One of the questions that parents and some school board members are asking is what's changed in the past month for Broughton High to be in danger of losing its magnet program.
After all, the school board had unanimously agreed on Oct. 21 that Broughton should keep its International Baccalaureate Program. But now a majority of board members are supportive of removing the magnet program.
School board member Beverley Clark, who is leading the charge to demagnetize Broughton, gave an explanation on Tuesday.
Clark said she was so "worn out" after the initial Oct. 7 vote to demagnetize Daniels Middle School that she didn't speak up about Broughton later. She said she would have raised her concerns about Broughton then.
Clark said the question you'd have to ask of Broughton, or any magnet school, is whether it would be healthy if not for the magnet program. She said the answer for Broughton was yes.
A similar rationale was given by school board member Patti Head. She said schools should only have magnet programs if it's needed to keep them healthy.
"Broughton doesn’t meet the criteria to be a magnet school,” Head said.
School board member Lori Millberg also explained her change of heart. She said she had backed keeping Broughton as an IB magnet school to help out Millbrook Elementary and East Millbrook Middle, both IB schools.
Since Oct. 21, Millberg said she's looked at East Millbrook Middle and seen how it's drawing magnet students from schools such as East Wake Middle and Carnage Middle. She said those two schools don't need to lose students.
Millberg said having an IB magnet program at Knightdale High would help strengthen the school. She said leaving it at Broughton would only continue to hurt Eastern Wake.
Comments
ObserverNY--Broughton still
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 10:09 — jenmanObserverNY--Broughton still has many AP courses. I was actually surprised at the number of courses that had IB, AP, Honors and regular sections. Eliminating AP might be an issue in other places but to me it looks like that is not the case at Broughton. I don't know about Garner High. My guess is that they don't offer as many AP courses because of the high F&R and the number of college bound kids who leave that school for alternatives.
AP and Honors
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 18:20 — ObserverNYJenman,
I checked the Broughton course offering guide and you are quite correct, many Honors and AP courses are listed as being offered. I was impressed that the school offers Latin and German. That said, it would be interesting to find out how many of those courses actually ran and what the pass rate was on AP exams.
I'm a little confused as to how IB is structured in your district since in the article it is referred to as a magnet program yet it seems to be lumped together with everything else. Is it considered a magnet because there is an entry requirement and students from other areas are allowed to attend?
It would also be interesting to see how many Broughton students chose IB instead of AP. I'm willing to wager that AP has higher enrollment, especially if you don't count the out of neighborhood students.
In my district, IB is self-select, meaning there are no prerequisites for entry, however we do not accept students from neighboring districts.
Obvious and evident that
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 21:55 — shank56Obvious and evident that WCPSS does it different from your school district. Can't speak to German, but I do know from the past that Broughton has at least 2 teachers teaching Latin. And from another post, there are around 180-190 juniors and seniors in the Diploma Program- so yes, there are more students taking AP courses.
PS: WCPSS does not pay for studnts AP testing fees, but I understand it does pay the IB testing/exams fees for its diplomma candidates.
The school board agreed
Tue, 12/09/2008 - 11:18 — KeungHui (author)The school board agreed during the budget discussion this year to stop blanket funding the exam fees for IB diploma candidates. The money was reallocated into a general pot to help students at any high school pay for exams, including IB and AP. I'm not sure how students will get this funding.
that seems unfair
Tue, 12/09/2008 - 07:28 — ObserverNYI have heard of this happening in other districts as well. There is no logical explanation for a district supplementing the cost of IB exams and not AP exams except for blatant favoritism or what amounts to "bribing" the students to take IB instead of AP.
To the blogmaster - I hope you will provide us with an update on the student protest scheduled for this afternoon. I want to say that I fully support the students' right to protest. Whatever my feelings are towards the IB program, I want to make it clear that I feel the students are the victims of educational power plays and in no way should be blamed or criticized for supporting that which they have worked hard for.
