What Is an IB Diploma Program? Bainbridge Event Answers Questions for Interested Parents & Students

Oct. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- Motivated, capable students in Kitsap County now have another educational option available to them:  the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme.  Students and their parents interested in this two-year course of study came to Bainbridge Public Library on the evening of October 5th to find out more about the IB and to see if it might be a good choice for their family.  Barrie Hillman, Head of School at West Sound Academy (WSA), explained the history of the International Baccalaureate Organization, the structure of the Programme, and how it's been implemented at WSA.  Two WSA teachers, Laurence Kerr and Jim Kolb, spoke to the audience, along with two students currently in the program, Tim Hinrichs of Kleinmachnow, Germany, and Evan Romasco-Kelly of Bainbridge Island.

Hillman began the program with an answer to the question, "What is IB?" The International Baccalaureate Organization was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1968 as a non-profit educational foundation.   The IB was founded to address the needs of parents with international diplomatic or corporate careers.  Their children, educated at schools in different countries, had difficulty in getting their academic achievements in various countries recognized consistently and universally.  In the beginning years, the IB program consisted of a common pre-university curriculum and a common set of culminating exams for students in schools throughout the world, seeking to provide students with a truly international education.  More than four decades later, the IB organization has four main functions:  curriculum development, student assessment, training and professional development for teachers, and inspection and authorization of schools.

The IB has programs for three age groups (spelled "programmes" per IB's focus on English speakers throughout the world, not just in the United States.)  These are:  Primary (ages 3-12), Middle Years (ages 11-16) and the Diploma Programme (ages 16-19).  West Sound Academy currently offers only the Diploma Programme as an option for juniors and seniors enrolled at the school.  Hillman gave those present her "high altitude" view of IB - what the programme is and what it accomplishes as a whole.  "The IB focuses on the development of the whole child," said Hillman, "including requirements for arts and community service."  "There is a global overview that is always a part of IB, with an emphasis on intercultural understanding," she continued.  "The curriculum is "comprehensive, but flexible."


West Sound Academy's founders in 1998 had envisioned the school eventually offering the IB diploma, but in fact, a number of years went by before action was taken to make that hope a reality.  WSA was authorized to offer the IB Diploma in 2010.  This fall WSA's first Diploma Candidates started their IB coursework and will graduate in 2013.  Hillman pointed out that the mission of West Sound is similar to that of IB's, which is "to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect."  Hillman then went on to explain how this worthy goal for students' education is accomplished in an IB World School like West Sound Academy.

There are six areas in the IB curriculum:  Studies in Language and Literature (studies in the 'mother tongue'), Language Acquisition (foreign language), Individuals and Societies (History), Experimental Sciences, Mathematics, and the Arts.  Hillman explained the unique IB requirements for 11th and 12th grade students wishing to be Diploma Candidates - generally involving culminating examinations in May of the senior year and projects or papers that are sent to the IB organization to be externally assessed.  The IB requirements are unique from subject to subject, and also differ depending on which classes each candidate chooses to take at 'Higher Level' or 'Standard Level'.  (Three classes must be taken at the 'Higher Level'.)  This flexibility of IB allows all college-bound students to have the potential of earning an IB diploma.  For example, students who are strong in math take this subject at the Higher Level; students who struggle in this area can take the still challenging, but more achievable, Math Studies course.

One thing that distinguishes the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme from work in Advanced Placement or honors program classes is the IB core requirements. Diploma Candidates take a Theory of Knowledge  (TOK) Class, write a 4,000-word research essay that is assessed by IB examiners outside of the school, and complete a required amount of Creativity, Active, and Service Learning (CAS).  

Jim Kolb, West Sound Academy's TOK teacher, presented information on this course that is unique to the IB program.  "The purpose of this course is to challenge the students to critically and thoughtfully challenge their ways of knowing," said Kolb.  "We apply the analysis to all six IB areas and to their lives outside school."  The TOK also has assessment requirements: an oral presentation and an essay on one of ten prescribed topics that is assessed by outside IB examiners.

Hillman emphasized that the CAS component is more than students simply counting hours served in the community.  "This is experiential learning.  These are real, purposeful activities, with significant outcomes.  We want our students to take on personal challenges, do thoughtful consideration and planning, and take time to reflect on the outcomes and personal learning that has taken place."

Hillman presented the requirements for receiving the IB Diploma, a matrix of required levels of scores on the culminating exams in the senior year and scores on the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge paper.  Candidates don't find out if they get the IB Diploma until the July following graduation, but in the meantime WSA can report to colleges that students are enrolled in these challenging courses.  Colleges in the U.S. and Canada widely recognize IB coursework and the IB diploma as a valid predictor of college success, and so reward IB students with increased acceptance rates, advanced placement, and scholarship opportunities.

The evening's presentation ended with answers to the question, "Why IB?"  Hillman explained that this program is "more about the journey than the destination."  "The IB can prepare students for success in college and in life, by helping them be critical thinkers, open-minded, focused, and motivated."

Next week the IB students and their teachers will present  "IB Is a Lot Like You", a program for the public giving information about the International Baccalaureate Diploma on October 12, 2011, 7 p.m. in the Community Room at Poulsbo Library.  Visit http://www.westsoundacademy.org/resources/school-events/d... for more information.

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West Sound Academy: an independent college preparatory school for grades 6-12 on the Kitsap Peninsula in Poulsbo, Washington, providing a rigorous academic and art curriculum and offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in grades 11-12.