TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Pre-International Baccalaureate Classes Start This Year

ADVERTISEMENT

MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: August 15, 2008

SEBRING - As the Highlands County School District works toward starting an International Baccalaureate Diploma program, pre-IB classes will begin this school year.

A total of 56 students were accepted into the pre- I.B. program - five at Avon Park, 12 at Lake Placid and 39 at Sebring high schools.

Students were chosen for the program through an application process, which included: grade point average, FCAT scores, teacher recommendations and a writing sample.

About 90 percent of those who applied were accepted into the program.

A few of the students at Avon Park High decided not to be in the program leaving only two at the school.
Heckman and Avon Park High Principal Stu Guthrie agreed that those two students should be allowed to transfer to Sebring High School. The administrators also agreed to actively recruit students at Avon Park High and recruit incoming freshman for next year's program.

Recruiting next year will give more time and more positive relations to the effort, which can include this years I.B. students going to the middle schools to talk to the incoming freshman, Heckman told the school board recently. "We will continue to train teachers; we will continue to involve all the teachers from Avon Park, Lake Placid and Sebring in our meetings and in planning curriculum." he said.

Guthrie told the board, "we do want the I.B. program, pre-I.B. courses, at our school and we will make every effort this time next year and prior to this time to recruit as many students as we can. We understand that it is not financially sound or feasible to have classes for three students."

Superintendent Wally Cox said that not everything the district does has to be financially feasible, but the concern of staff was whether it's good to isolate a few students in one class. Group discussion and group work, which is a part of I.B., is not practicable with only two students.

During the summer nine staff members attended a three-day training I.B. conference in Atlanta. Those who attended included: two Avon Park High teachers, two Lake Placid High teachers, three teachers from Sebring High School, Sebring High Principal Toni Stivender and Heckman.

"It was excellent," Heckman told the school board. "We all learned a great deal; the teachers are very excited; we had to change some things that we thought were going to happen."

Teachers will be teaching specific pre-IB courses such as pre-IB English, pre-IB social studies (world history) and a pre-IB science.

For more information about the pre-I.B. program, students should speak to their guidance counselor. Also, parents and students can contact Heckman at the district office.
Heckman said it's a two-year process to start the I.B. diploma program so with I.B. approval, this year's freshmen would start the program as juniors in 2010.

Marc Valero can be reached at 386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT