Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School

CEEB: 220667

317 Russell St.

Hadley, MA 01035

Web: www.pvcics/org

Telephone: 413-528-7040

Fax: 413-582-7068

Email: info@pvcics.org

Executive Director: Richard Alcorn

Principal: Kathleen Wang, kwang@pvcics.org

College Counselor: Maria Paoletti, mpaoletti@pvcics.org

IB Coordinator: Mary MacPherson, mmacpherson@pvcics.org

Mission Statement:

The Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (PVCICS) prepares K-12th grade students for academic and personal success through rigorous study and instruction augmented with Chinese language and culture. PVCICS is committed to equal access and is an International Baccalaureate (IB) for all high school. All students in the 11th and 12th grade take all their courses in the IB Diploma Program.

About Us:

PVCICS is a tuition-free regional public charter school located in Hadley, Massachusetts. It opened in the fall of 2007 and had its first graduating class in 2017. PVCICS draws students from 39 rural, suburban, and urban communities in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. Students represent a diverse range of races, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds. Most students at PVCICS speak English as their mother tongue.

Title 1: PVCICS is a Title I targeted assistance school.

Enrollment: Entrance is by lottery. Total enrollment in 2023-2024 is 552 students in K-12 program. The high school enrollment is 132 students. The high school class of 2024 has 20 seniors.

US News Best High Schools 2023-2024 Rankings:

#1 in Springfield, MA Metro Area High Schools

#2 in Massachusetts High Schools

#12 in Charter High Schools

#57 in National Rankings

Graduation Requirements:

All students who earn a PVCICS Diploma must meet the following course requirements. (1 credit = 1 year of study):

English 4 credits

Chinese 8 credits

Social Science 4 credits

Natural Science 4 credits

Mathematics 4 credits

The Arts 2 credits

Electives 2 Credits

Minimum 28 credits

Plus, ALL Students: Complete CAS and the Extended Essay

*Graduation requirements exceed Massachusetts State Requirements

Chinese Immersion/IB For ALL

“IB for All” Philosophy: PVCICS provides ALL students with access to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program without having to be preselected for admission. Therefore, ALL 11th and 12th grade students take all their coursework in the IB program. Students may earn IB Certificates in specific courses or complete the full IB Diploma Program.

The requirements for the full IB Diploma Program are below:

Enroll in three Higher Level (HL) and three Standard Level (SL) courses and achieve an overall score of 24 on a battery of six externally marked exams (out of 7 points each). Points are accumulated on a combination of examinations taken in May of senior year and coursework submitted for external marking.
Complete Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the IB course in critical thinking.
Complete a 4000-word extended essay on a topic of their choice.
Complete activities in three strands: Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS).

All High School students also take a double period of Chinese. All grade 9 and grade 10 core courses are comparable to HONORS level to prepare students for the rigors of the IB Program.

Class of 2023 IB Diploma Scores* (of possible 45 maximum score):

PVCICS Ave.: 34 Worldwide Ave: 30

IB Diploma Results per Class:

2023: 100%
2022: 97%
2021: 92%
2020: 100%

IB Courses Offered 2023-2024

Course (By Group) Level(s) Offered* HL= Higher Level SL= Standard Level

English Literature HL/SL

English Language & Lit. HL/SL

Mandarin Chinese HL/SL

History HL/SL

Psychology HL/SL

Business & Manage HL/SL

Biology HL/SL

Chemistry SL

Physics HL/SL

Environmental Systems & Societies SL

Math Applications & Interpretations** HL/SL

Math Analysis & Approaches** HL/SL

Theater HL/SL

Theory of Knowledge N/A

*PVCICS Students take at most three HL classes per year.

** Both IB Math Courses include calculus.

College Admission Testing:

Class of 2024

SAT Combined (mean): 1304 ERW: 665 Math: 639

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

CLASS OF 2024: Commended Students: 3

CLASS of 2023

College Bound: 100% Graduation: 100%

GRADING

Grade Scale: All term and final grades are reported as letter grades. To receive credit for a course, a student must earn at least a 60 percent (a “D-” or above).

Grade Point Average (GPA) & Class Rank:

The unweighted GPA is based on a 4.0 scale and includes core subjects only. No additional weight is given for any courses including IB courses. The GPA is computed at the end of each school year and does not take into account Pass/Fail courses or transfer grades. PVCICS does not report rank in class except by percentile when requested by colleges, universities, and scholarship services as part of the application process.

