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International Baccalaureate
program to be impletmented
Sandpoint High School is looking into getting the International
Baccalaureate program added into the offered courses in the next
couple of years.
Founded in 1968, the
International Baccalaureate (IB) program is an internationally
recognized program of higher learning.
The diploma program, which is
for 16 to 19 year olds, takes about two years to fully complete.
"The AP program is strong
enough now, we are building in a direction that we can now bring [IB]
in,” principal Jim Soper said.
The program consists of
completing six subjects: language, second language, experimental
sciences, the arts, math and computer science, individuals and
societies.
There are also three core
groups that are an extended essay, theory of knowledge, and
creativity, action, service.
“The IB program diploma is
recognized worldwide,” Soper said. “[An] SHS diploma is recognized
in the U.S. and maybe Canada and countries which we are on good
terms with.”
There are 582 high schools in North
America that have the diploma program.
To complete the program you need to
have 240 hours of study in three of the subjects and 150 hours in
the other three. That is about the equivalent of two years and one
year.
“The AP and IB programs would live
side by side,” Soper said. “You could do both.”
There is a two-year process for
a school to sign up and be approved by the international IB board.
“The first step is receiving
funding for teacher training,” Soper said. “It is up to Ms. Caber to
take the next step.
The process to apply
consists of a feasibility study and identification of resources, an
in-depth analysis, and a visit to the school by a delegation.
“I need to get buy in by
everyone, the staff, community, students,” incoming principal Becky
Caber said. “I am starting discussion with faculty and staff.”
The funding will
hopefully come from a private donor in June.
“Hopefully the process
will be started next year if people are gung ho,” Caber said.
The program will be
a challenge for both students and teachers. A sample of the tests
that a teacher gives are sent to an evaluator somewhere else in the
world and then both the teacher and students are given a grade.
“Lazy teachers that
like worksheets won’t make it in the IB world,” Soper said.
If the program were
implemented it would just be one more step towards raising the
educational bar in Sandpoint.
“Kids that have [an
IB] diploma are highly competitive to get into Ivy League schools,”
Soper said. |
