INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — In response to Mr. Bessette's guest column in the Feb. 18 edition of the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, I would like to ask: What generous offer? My understanding is that WCSD is asking the community of Incline to “help get IB up and running” and has not provided any facts on how the district will fund the program in the future. So far Incline, not WCSD, has spent the majority of money on IB. Generous, indeed!

WCSD may need to cut $6 million from its current budget and possibly $18 million next school year. IB is a long-term investment including a yearly IBO membership fee of $10,000 per school and IB coordinators at each school. Additional teachers will be required. Where will this money come from? In education, it usually comes in the form of fewer supplies, program and/or staff reductions and increased class sizes. Schools may gain a foreign language and art teacher, but lose other important positions.

If the district is so committed to IB and “making Incline Village schools one of the best K-12 campuses in the nation,” then why isn't WCSD committed to paying for it?

Mr. Bessette states that IB could make Incline Village an education magnet for Washoe County. Wooster has had an IB magnet for years, yet not one Incline family has been attracted to it.

He goes on to say that “IB is proven.” Proven to do what? If he is referring to the district's goal of improving student achievement, I can not find much evidence of this at the K-8 level. Mr. Bessette also claims that IB is “uniquely capable of meeting the educational needs of our diverse population.” How? When I look at the PYP and MYP programs, both are simply curriculum frameworks.

When a respected Denver educator, Rob Stein, was asked to look into the effectiveness of IB at Denver Public Schools in 2007, his report states: “There is no available evidence that IB will increase student achievement in DPS schools or that the IB has had a positive effect on student achievement in similar districts or schools ... The IB, itself, publishes no such results.” Later in the report, Mr. Stein writes: “In sum, there are doubtless many potential benefits of the IB model, but the model is not proven to improve student achievement in schools with low-income populations, to narrow the achievement gap, or to bring low-achieving students up to proficiency in reading, writing or mathematics. While the IB model promises several benefits to student learning, it also comes with the potential of compromising other best practices for student learning.”

I agree that Incline schools need improvement. I don't agree that spending lots of money will bring this improvement. Research shows that quality classroom instruction, not curriculum or programs, is the single most important factor in increasing student achievement.

I suggest that instead of spending money (that we don't have) on one of the most expensive programs available, why not create our own culture of academic rigor for all students? Let's not rely on labels to improve our schools. Let's look at high-performing schools and see what best practices are in place.

Research shows that successful schools share common characteristics including: strong leaders, a clear vision, a focus on learning, high expectations and a system that holds both students and adults accountable for continuous improvement. Incline can do this without IB. Use available monies on proven programs and hold school board members, district officials, administrators, teachers, students and parents accountable for results.

— Teresa Eppolito is an Incline resident, a teacher since 1990 and a parent of four Incline students.