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INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — So far we have heard a lot about the International Baccalaureate program and why it may be good for our community. At the Dec. 2 Diploma Programme information meeting it was disclosed that of the high school teachers polled, only two teachers are in favor of proceeding on the current “full-steam-ahead” approach, 10 were in favor of slowing down and fully investigating all the implications before proceeding and seven were against the IB program. As a former math teacher, I am curious as to why we don't have teacher buy-in for the IB program. What I've discovered since Dec. 2 is very interesting.
At one staff meeting in May the teachers were asked if they would like to find out more about the IB program; at the next meeting one month later the teachers were told the community had made the decision to proceed with the program.
Was teacher buy-in to the IB program seriously considered by members of the Incline Village Reflective Task Force? The members of the task force I've spoken with over the last couple weeks say it wasn't.
IB programs are typically implemented at broken schools as magnet programs to bring higher caliber students into poor performing schools. Three examples are: Wooster in Reno, Mira Loma in Sacramento and Franklin in Stockton. IHS is far from broken.
Mr. Pedro Martinez, the new deputy superintendent, told me that where he is from in Chicago the gifted students typically take the Advanced Placement courses and all students can apply to the IB program. I found districts that have dropped the IB program; one district tried but got sued by the ACLU.
IHS vice Principal Mr. Taylor said at the Dec. 2 meeting that at small schools such as Incline, having both AP and IB does not seem to work. This is a contradiction to what was said at the IB meetings last spring. Incline will likely go from 16 AP classes to none.
Many of the high school teachers I've communicated with fear the math and science departments will likely suffer the most. But the foreign language department will thrive. Since Newsweek has named IHS as one of the top schools in the nation more than once, why are we risking what we have?
If the goal is to increase enrollment, maybe we should spend $428,000 (the minimum amount we'll need for IB) over the next 10 years marketing what we currently have. When Lisa McLoughlin from www.truthaboutib.com studied our projected costs her final total came up to over $1,400,000 for the first 10 years. This site is very one-sided against the IB program, but all we have heard to date is a cheerleading session for the program. If the goal is to improve our schools, maybe we should start at the elementary and middle schools.
Two small schools have implemented IB programs: St. Helena High School (480 students) in Napa Valley and Aspen High School (530 students) in Colorado. At these schools very few students get the IB diploma. The national average is between 5 percent and 8 percent of eligible students. In addition, St. Helena is down to one AP course and Aspen is down to none.
In St. Helena this year, six students may graduate with the IB diploma. Next year they are hoping for eight. Incline has 334 students so if we can do as well as St. Helena we should have four the first year and six the second year.
At Aspen High School, they are hoping for 11 IB diplomas this year. Their goal is to get up to 15 IB diplomas per year. If our goal is the same as Aspen's, eventually we would end up with nine students per year getting their IB diplomas. In contrast, right now, we have about 80 kids taking at least one AP class.
Mr. Borba is the Washoe County School District's direct supervisor of our Incline administrators. Mr. Borba is a strong supporter of the IB program. On December 14 when I asked Mr. Borba why we don't have teacher buy-in to the program he told me, “I don't really know, but I have told Ms. (Jeni) Cross (Incline High School IB Diploma Programme coordinator) and Mr. (Gary) Lee (Incline parent and chair of the IB fundraising committee) that they are moving way too fast.”
I agree with Mr. Borba. What is the rush? As a community we must demand all the facts about IB before a decision is made that will affect all families with children in Incline.
— John Eppolito is an Incline Village resident and a parent of four children.
At one staff meeting in May the teachers were asked if they would like to find out more about the IB program; at the next meeting one month later the teachers were told the community had made the decision to proceed with the program.
Was teacher buy-in to the IB program seriously considered by members of the Incline Village Reflective Task Force? The members of the task force I've spoken with over the last couple weeks say it wasn't.
IB programs are typically implemented at broken schools as magnet programs to bring higher caliber students into poor performing schools. Three examples are: Wooster in Reno, Mira Loma in Sacramento and Franklin in Stockton. IHS is far from broken.
Mr. Pedro Martinez, the new deputy superintendent, told me that where he is from in Chicago the gifted students typically take the Advanced Placement courses and all students can apply to the IB program. I found districts that have dropped the IB program; one district tried but got sued by the ACLU.
IHS vice Principal Mr. Taylor said at the Dec. 2 meeting that at small schools such as Incline, having both AP and IB does not seem to work. This is a contradiction to what was said at the IB meetings last spring. Incline will likely go from 16 AP classes to none.
Many of the high school teachers I've communicated with fear the math and science departments will likely suffer the most. But the foreign language department will thrive. Since Newsweek has named IHS as one of the top schools in the nation more than once, why are we risking what we have?
If the goal is to increase enrollment, maybe we should spend $428,000 (the minimum amount we'll need for IB) over the next 10 years marketing what we currently have. When Lisa McLoughlin from www.truthaboutib.com studied our projected costs her final total came up to over $1,400,000 for the first 10 years. This site is very one-sided against the IB program, but all we have heard to date is a cheerleading session for the program. If the goal is to improve our schools, maybe we should start at the elementary and middle schools.
Two small schools have implemented IB programs: St. Helena High School (480 students) in Napa Valley and Aspen High School (530 students) in Colorado. At these schools very few students get the IB diploma. The national average is between 5 percent and 8 percent of eligible students. In addition, St. Helena is down to one AP course and Aspen is down to none.
In St. Helena this year, six students may graduate with the IB diploma. Next year they are hoping for eight. Incline has 334 students so if we can do as well as St. Helena we should have four the first year and six the second year.
At Aspen High School, they are hoping for 11 IB diplomas this year. Their goal is to get up to 15 IB diplomas per year. If our goal is the same as Aspen's, eventually we would end up with nine students per year getting their IB diplomas. In contrast, right now, we have about 80 kids taking at least one AP class.
Mr. Borba is the Washoe County School District's direct supervisor of our Incline administrators. Mr. Borba is a strong supporter of the IB program. On December 14 when I asked Mr. Borba why we don't have teacher buy-in to the program he told me, “I don't really know, but I have told Ms. (Jeni) Cross (Incline High School IB Diploma Programme coordinator) and Mr. (Gary) Lee (Incline parent and chair of the IB fundraising committee) that they are moving way too fast.”
I agree with Mr. Borba. What is the rush? As a community we must demand all the facts about IB before a decision is made that will affect all families with children in Incline.
— John Eppolito is an Incline Village resident and a parent of four children.
