IB at LUYA
Our Journey as an IB Candidate School
Candidate status: LUYA Academy is a candidate school for the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP), pursuing authorization as an IB World School. Read our official candidate statements.
Learning that begins with curiosity
At LUYA Academy, we want students to learn to love to learn to lead. Our mission is to provide a challenging and enriching learning environment that emphasizes empathy and independence to grow well-rounded global leaders with boundless futures.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) offers an educational framework that shares many of these hopes. LUYA Academy is a candidate school for the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).
These pages explain what an IB education is, how it connects with our mission, and what candidacy means for our students and families.
What is an IB education?
The International Baccalaureate is a non-profit educational foundation that offers four programmes for students aged 3 to 19. Its programmes are frameworks for learning, not a fixed set of textbooks. Schools design their own units within the framework and local requirements. Across the programmes, an IB education shares four key features:
Inquiry
Students ask questions, investigate and test ideas. Teachers plan learning so that curiosity leads to deeper understanding, not just correct answers.
Conceptual understanding
Students connect facts to big ideas such as change, systems or perspective, so they can use what they learn in new situations.
International-mindedness
Students explore their own culture and language as well as those of others, and consider how local and global issues are connected.
Whole-person development
Academic learning grows alongside well-being, relationships, communication and responsible action.
Why IB at LUYA?
LUYA’s mission and the IB’s aims share common ground. The connections below describe our direction. They are not a claim that LUYA already meets every IB requirement—working toward those requirements is the purpose of the candidacy phase.
A love of learning → Inquiry
We encourage students to explore and enjoy learning. Inquiry-based learning gives that curiosity a clear, purposeful structure.
Character, confidence and leadership → The learner profile
We aim to develop character, confidence and leadership. The IB learner profile offers a shared language for these qualities.
Empathy and independence → Agency and action
Our mission emphasizes empathy and independence. The IB encourages students to take ownership of their learning and to act responsibly in their communities.
Learning in English and Chinese → International-mindedness
LUYA combines curricula from Taiwan and the United States and offers core subjects in English and Chinese. Learning through more than one language helps students understand different perspectives.
The IB learner profile
The IB learner profile describes ten attributes that IB programmes aim to develop in students—and that adults in a school community model too. The attribute names below are the IB’s; the short explanations are our own.
Inquirers
Curious learners who ask good questions and enjoy finding things out.
Knowledgeable
Build deep understanding across subjects and connect ideas to real issues.
Thinkers
Reason carefully, think creatively and make thoughtful decisions.
Communicators
Express ideas confidently in more than one language and listen well to others.
Principled
Act with honesty, fairness and respect, and take responsibility for their choices.
Open-minded
Value their own culture while staying open to other perspectives and traditions.
Caring
Show empathy and kindness, and want to make a positive difference.
Risk-takers
Approach new challenges with courage and learn from mistakes.
Balanced
Take care of their mind, body and relationships.
Reflective
Think about their learning, recognize their strengths and set goals to grow.
IB learner profile attributes © International Baccalaureate Organization 2018. Descriptions written by LUYA Academy.
Our programmes
LUYA Academy is a candidate school for two IB programmes. Explore each one to learn how students learn at different stages.
Candidate school · Kindergarten–Grade 5
Primary Years Programme (PYP)
For young learners, the PYP connects play, inquiry and strong foundations in languages and mathematics through six transdisciplinary themes.
Candidate school · Grades 6–9
Middle Years Programme (MYP)
For students in the middle years, the MYP links subject learning with real-world contexts, skills for learning and service as action.
Our candidacy and the path to authorization
Becoming an IB World School is a process with several stages. Being a candidate school is one of those stages—it is not the same as being authorized.
What candidacy means
The IB has accepted LUYA Academy as a candidate school for the PYP and MYP. During candidacy, a school works to align its curriculum, teaching, policies and professional learning with IB requirements, with guidance from the IB.
What authorization means
Authorization is a separate decision made by the IB after a school completes the required process, which includes a verification visit. Only authorized schools can offer IB programmes and be known as IB World Schools.
What this means for families
LUYA Academy is not yet an authorized IB World School. Candidacy does not guarantee that authorization will be granted, and we cannot predict a date or outcome. We will share updates through official school channels.
Official IB candidate statements
The IB asks candidate schools to include the following statement when describing an IB programme. It is reproduced in full below.
Primary Years Programme
LUYA Academy is a Candidate School* for the Primary Years Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that LUYA Academy believes is important for our students.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org
Middle Years Programme
LUYA Academy is a Candidate School* for the Middle Years Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that LUYA Academy believes is important for our students.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org
Learn more
Have questions about IB programmes at LUYA? Explore the pages below or get in touch with our team.