Another option for Plano ISD parents
If your child is entering grade K – 5 this year, and either zoned to the Huffman Elementary area or wishes to apply for a transfer, we invite you to find out all about how different Huffman is as an option for Plano ISD parents.
Huffman is now a IB World Elementary School. What’s that?
Since the 2017-2018 school year, the team, led by Principal Jamey Allen and PYP Co-ordinator, Amy Moore, transformed their educational focus, bringing in new certified teachers and making steps towards being a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP).
We were invited to tour the school and were so happy to see so many unique and interesting insights into the life at Huffman which are unique to this PISD campus.
The kids we met displayed a confident personality, genuine caring nature and pride in their School and in each other.
The teachers are a tight-knit group of caring and highly-trained educators who have undergone PYP specialist training to be able to teach at Huffman.
This video was filmed in 2019 and some information may be out of date
It’s a Title 1 School, so that means they do have funding to bring in extra teachers and their classroom numbers are lower than at some campuses.
The focus is very holistic and spans all areas of the School, not just in the Classroom itself, but among the students who have real influence over the way they learn and how they interact with each other as part of their School community.
We witnessed students overcoming personal challenges through their own initiative, exhibiting personal values and valuing their own and their Community’s health and ethical responsibility.
Students are invited to explore their own Learner Profile:
- Inquirer
- Thinker
- Communicator
- Risk-Taker
- Knowledgeable
- Principled
- Caring
- Open-Minded
- Well-balanced
- Reflective
Jenna Maynard – PTA President 2018-19
The IB PYP Program has been a great experience for my kids so far. I love that they have the opportunity to learn a new language and culture in Mandarin class and I love that the curriculum puts an emphasis on character learning as well as academics.
At Huffman, students are learning Mandarin and how to communicate in a variety of ways.
The focus in the School is on being a Global citizen. Flags and nationalities are presented everywhere, and clues to other languages on the walls and the floors.
They learn how to collaborate, plan, present and assess their own learning, asking questions openly and investigating the answers to those questions in a structured way.
The six subject areas they focus on are: Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Arts and Personal, Social and Physical Education.
They are currently performing on grade level or above!
When my children were coming home and defining their Learner Profile traits, is when we started to see an improvement with their social and emotional skills. In turn, this allowed them to have a deeper connection with their teachers, peers and boost their ability to absorb more academically.
Overall, the level of commitment from Ms. Allen and her staff, along with the new IBPYP curriculum, has far exceeded our expectations and we are proud to be Huffman Hawks!
Even the walkways have inspirational messages and tips on conflict resolution and helping students to navigate their thought processes. Each room has a Wonder Wall and an Inquiry Board.
Students are invited to set their own lines of inquiry and explore their own inquiry until they’ve answered or resolved it.
For more questions, email Amy Moore
Huffman Elementary is located at 5510 Channel Isle Dr, Plano, TX 75093.
They are retaining and making more real world connections with their learning. We attribute this to the IB interdisciplinary approach. Emotionally, they are learning how to be responsible for themselves and empathetic towards others.
There is a lot of heart learning going on at Huffman Elementary.