IB,....rigor?
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 14:02 — MOMwithAbrainIt amazes me that parents think the only way they can get rigor in the classroom, is by paying a foreign entity hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Private schools all around the country have elevated their rigor via a rich curriculum. They didn't have to pay some foreign entity hundreds of thousands of dollars PER YEAR to do what they could easily do themselves.
Pick the right curriculum, and you will save yourself a fortune.
Get involved. Why can't these administrators provide a good education that doesn't involve handing over curriculum and local control to a foreign NGO? What are you paying these administrators?? And they simply hand over their responsibilities and you accept this?
It's THEIR responsibility to educate your children. You pay them a large sum of money and they still fail? and now they want to bring in a foreign source?? ARe they ThAT incompetent that they cannot find a GOOD history book and challenge the students? They cannot find a GOOD science curriculum that teaches them science? They cannot find GOOD math text books that teaches them GOOD math??
Instead of throwing money at these problems, isn't it about time to hold these administrators accountable for their failures??
Remember this is a state
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 17:58 — vsheehanRemember this is a state that said 43% correct on the EOGs was a passing grade. Its not the text books,(well maybe trailblazers SAXON math better choice) its the county set curriculm has low expectations. Raise expectations and then you would have to deal with the low resources for kids who need help. Lower expectations then ta da everyone is passing and then the New York Times will do an article praising you for your high minority scores!! All this and you do not even have to spend a dime!
The county does not have a
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 19:32 — shank56The county does not have a curriculum - the State of NC sets the curriculum through the NC Standard Course of Study as I understand it.
And that state curriculum is what the EOG's and EOC's are given to measure achievement.
IB is expensive NONSENSE
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 13:25 — NHWhy not just admit that IB is expensive nonsense that you are being scammed with. The money does go to the UNESCO group and it is managed in Switzerland and subject to international law.
It is hardly local control and it is a social engineering program.
If you like world government, prefer the UDHR over our Constitution and Bill of Rights, want to promote the MDG and Agenda 21, then you will love IB.
And if you love all that crap, I feel REALLY REALLY sorry for you.
(If you are all engineers, your kids won't be able to do math either)
It seems the
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 17:49 — ncdad1It seems the without independant oversight that school boards might move the program around each year to who ever is the most vocal diluting the program's reputation ... oh, sorry that is what we are doing, right?
true the IB amth ans
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 13:41 — vsheehantrue the IB math adn science isn't up to my standards. That said please see past post about "Black Helecopter" theories and what most of us think about it.
IB originated from Ambassador's kids having to be in one school sytem to a new one then 3 years later a new one each one had diffrent requirments for graduation. IB was the answer to this and also the Calvert Home schooling curriculm.
So please take your conspirecy theories and go home. People want an IB curriculm because they will know their child is meeting a very high curriculm standard compared to what ever state they are in. My daughter went from one of the school of excelence to an IB elementary. She had 3* and 4 at her old school but was found to be behind at the IB school as its curiculum was much more demanding. Fun she was behind the most in math! So even though IB is not strong in Math and Science it is stronger then WCPSS curriculum.
Most of us?
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 07:36 — ObserverNYVSheehan -
Other than you and Jones Sausage, I don't see "most of" the responders on this blog speaking in favor of IB. Nor do you have the right to speak for "most of" the taxpayers in your area. This tendency by IBelievers to insult and attempt to discredit those who oppose IB is very tiresome.
IB is NOT a curriculum at ANY level! Being IBlind, I don't expect you to understand this, but I will try to explain. At the PYP and MYP levels, IB consists of globalist "themes". The local district still writes its own curriculum which must meet State standards. If a school is IB, it then must take those lessons and adapt them to suit the 6 "themes" (disarmament, radical environmentalism, globalism, etc). An MYP "Certificate" is worthless. It is not recognized as an achievement by ANY university.
