School Officials Applaud I.B. Approval at HHS

In what school administrators are calling the realization of a long-term goal, Harrison High School will become a recognized International Baccalaureate (IB) World School starting this fall.

The designation makes Harrison the 10th high school in the New York Metro Area to offer IB classes, with most other schools located on Long Island. The is touting the move as an enormous step forward for the district.

IB is an international program that boasts a sense of international mindedness and a balanced curriculum. Current sophomores will be the first class at eligible to work toward a full IB diploma. Classes are similar to Advanced Placement (AP), in they are not a requirement but an opportunity for students who choose to pursue the full diploma or take individually.

“We believe IB offers greater breadth and depth of study, best prepares students for the challenges of college, and benchmarks their learning against international standards,” Harrison Superintendent Louis Wool said in a statement.

Students who choose to pursue the full IB diploma will take courses in six subjects, a minimum of three at high-level learning with the remaining at a standard level. The courses offered will be English Language Arts, Individuals and Society, Math, Visual or Performing Arts, World Language and Experimental Sciences.

The program also requires service to the community before graduation.

Harrison has been seeking IB admittance since 2003, when the district identified the program in it's strategic plan. The formal application process began in 2007, with an exhaustive application process that included visits from IB officials and meetings with parents, teachers and the community.

During that process a group of 25 Harrison teachers were sent to IB training to feel out the program. Almost all, Wool said, gave the IB program glowing reviews.

The district has chosen two teachers to help students and staff implement the new program. Dr. Christopher Tyler will serve as the IB Diploma Program Coordinator and Allison Blunt will serve as the Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) coordinator.

“I strongly believe that all of our students will be enriched by having engaging, authentic, and connected learning experiences which the IB curriculum, by design, fosters and encourages," Tyler said in a school-issued press release. 

Although the program will not directly replace Advanced Placement classes, the IB program will lead to a reduction of AP classes this fall. Wool said the high school will not eliminate the current AP program, but it has not been decided which classes will be kept and which will be fazed out.

"We haven't made final decisions because we are also thinking that some of the APs may be maintained for kids who choose not to pursue IB curriculum in a particular area," Wool said, adding that the school's math structuring will remain the same at this time.

Success in AP, IB and other non-required classes have become a key method for high school students to beef-up transcripts for the hyper-competitive college application process. According to Wool, IB diplomas and classes will do much of the same on a more world-wide level.

"Our kids are no longer competing against kids in the United States for college admissions, they are competing with kids across the world," Wool said. "We think it's the right thing to do on multiple levels."