Guilford County Board of Education

Guilford County Board of Education
Fall Retreat
October 2, 2010

To:

Members, Board of Education

From:

Beth L. Folger, Chief Academic Officer
Barbara Zwadyk, Chief Curriculum and Organizational Development Officer
Kelly Hales, Executive Director of Federal & Special Programs

Date:

October 2, 2010

RE:

International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme Admission Process and Criteria

Currently four of the district’s high schools offer the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme:  (1) Grimsley, (2) High Point Central, (3) Page, and (4) Smith.  The schools have very similar application requirements.  Included among the criteria are the following: 

  1. Algebra I prior to 9th grade,
  2. Level III or IV on all End-of-Grade/End-of-Course tests,
  3. submitting a writing sample,
  4. a letter of recommendation,
  5. at least a “B” average in grades 6-8 (the ideal candidate has at least a 3.0 GPA in all 8th grade courses),
  6. participation in extracurricular activities, and
  7. recognition of accomplishments.

Students apply for the IB program during the annual district wide magnet application period.  Schools then review student applications and determine acceptance based on application materials.  After review of the four schools’ entrance criteria, small differences are present, most notably in the writing requirement. 

The IB program is a rigorous academic program.  For students to be successful when the IB program begins in 11th grade, students must complete all state requirements by the end of 10th grade so that the IB requirements can be met at the end of 12th grade.

Since the 2008-09 school year, the requests to continue at the IB schools without participating in the IB program have slightly increased.  Students either no longer meet the academic requirements of the IB program, choose not to participate in the program, or no longer meet attendance requirements.

The administration is currently reviewing the admission process used at each school to more closely align the process for all schools.  The Grimsley IB application is attached as an example. 

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