SCHOOL BOARD TO FORMALLY END TROUBLED IB PROGRAM TONIGHT

We told you last month that the school district planned to drop the International Baccalaureate program following complaints from some staff and administrators.

Tonight, the school board plans to formally end the program with a resolution that declares it will be dead after this school year.

This comes after nearly $200,000 was spent on the plan.
Full agenda HERE.

See the resolution up for a vote tonight below:

RESOLUTION               3291

SUBJECT:                     International Baccalaureate (IB) Program 

WHEREAS, the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education acknowledges and accepts the value of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program concepts, including rigorous teaching and learning, a global perspective and the interdepartmental method of instruction;

WHEREAS, in 20__ the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education approved the proposal to implement the IB Middle Years Program (MYP) at the district’s middle schools over a three-year period;

WHEREAS, the timing of the implementation of the IB MYP at the middle schools coincided with the adoption of several state mandates, including the Common Core standards, PARCC testing, and ACHIEVENJ and TEACH NJ requirements;

WHEREAS, the implementation of the IB MYP has been difficult and less than successful for many of the middle school faculty, particularly in light of the adoption of the abovereferenced additional programs and standards;

WHEREAS, there is no substantial prospect that the circumstances that have hindered the implementation of the IB MYP are likely to change;

And

WHEREAS, it is the sentiment of the Board of Education and the Administration that the district should not continue to spend resources on the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program, given the above circumstances;  

WE THEREFORE HEREBY RESOLVE:

That the IB MYP should be discontinued at the end of the 2014/2015 academic year; and

That the district Administration and the middle school faculty will continue to work on strategies for  middle school instruction, that will maintain rigorous teaching and learning, a global perspective, interdisciplinary studies, and a collaborative teaching approach. 

More background on the decision HERE.