State College Area High School recently was approved as an International Baccalaureate World School.
The school first applied in 2017 for candidacy the nonprofit International Baccalaureate foundation, an educational organization offering globally-focused curriculum. Earlier this year the school board approved submitting applications to implement the IB Diploma and Career-related Programmes.
State High will begin offering the two options in the 2019-20 school year for 11th and 12th grades. More than 4,700 schools worldwide offer IB programs.
“This is an exciting addition to State High’s wide range of academic opportunities, making it even more diverse,” SCASD Superintendent Bob O’Donnell said in a news release. “Families who either wish to continue IB study from previous schools or who desire to experience it now have the opportunity. The program includes several courses that compliment our current offerings from which students may obtain college credit during their time at State High.”
IB courses focus on student-driven personal development and have components for students to develop their own creative and service projects.
For the IB Diploma Programme, students take at least six courses during their junior and senior years from six curriculum groups language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics and art. State High’s initial offerings will be Literature and Language; Language Acquisition B for students with at least two to three years experience in French, German, Latin and Spanish; Business and Management; Economics; History; World Religions; Physics; Environmental Systems and Societies; Sports, Exercise and Health Science; Mathematics (Applied); Mathematics (Theoretical); Music; Film; and Visual Arts
Courses are graded from 1 to a top score of 7 and diplomas require a minimum of 24 points. Students also must complete an interdisciplinary Theory of Knowledge course that explores ways of thinking and draws from the six curriculum groups. A 4,000 word essay on a topic of choice and an individualized project, worth one point each, also are required.
“I think that one of the main advantages to the programme, to attempting the full diploma, would be the interconnectedness of the programme and the core components, which really tie everything together and build the student as a researcher and as a self-directed learner,” said Jennifer Schreiber, IB Diploma Programme coordinator.
The IB Career-related Programme includes professional and personal skills, language development, a service-learning project and a project exploring an ethical dilemma in a career studies area. It requires a chosen Career and Technical Center pathway and two IB Diploma Programme courses.
The Career-related Programme ‘aims to teach personal development, intercultural understanding, effective communication, thinking processes and applied ethics,’ according to the district.
“When schools see an IB course on a transcript, their ears go up,” said Shelly Ishler, IB Career-related Programme coordinator. “They think, ‘This kid is really pushing himself or herself beyond what’s expected.’ ”
For some IB courses, students can earn college credit, as they also can with Advanced Placement classes, for which State High offers a number of options. AP classes will remain and Schreiber said IB courses differ by measuring learning at various points in addition to a final test.
In the winter and spring, IB presentations will be given in ninth and tenth grade social studies classes and students will be surveyed about their interest. Students and parents also will be given information prior to course selection in February.
Students can enroll in full programs or select individual classes.
“I am happy to be a part of offering this globally minded program because I believe our students will be entering a much more globally minded world as they grow up,” said Kathy Pechtold, State High associate principal and the IB Diploma Programme head of schools. “It’s an excellent addition to the high school, and I look forward to working closely with our IB students and families.”
