Mission Statement

The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the IBO works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

About Us

The vision of a magnet school for middle level students was presented in the spring of 1998. Dr. Morton Sherman and a group of visionary administrators came together to influence a change in middle level education for Cherry Hill. After extensive research, it was decided that the International Baccalaureate Organization's Middle Years Philosophy would be the magnet to attract students to this new school. In the summer of 1998 Ms. Tammy McDonald was appointed to the principal's position, thus beginning the work necessary to bring the Cherry Hill community together in support of a new school and philosophy.

Rosa opened its doors, or should we say, its gates, to six hundred students in September, 1999. Unusual in this opening was the fact that a certificate of occupancy was not issued for the Rosa building in time to open on the scheduled first day of school. Instead, Rosa International Middle School greeted its first students, not in the school building itself, but at the JCC Camp in Medford Lakes; thus our reference to the opening of our "gates". We stayed at the camp for four of the most adventurous and rewarding days one could ever imagine. Our spirit and sense of community were formed and our bonds grew stronger with each passing day.

Only one thing could literally dampen our spirits: Hurricane Floyd. We moved into our building after the threat of the hurricane passed, and began our journey in our new home.

We grew, in our second year, to a community of eight hundred students. As we developed and matured, our commitment to continuous professional development began to reap its rewards. A learning community of teachers was nominated by our administration and selected by the National Middle School Association to receive its prestigious "Teams That Make a Difference" award. This award was presented to this group of teachers at the National Middle School Convention in Washington, D.C. This was the first of many awards presented to Rosa over the next few years.

Additional awards for community and service came from the New Jersey United Cerebral Palsy Foundation naming Rosa International as its "School of The Year" in 2001. This award was followed by recognition from the State Department of Education honoring another learning community of teachers in 2003 with a "Best Practices Award" for their interdisciplinary work in a unit titled "Cultures in Conflict". Numerous awards from various state and local organizations honoring our commitment to high standards in a nurturing and supportive environment continue to this day. The support of our community and Board of Education allows this excellence to exist and grow, not only at Rosa, but throughout the Cherry Hill School District.