Understanding the IB Framework at HFCA
A Foundation Every Student Shares
HFCA is proudly authorized to teach the IB’s Primary Years Programme (PYP). Unlike IB’s other programmes, the PYP is designed as a true whole-school experience. Every student at HFCA, from age 3 through grade 5, learns within the same framework side by side, rather than the IB being offered as an isolated track within a larger school. That’s eight years of consistent, inquiry-based learning before students move into our middle school program — a shared foundation the entire school community builds on together.
Because the PYP is built around inquiry, curiosity, and skill-building rather than a fixed sequence of content, students settle in well no matter when they join us — whether that’s at age three, partway through elementary school, or anywhere in between. Furthermore, these lifelong habits of thinking and learning carry forward seamlessly if a family’s path eventually leads to another school down the road.
Our Curriculum, the IB Way
HFCA’s curriculum meets or exceeds the Illinois Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and national benchmarks in every subject, from math and reading to science and social studies. That part doesn’t change.
What the IB framework provides is the how: a globally respected, research-based approach to teaching that shapes the way our educators deliver that curriculum every day.
- HFCA Sets the Standards — Our curriculum is intentionally designed to meet or exceed Illinois and national academic standards at every grade level.
- Delivered Through Transdisciplinary Units — We cover that curriculum using IB PYP transdisciplinary units of inquiry, weaving subjects like math, science, and language arts together around a single meaningful theme rather than teaching them in isolation.
- IB Shapes the Teaching — The IB framework guides how teachers plan lessons, structure units, and engage students through inquiry, conceptual understanding, and real-world connections.
- Both, Not Either/Or — Students receive the academic content they’re required to know, taught in a way that builds deeper understanding and lasting skills.
What the IB Framework Brings to the Classroom
Used by schools in more than 150 countries, the IB framework reflects decades of research into how children learn best. At HFCA, it shows up in four distinct ways:
- Inquiry-Based Instruction — Instead of memorizing facts in isolation, students ask questions, investigate, and discover — building understanding that sticks.
- Conceptual, Connected Learning — Lessons are organized around big ideas that link subjects together, helping students see how math, science, language, and the world around them connect.
- Approaches to Learning (ATL) Skills — Every lesson reinforces five essential skill sets that employers consistently rank among the most valuable in the workforce, from problem-solving and collaboration to adaptability and self-direction.
- Thinking: Critical, creative, and ethical reflection
- Communication: Exchanging information; literacy and ICT skills
- Social: Interpersonal relationships and collaboration
- Self-Management: Organization, mindfulness, and emotional management
- Research: Media literacy, data gathering, and synthesis
- International-Mindedness — Through IB's Learner Profile, students learn to consider multiple perspectives and understand their role in a connected, global community.
Why This Combination Works
A strong curriculum defines what students learn, as measured by state and national standards. The IB framework teaches them how to think, question, and apply that knowledge — whether to a standardized test, a collaborative class project, or a real-world problem they haven’t seen before.
At HFCA, students get both the academic foundation required to meet content knowledge standards and innovative learning taught through a framework trusted by leading schools worldwide.
To learn more about IB’s authorization process for other programmes, click here.
HFCA: Minds to lead. Hearts to serve.