That said, let's discuss the IB Certificates at the Diploma level. Since educators like Jones Sausage like to exaggerate participation in the IB program by including students who end up taking one or two IB courses because Honors and AP have been eliminated, you need to know a few things about IB Certificates. Whether HL or SL, the awarding of an IB Certificate occurs EVEN WHEN THE STUDENT FAILS THE EXAM! It is nothing more than a receipt for the exam fee and a reporting of the grade achieved on the exam. Period.
As for SL (1 yr.) IB courses, the vast majority of universities in this country do NOT recognize IB SL exams for college credit, unlike AP. Furthermore, many IB schools in this country tend to run IB SL courses over 2 yrs, why? Nobody knows. According to IBO, SL=150 hours. How does spreading 150 hours worth of "curriculum'"over two years increase "rigor"? It doesn't.
Mom With A Brain gets it. Voice of Reason gets it. NH teacher gets it. IB is nothing more than a tacit socialist movement to dumb down American education under the guise of improvement.
Yes, this is a small issue to us NYObserver
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 08:47 — Voice_of_Reason_If IB was our main problem, I would be alot happier. But we have a bigger issue that might have national implications. WCPSS is one of the largest school districts in the country. We are compared against high density urban areas because of the size. Wake County actually has a low urban density and made up of several towns and rural areas. The national interest comes into play when our economic diversity busing comes into play. The school system has won all kinds of awards, but the results are not there and in fact our school system is on a downward spiral. Reassignments of schools happen as often as every two years to achieve balance. We also have a severe crowding problem because growth has gotten ahead of school capacity. We are being forced into year round track schedules to meet that growth (at least they say) and those schedules do not necessarily coincide among siblings. To top that off, we have VERY rich people influencing the direction of our system.
Our school system has a good propaganda machine, to an outsider not reading this blog or a few small web sites, they would think we were top notch, with few problems.
That being said, thanks again for your information. It may be useful in the future.
In brief
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 08:20 — Dadof3Anything that adds unnecessary complexity in education policy is inherently problematic -- though, arguing about IB in our context is like arguing the problems with rudder design as the Titanic sinks. This is a great conversation about education in general, but a red herring for us in Wake County.
Stay on task.
with all due respect
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 14:13 — ObserverNYI would urge the residents of Wake County to explore the Fairfax, VA school system, not as something to aspire to, but as a very large district with similar problems and one with 13 IB schools. As an outsider, the two systems seem very comparable demographically and the IB program has caused considerable problems with redistricting, social manipulation of the FRL population, and many of the issues you are grappling with.
You will find that once you stop dismissing IB as a 'red herring' and realize that it should be more appropriately called the "red tide" , you will be able to sort out the educational issues in your district with much greater logic and clarity in addition to freeing up a sizable amount of capital to do so.
But is that the best model?
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 15:47 — Voice_of_Reason_The best model I have ever seen in schools is run by the federal government. Military children overseas enjoy it. A lot of people in the military volunteer for overseas assignments because of it. True the teachers are paid top dollars, but the concept is excellent. They too have to deal with turnover, harder they have to deal with public school failure. Also true they hold children to a higher standard, in the military, parents are actually talked to in a way they have to take notice.
As far as conspiracy theories go, I am certain of one: That there is a worldwide effort of the Communist Party to infiltrate governments through institutions like public schools and universities. I can't tell you how I am certain, but I am, I have seen undeniable proof. The UN has also been infiltrated, so has our press. So I wouldn't discard what these other bloggers are saying out of hand. Unless you subscribe to those beliefs and you just don't care. The UFO and black helicopter stuff is a smoke screen. There is a stealth ideological war going on and it has been going on for years.
Jones Sausage--I'm not sure
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 11:31 — jenmanJones Sausage--I'm not sure if you saw my post on the other thread, but Garner High's magnet draw area is going to be MUCH larger next year. This year about 4/5 of the county has Broughton as its IB option, but next year it will be closer to half.
