Case’s IB Program Serves Hundreds of Students

Editor's Note: Last week, a story on Mount Pleasant-Sturtevant Patch regarding Case High School students and the IB diploma generated some comments and questions regarding the school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program. We were intrigued by the questions our readers raised, so we spoke to Case’s IB Coordinator, Patty Hammes.

What is the IB Program?

According to the organization's website, The International Baccalaureate Organization helps students ages 3–19 “develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.”

Since 1978, Case High School has offered students the opportunity to take classes, exams and earn a special diploma through the IB Diploma Program. At that time, IB programs were only available for high school students and Case was one of a small number of schools in North America to offer IB. But in recent years, IB has expanded its offerings to include programs for elementary and middle school students and the number of schools offering IB in North America has grown as well.

Interest in the Program is Growing

This school year, approximately 480 students in grades 10–12 took IB or Intro to IB classes. Intro to IB classes are a step up from the advanced classes offered at Case and prepare sophomores for the rigorous demands of the IB classes in grades 11–12.

Because of the increasing interest, next fall Case will add two teachers to the roster of 21, who already teach IB classes. However, Hammes stressed these teachers are not dedicated to IB classes; they teach other subjects, too. Most teach two IB classes each day and three that are part of Case’s regular class offerings.  According to Hammes, IB classes average 25 students. None are smaller than 15 students and some have more than 30.

Hammes works half time as Case’s IB coordinator and half time as the IB coordinator at Jefferson Lighthouse elementary, which is an IB candidate school, seeking accreditation to offer the Primary Years Program (PYP).  RUSD’s McKinley Middle School is also in the midst of the accreditation process for the IB Middle Years Program (MYP).  Administrators at Case are beginning to investigate the possibility of offering the MYP for grades 9–10.

 What the IB programs costs

Accredited IB schools pay a $10,000 annual fee, which provides access to a myriad of resources and support that is needed to be an IB school.  Hammes says that there is also a $5,000 annual budget for staff development and training new teachers to use IB methodologies. While some classes may require special textbooks or materials, Hammes points out that books and materials would be needed no matter what classes students take; likewise, there would still need to be teachers on staff to teach classes, whether they were IB classes or not. 

There is an additional cost for IB exams. Students pay a $96 registration fee (once if they are full diploma candidates, each year if not) then an additional fee for each test they take. Fees are waived if the student qualifies for free and reduced lunch. Fees for taking AP exams are comparable but there is no registration fee.