Monfredo: Worcester Public School I.B. Academy- A Discussion That Needs to Continue
Saturday, January 10, 2015
The program being recommended for this academy is an International Baccalaureate Program. It’s a rigorous and more internationally focused curriculum. Enrollment would begin in grade nine. The IB program as stated by administration, is recognized as a “comprehensive and challenging curriculum and its mission emphasizes the importance of educating students to become knowledgeable, curious and compassionate young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. The I.B. program contains four elements: curriculum, assessment, professional development and school evaluation.
Any program that would benefit our students certainly deserves our attention, but a community discussion on the merits of the program, its impact on the rest of the student body, and its cost needs to take place.
A public discussion will take place this spring and I did propose at the last school committee meeting that we give additional information to the public on this proposal with a question and answer fact sheet.
Enclosed are questions that I submitted to Dr. Boone regarding the proposed program for the questions and answers session:
- Funding: Do we have the revenue to sustain a new program? The I.B. program does have many benefits and requires our system to have a serious long term commitment and professional development. Will we have the resources to sustain such a commitment? The cost, according to the information sent to us, will be at least $405,00 in its first year of fully enrollment of just two classes of 125 students … will we have the funds to do it? Will there be a fee required for students to pay for to complete the I.B. diploma program? Will funding the program have an impact on the lack of funding in other areas of the school budget?
- What will be the criteria for admission?
- What is the advantage to an I.B. curriculum vs. expanding the number of AP offerings? (financially, academically, and competitively)
- IB schools were originally designed to meet the academic needs of students, whose families (military, diplomatic) traveled and moved from country to country, esp. in Europe, in order to provide the same curriculum. What advantage does this curriculum offer WPS students that WPS cannot design itself?
- The current Innovation Schools established in Worcester were designed as cost neutral, how can so much revenue justify the establishment, implementation and sustainability of an IB school?
- What impact will this have on our existing programs at Goddard Academy and South High?
- Has any thought been considered for duplicating Goddard Academy at another middle school site and then tie it into one of our comprehensive high schools? Due to the success at Goddard Academy we now have a waiting list.
- How do college admission officers view I.B. certificates vs. a transcript with as many as eight AP courses?
- The IB curriculum is heavy into humanities. What effect would the I.B. academy have on the Engineering program at Doherty?
- Is the humanities course of study practical in today’s world with the emphasis on the need for students with STEM backgrounds?
- What other school districts in the Commonwealth support I.B. schools? Do these school districts (perhaps Wellesley, Weston, Needham) traditionally prepare the highest achieving students?
- In general how do American students’ score on I.B. exams compared to the scores of students from other countries?
- What constraints to Worcester Public Schools are there if an I.B. program is established?
If you have any additional questions please feel free to e-mail your questions and I will be happy to send them over to administration.
The questions submitted were generated after reading the research on the program for there appears to be a difference of opinion on this topic. On the positive side the program has much rigor and has a challenging curriculum. The program, according to research, helps students understand their own culture and national identity and then encourages them to explore other cultures.
Seasoned education observer Jay Mathews of the Washington Post contends that “both programs International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement) are top notch” but gave a slight edge to the I.B. program. In his words, he gave the edge because the exams demand more writing, having no multiple choice exams as the AP exams do, and because IB programs includes a 4,000 word essay requirement that AP lacks. He noted however, that in the United States, it was easier to get college credits for AP exam scores because universities have been slower to accord recognition to the I.B. exam based course results.
In addition, the availability of a quality educational program such as the I.B. gives a community a new meaning. Many parents choose neighborhoods based on the strength of the school system and opportunities for education of their children. Involved parents support the school, as they know that the school administration and staff are doing their best for their children. It is also important for the students to see that their parents are involved in their education.
Distracters talk about the cost factor of running such a school for many feel the I.B. school fees, new staff positions ( non teaching and teaching) student registration and subject fees, student assessment fees, and teacher training…travel fees, lodging expenses are very expensive.
In addition, there appears to be a higher cost for the I.B. test in contrast to the A.P. exam. Again, according to what I read the A.P. cost is $87.00 and the I.B. cost is $237.00 (registration fee plus exam fee.)
In many cases high scores on A.P. exams are awarded more college credit than scores on I.B. tests, thus saving parents thousands in tuition by gaining a full year of college credit after acing A.P. exams. Ultimately, whether a course has an I.B. label or A.P. label it is unimportant compared to the quality of a school’s principal and his or her teachers in the program.
As one can see there is a difference of opinion and the biggest obstacle appears on the sustainable and ability to fund the program. Will this program take away from the funding of other programs in our system? Will the city council offer more funding for education than the minimum as required by the Department of Education? As you recall last year several cuts resulted in reducing the teaching staff and for schools to lose key iterant staff members in their school organization. In addition, cost effective pre-school programs continue to be half day and not all kindergarten teachers have a teacher assistant in their classroom.
Let’s have an open mind on this issue, see what the funding looks like and pay close attention to the answers that will be forthcoming in the next few months. Readers what are your thoughts on this debate?
E-mail me at [email protected].
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