Anyway, you make a good argument for keeping the magnet program at Broughton (the only good argument)--we've already invested much time and resources there. And I agree that increasing the magnet percentage is what is needed if Broughton's IB magnet status remains.
But they've got to move out significantly more base nodes than they are already proposing. And I would suggest that they need to move out the wealthiest/most expensive base nodes. It is absolutely unfair to force the rest of the county to make sacrifices at their own schools and in their own lives (long bus rides to magnets, etc) so that some of our wealthiest citizens can reap the benefits.
This goes for all magnet schools, not just Broughton. They should all have only a low income base.
here's the problem
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 11:42 — ObserverNYJenman -
At one point in time, I was of the opinion that IB was ok if it was restricted to magnet programs or charter schools. I'm not so ok with it anymore and here are the reasons why:
1. The definition of a "magnet program" has no real concensus amongst the educational world. In some states such as CT, it appears that there are "interdistrict" magnets, which are nothing more than general public schools which have been "converted" to IB and beg for students from other districts to attend so they can get State Aid.
2. IB is being used for social engineering purposes and targets low income/free lunch districts in order to avail itself of grants and Federal money.
3. Adoption of IB relinquishes control of local education to Swiss law.
Have you ever heard of such controversy over a Montessouri school? Or a magnet that offers a math-science focus?
patently false
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 11:55 — JonesSausage1. depends on the state/local laws.
2. Absolutely false. No federal money pays for IB, at least not in NC. Trust me.
3. Absolutely and egregiously false. Swiss law? IB schools in Switzerland aren't even directly under swiss law. There's more veracity is saying that IB in the US is controlled by Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster than by Swiss law.
lawd.
To JonesSausage
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 13:14 — NHRead their own documents at www.ibo.org
All IB doings fall subject to INTERNATIONAL LAW under the UN.
The program is devised by UNESCO and administered fromGENEVA Switzerland.
Do your homework.
It's the biggest most expensive scam to ever hit the taxpayers.
It's a social engineering program and I'd never let my kid participate.
Their goals are UN's MDG goals, Agenda 21 and all that other nonsense.
IB Swiss law Patently true
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 12:45 — ObserverNYRead the IB application forms, the ONLY form of contract which exists between the IBO and school districts.
http://www.ibo.org/diploma/become/documents/edpapplicationformparta.doc
I understand that any dispute arising from, or in connection with Part A or Part B of the application, or any other document relating to the application process, shall be finally settled by three arbitrators in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Geneva. The seat of arbitration shall be Geneva, Switzerland. The proceedings shall be confidential and the language of arbitration shall be English.
Regarding Federal grant money, it DOES exist for the MYP program but not the DP for low income districts.
http://www.realizethedream.org/programs/docs/san_jose_high_academy.pdf
The IB Programs are also supported by a Federal Magnet Schools Grant.
right...
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 13:46 — JonesSausageFirst, the arbitration clause you list is regarding legal suits against the IB brought by districts upset that they were not authorized (ie, if a school sues the IBO for denying them authorization), not education policy. Nothing could be further from the truth in that regard.
Secondly, the link you post about federal funds/grants for a program is for the San Jose High Academy singularly, not IB in general, and certainly not IB in NC, Wake County or Broughton/Enloe/Garner.
Nice try, tho.
IB IS EASY
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 13:34 — NHName one school that was denied acceptance?
You can't. Schools PAY for this and none are EVER rejected.
Head in sand, er, Jones Sausage
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 13:15 — NHYou cannot deny this is a program created by the UN via UNESCO and administered from Geneva Switzerland. It's in their own documents.
What are you trying to hide?
This is not local control... not anywhere near it.
