By Mrs. Julia Campbell 

As Strothoff International School continues to develop as a recognized Ersatzschule, some parents have understandably had questions about what this means for student learning — particularly for students currently in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and for those moving up from Grade 5. 

The good news is that the answer is one of continuity: SIS remains a continuum IB World School, offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Diploma Programme (DP). At the same time, we are strengthening the connection between the IB framework and the Hessen state curriculum, creating an approach that combines the strengths of both. 

IB is a framework — and it needs content 

One important distinction helps explain how the two fit together. 

The MYP, like the PYP, is not itself a prescribed curriculum containing a fixed list of content that every school in the world must teach. Instead, it is a framework for teaching and learning — an approach to how students learn, think, apply knowledge, and make connections. 

At the heart of the MYP is concept-based learning. Rather than simply learning information in isolation, students explore concepts that can be applied across different contexts — locally, nationally, and globally. This is one of the features that makes an IB education international in outlook. 

But students still need content to learn. 

That content comes from a written curriculum, and international schools around the world can use an appropriate national or regional curriculum as their foundation. An international school in the United States might use an American curriculum; a Canadian international school might draw on the Ontario curriculum, for example. 

In Germany, however, there is no single national school curriculum. Each federal state establishes its own curriculum. For SIS, that means the Hessen curriculum provides the content foundation, while the IB framework guides how that content is taught and learned. 

And this is not something being introduced only for Grade 5 because of the current school approval process. SIS has already been using the Hessen curriculum as a foundation throughout the secondary school for many years. 

Two approaches, working together 

This combination gives us an opportunity to bring together two complementary strengths. 

The Hessen curriculum helps establish what students need to know and be able to do, while the MYP provides a framework for how students develop and apply that knowledge. 

Students can therefore continue to experience the kinds of learning that are central to the IB philosophy: concept-based learning, interdisciplinary connections, projects, inquiry, and the use of assessment criteria and rubrics. 

The difference is that the content and expectations are anchored in the Hessen curriculum. 

This is particularly valuable when we look at students' long-term progression toward the IB Diploma Programme. The DP is the IB programme with a prescribed curriculum and specific subject content. Schools offering the full IB continuum therefore need to think backwards: What will students eventually be expected to know and do in the DP, and what knowledge and skills do they need to develop along the way? 

By aligning our curriculum from the earlier years, we can make sure that learning builds progressively, that there are no unnecessary gaps, and that students are well prepared for the next stage of their education. 

In fact, there are many areas where the Hessen curriculum is particularly strong. The curriculum in mathematics and the sciences, for example, provides a solid foundation that supports students' preparation for the later stages of the IB continuum. 

What changes for students? 

While the underlying learning approach remains strongly connected to the IB, there are some areas where SIS will need to follow Hessen requirements. 

Most notably, this affects reporting, grading, and assessment requirements during the years covered by the Ersatzschule recognition. These requirements include aspects such as how frequently students are assessed and certain expectations around assessments and reporting. 

Those requirements come from Hessen school law. 

But within those parameters, there remains considerable flexibility in how we design learning experiences and apply the IB approach in our classrooms. 

And this is where the timing of these developments becomes particularly interesting. 

A new MYP is coming 

The IB regularly reviews and updates its programmes. Approximately every seven to ten years, significant changes are introduced across the IB community, and the next major programme change is coming to the Middle Years Programme. 

The enhanced MYP will begin rolling out worldwide next year, meaning IB schools around the world will be adapting to the new framework. 

Among the changes are a simplification of the assessment structure, fewer criteria, and fewer assessment requirements. The IB is also placing a greater emphasis on inclusion and on making the MYP more accessible and practical for a wider range of schools and educational contexts. 

One of the aims is to make it easier for the IB teaching philosophy to work alongside national and state curricula. 

That puts SIS in a particularly fortunate position. 

Rather than having to make a major adjustment later, we are already exploring and implementing some of the principles and requirements of the enhanced MYP. In other words, we are getting a head start on changes that IB schools around the world will be adopting from next year. 

Looking ahead 

For our students, this means that the transition is not about choosing between the Hessen curriculum and the IB. 

It is about bringing the two together. 

The Hessen curriculum provides a strong, structured foundation for what students learn, while the IB framework continues to shape how they learn — encouraging students to make connections, think critically, apply their understanding in different contexts, work across disciplines, and become increasingly independent learners. 

Just as importantly, the changes will apply across the MYP rather than being limited to one particular year group. A student currently in MYP 3, for example, will complete the final years of the programme within the new MYP framework, just as students in other MYP year groups will transition to the updated approach. 

For SIS, this creates an exciting opportunity to look ahead rather than simply react to change. 

Our goal remains the same: to provide a coherent educational journey from the PYP through the MYP and ultimately to the Diploma Programme, while ensuring that our students receive the strong academic foundation expected within the Hessen education system. 

The result is not a departure from our international identity. It is an opportunity to make our IB education even more relevant to the context in which our students live and learn.