Grading Scale:

Numerical Letter Grade IB Value in Grade Point Average

Range (GPA)

97-100 A+ 7 4.3

93-96 A 7 4.0

90-92 A- 6 3.7

87-89 B+ 5 3.3

83-86 B 5 3.0

80-82 B- 5 2.7

77-79 C+ 4 2.3

73-76 C 4 2.0

70-72 C- 4 1.7

67-69 D+ 3 1.3

63-66 D 3 1.0

60-62 D- 3 0.7

31-59 F 2 0.0

0-30 F 1 0.0

TRANSCRIPT KEY:

GRADE LEVEL: Current Grade (9,10,11,12) in School

YEAR: School Year

COURSE: Course Name

GRADE: Final Grade in Course

CREDIT:Credits Earned in Course

CREDIT HOURS: Total Credits Earned to Date

IB: International Baccalaureate Course

HL:Higher Level IB Course

SL: Standard Level IB Course

TOK:Theory of Knowledge IB Course

CAS: Creativity, Activity, Service Requirement

ATL:Approaches to Learning Course

P:Pass (specials & elective courses)

F:Fail (specials & elective courses)

GPA:Grade Point Average (unweighted) from

Core Academic Courses Taken at PVCICS in each grade. It does not include pass/fail courses (PE, Art, Music, electives) or Transfer Grades from other schools.

CUMULATIVE UNWEIGHTED GPA: Unweighted Cumulative Grade Point Average is the

average of all final course grades received in high school level courses.

TRANSFER: “Transfer” is Listed Under “Course” When Course is Transferred from Another High School.

COVID-19:

COVID-19: Since the Pandemic started, PVCICS has been fully compliant with IB guidelines for IB courses and assignments.

Clubs:

Student Council

Black Student Union (BSU)

Math Club

Quill & Ink

Genders & Sexualities Alliances (GSA)

Service Club

Mock Trial

Running Club

Model United Nations (MUN)

PVCICS Voice Bilingual Podcast

Newspaper PVCICS Gazette

Theater Club

Environmental Club

Chess & Tabletop Games Club

Students Against Sexual Harassment & Assault (SASHA)

Art Club

Esports Club

Role Playing Games (RPG) Club

Asian Student Union (ASU)

Film Club

Music Ensemble Club

Fashion & Design Club

Sports:

Soccer

Field Hockey

Cross Country

Football

Basketball

Wresting

Ice Hockey (girls)

Skiing

Tennis

Ultimate Frisbee (Club Sport)

College Acceptances Since 2017

Allegheny College

American International College

American University

Amherst College

Assumption University

Babson College

Bard College

Barnard College

Bay Path University

Beloit College

Bentley University

Boston College

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Brandeis University*

Bridgewater State University

Brown University*

Bryant University

Bryn Mawr College*

Bucknell University

Carleton College

Case Western Reserve University

Catholic University of America

Clark University

Connecticut College*

Cornell University

CUNY City College

CUNY Hunter College

Curry College

Dartmouth College

Dean College

DePaul University

Dickinson College

Drake University

Drew University*

Drexel University

Duke Kunshan University

Duke University

Eckerd College

Elms College

Emerson College

Emmanuel College - Boston

Endicott College

Fairfield University

Fashion Institute of Technology

Fisher College

Fitchburg State University

Fordham University

Framingham State University

Franklin and Marshall College

George Washington University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Greenfield Community College

Grinnell College

Hampshire College*

Harvard College

Hofstra University

Holyoke Community College

Howard University

Indiana University-Bloomington

Ithaca College

Thomas Jefferson University

Johnson & Wales University

Johns Hopkins University*

Keene State College

Lafayette College

Lasell University

Lewis & Clark College

LIM College

Macalester College

Maine Maritime Academy

Manhattan College

Marist College

Marymount Manhattan College

MCLA

Massachusetts College of

Pharmacy and Health Sciences

(MCPHS)

Massachusetts Institute of

Technology

McGill University

Middlebury College

Molloy College

Morehouse College

Mount Holyoke College

New England Institute of

Technology

New York University

Northeastern University

NYU Shanghai

Oberlin College

Pace University-New York

Penn State University-Main Camp.

Pomona College

Quinnipiac University

Reed College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute*

Rochester Institute of Technology

Roger Williams University

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Sacred Heart University

Salve Regina University

San Diego State University

Sarah Lawrence College

Savannah College of Art Design

Simmons University

Skidmore College

Smith College*

Springfield College

Springfield Tech. Com. Coll.(STCC)*

St. John's University

SUNY New Paltz, Purchase, Coll.of

Environmental Science & Forestry*

Stevens Institute of Technology

Stonehill College

Suffolk University

Syracuse University

Texas A&M - College Station

The University of Arizona

The University of Tampa

Trinity University

Tufts University

Union College

US Coast Guard Academy

US Military Academy WestPoint

US Naval Academy

University of Bradford

University of Bridgeport

University of California, Irvine

University of California, San Diego

University of Chicago*

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Connecticut

University of Delaware

University of Denver

University of Hartford

University of Maine

University of Toronto*

UMass Boston

UMass Dartmouth

UMass Amherst*

UMass Lowell

University of Miami

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

UNH-Main Campus

University of New Haven

University of Rhode Island

University of Rochester

University of Toronto

University of Vermont

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Vassar College

Vermont Technical College

Wellesley College*

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Wesleyan University

Western New England University

Westfield State University

Wheaton College

Williams College

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester State University

Yale University

PVCICS High School

School Profile 2023-2024