Further documentation
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 09:14 — ObserverNYJones Sausage -
Since you didn't like my first, most readily available document regarding Swiss law and IB programs, I will now provide you with further documentation. These are official IBO sources, not some right-wing website, so you can either believe what I am telling you, or remain woefully ignorant:
http://www.ibo.org/documentlibrary/rules_ibworldschools/documents/DP_rules_en.pdf
13: Governing law
Swiss law governs these Rules for IB World Schools: Diploma Programme and all other documents relating to
authorization to teach the Diploma Programme.
http://www.ibo.org/documentlibrary/rules_ibworldschools/documents/myprules.pdf
Article 12: Governing law
Swiss law governs these Rules for IB World Schools: Middle Years Programme and all other documents relating to
authorization to teach the MYP.
http://www.ibo.org/documentlibrary/rules_ibworldschools/documents/DP_rules_en.pdf
Article 12: Governing law
Swiss law governs these Rules for IB World Schools: Primary Years Programme and all other documents relating to
authorization to teach the PYP.
So ...............
do you still want to claim my statement is "patently false"? Hmmmm?
.
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 18:55 — ObserverNY.
IB is a cancer
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 09:22 — ObserverNYWhen are school administrators going to learn that IB does not improve the "health" of a school, it only makes it sicker? IB causes divisiveness, controversy and a drain of taxdollars. It is an inferior, superfluous, wasteful program that should be sent packing back to Geneva.
www.truthaboutib.com
wow.
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 09:57 — JonesSausageI didn't think there was anyone out there more ignorant about IB than the school board is, but you proved me wrong.
So, how often do you cash your paycheck from AP and the College Board?
Not that you seem to want to be engaged in discussion on the merits of the programs in question, but I'll not initiate such a conversation for the very same reason that I don't challenge 8 year olds to games of pickup basketball.
No PAYCHECKS
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 13:17 — NHJonesSausage:
Neither ObserverNY or I get a paycheck from anyone. I am a retired teacher of 35 years and I have seen the destructiveness going on in our public schools.
This program is like paying for your own demise.
You will go down in history as one of the suckers who allowed this.
no paycheck here
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 11:32 — ObserverNYTypical ignorant insult from another IB Kool Aid drinker. I do not work for the College Board. I am the mother of two children whose school district implemented IB in 2004. Mr. Mathews of the Washington Post and Newsweek had his book Supertest: How The International Baccalaureate Can Strengthen Our Schools, co-authored by the Asst. Director General of IBO, Ian Hill and published by an IB Board member. There is most definitely a financial and political tie between Mathews' promotion of IB in the mainstream media and the IBO.
You wanna hit me with all of the alleged globalist merits of this UN supported program? Go ahead. I'm no 8 year old and I'd probably kick your ass in pickup basketball.
Hooray!
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 13:20 — NHYou go ObserverNY!
Believe me, ObserverNY doesn't need any helicopters to kick your ass Jones Sausage... ObserverNY has the facts and you don't and that's plenty.
I also have the practical knowledge because I had to teach under this type of garbage starting with Goals 2000.
We call your types, KoolAde drinkers...because you're one of thoes yuppies who've swallowed the idea that if it costs more, the devil could be providing it and it would be great.
that's neat,
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 11:48 — JonesSausagethat's neat, ObserverNY
What color are the black helicopters in your neighborhood?
A verse from the modern poet, Kurtis Blow:
Basketball is my favorite sport
I like the way they dribble up and down the court
Just like I'm the king on the microphone
So is Dr J and Moses Malone
The black helicopters in my
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 15:59 — ObserverNYThe black helicopters in my neighborhood are BLACK! Please stop exhibiting your ignorance on the Internet, weenie sausage!
Meow !!!!
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 16:27 — Voice_of_Reason_Anyway, the brown, yellow, and white helicopters in my neighborhood says you are welcome to send your black ones if they feel they need to be over here to get a better image... as long as they behave to the standards ours do. I hope they haven't heard they are being phased out by high tech black tilt-rotor craft, I saw one fly over yesterday. Oh, and make sure they are not armed, it's against our standards. :u}
In Cary, our helicopters are
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 16:36 — joeciullaIn Cary, our helicopters are beige.
