can rally around. Every program we offer—academic, social-emotional, and extracurricular—is designed to support and enhance the IB experience. That coherence is powerful. It creates a school culture where students aren’t just taking rigorous courses; they’re becoming thoughtful, principled, open-minded young people ready to make a positive impact in the world. 

That’s why IB. And that’s why it’s no longer a question that we get asked in Dobbs Ferry.

DFHS: Pieces of One Whole

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Remarks made to the Class of 2025 (DF Waterfront: 6/21/25)…

To the Board of Education, Superintendent Slentz, Administration, Faculty members, Parents, Family members, Friends, Students, and Graduates…

As I mentioned in my opening remarks, this is our 124th Commencement Ceremony for Dobbs Ferry High School, and it is the 91st group of students who have walked the hallways of our current school building which dates back to 1934. Each year, I find myself reflecting upon the history of our school as I think about my remarks for graduation, and each year I come back to words like tradition, pride, community, family, and home when I think about the most important final message that graduates should hear before leaving our nest and going off into the world.  

The theme of this year’s yearbook, “Fragment,” is poignant because it captures the idea that we are all pieces of one whole, and that the individual experiences that each of you has had while here in Dobbs has helped to create a lasting set of memories that you will all hold for a lifetime. The speech that we just heard from Brooke Bass recalled some of those Springhurst fragments (or memories), from making gingerbread houses using milk cartons / to salad and soup days, from trips to the Bronx Zoo / to participating in Moonball, an annual event that so many of you remained connected to through your high school years.

If we think about the history of our school as one long story, and with each graduating class representing a chapter of that story, or in this case a fragment, we start to think about all of the individuals who came before you, and all of those who walked across the stage to receive a diploma, just as all of you are about to do. Each of those graduating classes, the individual students who made up those classes, and of course the faculty and staff who worked with them, are small, yet critical pieces, or fragments, of the history and story of our school. For me, this is now the 14th graduating class that I will see walk across the stage, and I am becoming more and more nostalgic as each year passes. I remember all of the graduating classes, the unique character that each one possessed, and many of the memories, moments, and “firsts” that happened along the way, all of which are just some of the fragments, that ultimately created a lasting legacy for those respective classes.   

A few weeks back, one of the graduates from the class of 2015 popped into my office with Principal Mussolini for a visit. She is now 28 years old, and had come to share that the Class of 2015 had just had their ten-year reunion at Hudson Social a few nights before. Aside from making Mr. Mussolini and I feel our age, we started to reminisce about that class and found ourselves shaking our heads at how quickly the time had passed. When she left, I pulled out the old 2015 yearbook, and found that the theme of their yearbook, “Current,” which signaled the importance of staying present and cherishing the small moments as they happen, was similar to the current theme that was chosen by this class, the Class of 2025. These memories, moments, and accomplishments are what we hold onto, and for many of you they become core memories that go all the way back to your first days at Springhurst. You will likely remember some of them in 2035 when you show up to your ten-year reunion, or you will be reminded of them by the very people who are sitting next to you now. Only then, you will all be adults and off living your lives.

In thinking about the Class of 2025 at the current moment, to use the theme from 2015, and as individual fragments that make up the whole of your class, to use our current theme, there are so many pieces that are noteworthy and worth mentioning. We can certainly mention the 46 students who are full IB Diploma candidates, an all-time high for DFHS, or the 28 science research students who competed at WESEF, also an all-time high. Or we can shift to the arts, and remember how our high school musical, Alice By Heart, was nominated for 9 Metro Awards, which is also a first in our school’s history, or how 100% of our varsity sports teams earned the Scholar Athlete Award for only the second time in our school’s history.  We might also remember some other firsts, such as our first ever Senior Salad Day at Springhurst, which was a cherished memory that many of you had from your time in Springhurst, and which we recently added as a complement to the Springhurst Walk, a tradition that was started with our graduating Class of 2016. A special thank you to Sara Selitti for helping to make that happen, the Springhurst administration, and of course graduates Lilly Williams-Ameen and Finn Carleston for bringing the idea forward.

But perhaps one of the most lasting legacies that this class will have, and time will tell on this one, and it is also the one that I will leave you with, is the message that has been inscribed on the new mural that was created by graduating seniors Verity Chao and Eliza Watkins. That mural is on display here today, and it will be another “first” for our school as we now enter a new era and generation of murals that will once again adorn the hallways of our high school. Unlike the old murals, which were paint to wall, this new mural will be hung, and includes a host of different materials, including acrylic paints, watercolors, markers, paint pens, metallic paper, stickers, and a host of artifacts that symbolize some of the fragments, or memories, from the past 13 years, and that are brought together by a common theme that was inspired by graduating senior Cody Schiff, when he said, “we are one grade, almost like a family. Some of us, we have known for a long time. Others not so much. But we have to make decisions together.”

This statement was actually made in group chat when all of you were in 9th grade while brainstorming ideas for MAC Day posters, a tradition that was started with the DFHS Class of 2006 (next year 20th anniversary), and there are perhaps no better words to leave all of you with today. While you will now go your separate ways as graduates, you will also be forever linked by your time here in Dobbs, the core memories, or fragments, that you’ve created now serve as your foundation, and you will always be like a family. So as you go out to carve your own path, know that you have this network, stay close, stay connected, and lean on each other through good and bad. You will find many new friends along with way, but the old ones, the ones that you have sitting beside you today, can never be replaced. Cherish those friendships, and always know that you have a home here in Dobbs Ferry.

It has been an honor to serve as your principal over these past four years, I thank you for allowing me to be part of such an important time in your lives, and I wish you the very best as you leave all of us here today.

Congratulations to each and every one of you, the Dobbs Ferry High School Class of 2025.