The International Baccalaureate Organization, founded in 1968 as a nonprofit educational foundation in Switzerland, grew out of international efforts to establish a common curriculum and university entry credential for students moving from country to country.

In addition, international educators were motivated by the idealistic vision that a shared academic experience based on critical thinking and exposure to multiple points of view would encourage intercultural understanding. Initial grants made it possible to build a curriculum leading to a “baccalaureate” that could be administered and received recognition by universities in every country.

The balanced curriculum and high assessment standards resulted in rapid growth and widespread acceptance, leading currently to approximately 500 IB programs in the US, 1400 schools in 120 countries worldwide and 40 schools in Florida.