Yes Cary’s helicopters
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 17:48 — vsheehanYes Cary’s helicopters are beige but the exact color of beige is still being discussed by the HOA designee committee. Until then No helicopters are allowed in Cary. The UN overlords need to fly around or land their craft and drive through Cary in Minivans with school, sports, and religious stickers tastefully displayed.
We get those in the summer
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 16:54 — Voice_of_Reason_They are piloted by people with dark sunglasses.
Careful
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 22:24 — SDR256Ya know, I know some of this was tongue in cheek, and I smiled. On the other hand, it is a kind of prejudiced joke you're proliferating here. Cary is more colorful now that you may think. We are hardworking people trying to build a life for our families, just like the rest of the county. We may be a little boring (beige), but what do you want for a bedroom community for a highly technical industry?? We're a community of mainly ENGINEERS, for godsake. What do you want? Hardworking, serious and pockets that will get no ink stains. But malevolent? OH, come ON!
It was meant to defuse a nasty fight going on
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 07:38 — Voice_of_Reason_Lighten up. Besides the black helos were a reference to conspiracy theory wacos that believe the US Government has fleets of black helos that will take over the country and ensave our people when the time is right. I gues it started near Area 51 in Nevada. Where they really do have them, but for other reasons that I would perfer not to disclose. :^). And besides all of our helos (all models , sizes, and colors) have to behave if they want to stay here, the HOA will be on them. Personally I like Cary except for the traffic. I find it a bit funny you complain about being sterotyped and then go ahead and stereotype, it hard isn't it. I think we are too touchy these days, and it causes a lot of problems. I grew up in the other South LA (Cajun country), we always had a lot of fun making jokes about outselves; some even made money out of it. BTW- Yes, I got the pocket protector pun.
I think you missed the
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 04:48 — vsheehanI think you missed the point. My joke was about HOAs and their unappreciative stance on displaying your “colorfulness”. Not that they are an evil force to be reckon with. If anything the tongue and check was towards another’s posters feeling that IB was an evil tool used for world domination. Hell it was a joke and when was the last time a good joke didn’t take liberties.. Hell my car has school and sport decals. Plus a vanity plate that praise my kids.
By the way, has the annually “help kids study for their SAT vocabulary” started already? A poster using Pith not Pithy a week ago . Now, a post using malevolent not as “wishing evil on others” but as an “evil force”. This annual activity is also another proud activity of Cary that poking fun at is not a bad thing.
But the bottom line is this
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 10:25 — Voice_of_Reason_Whether IB is a super program or not is not the issue here. The issue is equal opportunity to access, IMHO all this could go away if the IB program was a Charter School Program and the state would remove the cap on those schools. Or an alternative would be a merit based system with perform or perish admission. Not what we have now. Or here's a new idea, a public private partnership where the school could be subsudized by public money and those wishing to attend could pay tuition indexed on their family income. IB programs do not have a high F&R enrolment after all. It would allow low income children entry without tuition if it was done right. But State Laws would need to be changed. Just my stupid idea :>.
IB Charter School
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 10:45 — jane83Voice of reason
that is an excellent idea. maybe the BOE will read this and expend upon that notion. I'd be willing to raise my hand and support that--sounds very fair and reasonable to me
or...
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 10:56 — JonesSausage...since access to the program isn't going to grow elsewhere, and since moving it would require an outlay of hundreds of thousands of dollars and 2 years or more of application, authorization, and staff training (money that has already been spent at Broughton), why not raise the magnet % there?
There are other IB programs at 2 other high schools in Wake already. They are not successful, by any measure (though the reasons why are quite different). Thus, the simple presence of IB alone does not guarantee success; the work and committment of the students and staff at Broughton has, however, brought this success. Why not expand the magnet % and allow even more than the already great numbers of potential students to participate in Broughton's IB?
Why destroy something that works and succeeds very well--something that IS availble to most of Wake's HS students--in place of a potential program somewhere else? Most Wake students are already eligible to attend Broughton's magnet; why not increase that number even more? Punishing the program for its success is antithetical to the stated goals and aims of the Board.
The BoE's Ron M. might of been thinking similar thoughts
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 10:56 — Voice_of_Reason_He wanted to lobby the State Legislature to increase the cap. He was shot down and more or less ridiculed. Good Luck with this entrenched bunch.
JohnBrownsBody
Thu, 12/04/2008 - 18:02 — JGShas nailed it. When the BoE says BHS is healthy and doesn't need the IB program, that's like saying I can see really well, so I can remove my eyes. If the program is removed, BHS will not be the same school that so many cannot bear to leave. And, interestingly, MANY of the families who would be reassigned actually live closer to Sanderson than to Broughton, though they call Broughton their "neighborhood school." They would rather lose a stellar academic program that is available to most of Wake County students, than leave the school. Dog in a manger, if I've ever seen it.
But they did it to Daniels
Thu, 12/04/2008 - 20:55 — vsheehanBut they did it to Daniels too. That was an excelent program. It was Ok to get rid of that and expect Farmington Woods parents to bus their kids an HOUR away to go to a MS IB program.
School Health
Thu, 12/04/2008 - 11:04 — johnbrownsbodyWould Broughton be "healthy" without the magnet program? Perhaps.
Would it be less healthy than it is now without the magnet program? Absolutely.
Parents' willingness to send their children to a school is often a useful proxy for the school's quality. Currently, a small coterie of base parents, understandably hoping to avoid reassignment, is pushing for demagnetization at Broughton. Their commitment to the school even without its magnet program is evidently what has persuaded Beverley Clark, for whom I have tremendous respect, that the school would remain healthy in its absence. However, removing the magnet program (and in particular IB) harms the school in the end.
Consider the underlying determinants of school health, the factors that motivate parents to want their children to attend in the first place and the reasons (beyond transportation convenience) that base parents want to avoid reassignment. Broughton is a healthy school because it has one of the best IB programs in the nation. It is a healthy school because the IB program has attracted and retained many of the best teachers in the state. It is a healthy school because it draws students from around the county, so that its student body is socioeconomically and ethnically diverse. It is a healthy school because the course offerings and overall educational quality are high, but that quality is not independent of its magnet status.
Remove the magnet program, and Broughton loses diversity, top-flight teachers, and potentially its IB program. That unquestionably harms the school. In turn, it will over time reduce base parents' willingness to send their children to Broughton; the proxy for school quality currently being emphasized will eventually adjust to reflect the underlying changes in the school.
What to do then? WCPSS needs to maintain balance in the system; it is not fair that Broughton is a better school than Knightdale. It is not fair that Eastern Wake county schools are not yet as good as the oldest high school in the system. However, this is absolutely not a zero sum game. Knightdale should have an IB program, and I encourage the board to fund the several years of investment that will be required to launch one there. Long term, every high school would ideally offer instruction at the level of IB, right?
In the meantime, cutting off a successful program at a successful school robs Peter to pay Paul.
Definition of success and stellar
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 18:39 — ObserverNYSince Broughton has been an IB school since 2002, can anyone on this board tell me how many IB Diplomas were awarded to the Class of 2008? 2007?
I can tell you...
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 23:36 — JonesSausageBroughton's Diploma pass rate has been in the mid-high 80%.
The highest single year was an 89% and the average for the last three years has been around 87%
In contrast, the national average is around 68%, and the international average is 77-78%. Nearly all of the IB schools outside of the US are private/boarding schools.
I hope this info helps...
# not %
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 08:21 — ObserverNYJones Sausage -
I appreciate your response, however it really doesn't answer my question. 80% of 10 is 8. How many individual students were awarded the IB Diploma?
According to the district's PTSA info, the number of students participating in the DP drops by more than 80% from the number of students enrolled in the MYP. Why?