Who is the principal of the IB and International StudiesProgrammes?Dr. Aron Gabriel, the principal of South Iredell High School, will be the ultimate authority on campus. He is well-versed in IB in general and the Diploma Programme, specifically. He has been trained on DP implementation and spent 2009-2010 as the principal of Northview, an IB World School.
Michael Thier, Iredell-Statesville’sIB Director, handles day-to-day operations of the ISP and DP at South and will serve as the students’, parents’, and teachers’ point of first contact for all matters related to the Diploma Programme. He runs the IB Leadership team, which encompasses all three I-SS IB campuses.
Cam Downing, South Iredell’s MYP Coordinator Designate, will handle day-to-day operations of Middle Years Programmecandidacy at South and will serve as the students’, parents’, and teachers’ point of first contact for students in Grades 9 and 10.
What are the differences between Honors, Standard Level, Higher Level and A.P.?
Honors classes are designed to offer more challenge than typical academic classes. They provide limited college preparation.
A.P. stands for Advanced Placement. A.P. courses are equivalent to freshman- or sophomore –year college survey courses and they emphasize breadth (a surface level of a wide range of topics within a subject). They provide some college preparation.
Standard Level and Higher Level are also equivalent to freshman- or sophomore –year college survey courses, but unlike IB they emphasize depth (fewer topics more fully explored) more than breadth. However, Higher Level courses require more seat time and therefore they address both depth and breath. These courses are considered the best college preparation offered in public high schools.
What will the busing situation be and how will it affect amount of class time?Iredell-Statesville School system will provide transportation to SIHS from designated satellite stops within the community. Parents will be responsible to drive their students to a centrally located satellite stop where students will get on a bus and go directly to SIHS. This is similar to the transportation service I-SS provides for other choice programs, such as CCTL & VPAC. This transportation system will allow students in the ISP at South Iredell High School to be on the same bell schedule as every other South Iredell student.
Will there be after-school buses for activities at SIHS such as sports?Iredell-Statesville Schools does not provide shuttle transportation for athletics or after-school activities for any school and will notbe adding this service.
Where will ISP classes be located?
ISP students, like traditional students, will be located in classrooms throughout campus. Many ISP teachers will also teach traditional sections. There will be 5-6 ISP teachers in A building, 4 in G building, 3-4 in D building, 3 in N-building and 2 in B-building.
Will this pull resources away from SIHS? / Will IB have its own Booster Club?
ISP will continue to bring, resources to SIHS. Furthermore, the students in this programme will be SIHS students. Additional ISP needs will be funded by a district ISP budget and monies raised by its Booster club in the same way Athletics Boosters and Band Boosters raise money to fund the extras that those programs need. Because IB students are required to take exams in their senior year that total above $700 and are required to purchase their own texts for several courses so they can annotate, they have additional financial needs that necessitate the creation of a booster club. The Booster Club will help fund students who demonstrate need with those expenses.
Will SIHS students have access to ISP courses?
Absolutely. provided they fulfill three expectations:
- anapplication similar to that which students entering Mount Mourne or Northview complete:
- signed acceptance by them and their parent / guardian that the courses will be taught at a rigorous pace and with an international focus, and
- adapting their schedules in whole or part to fit the A-day/B-day schedule that we will be offering our students in order to give them maximum access to college-level classes. Only students on the A-day/B-day schedule will be able to take advantage of the classes we offer in this specialized programme. Students at Iredell County high schools typically operate on a 4x4 schedule, so unless they overhauled their schedules to conform to the A-day/B-day schedule, they would not be able to work the ISP offerings into their schedules.
Will ISP and traditional students be ranked together?
In the same way occupational prep students are removed from the class rank schema, ISP students will be removed. Mr. Gabriel has assembled a team to determine criteria that are not entirely grades-based to provide equal access to Junior Marshalls, graduation day speeches for seniors and other honors often determined by class rank.
Will the presence of ISP restrict access to A.P. or other classes for traditional students?
There will be nodifference in registration procedures between ISP and traditional students. There will be no priority access for either group. Students will choosethe courses they want to take, as has always been the case. Throughout theIredell-Statesville School system, A.P. courses are open to enrollment forany student, provided they have taken the pre-requisite courses from thetraditional catalog. If there are enough students who sign up for theclass, the class is made available. There will not be a reserve for ISP students or a cap that prevents traditional students from taking thoseclasses. In fact, as the Diploma Programme develops for the 2012-2013 school year, IB 11th and 12th graders won’t be taking any A.P. classes.They will take all Diploma Programme classes. Naturally, some of thecurrent 9th-11th graders who are taking ISP classes now might not want tocontinue as IB students. So that should increase demand for A.P. classes and will mean more optionsfor students who want college-level courses but not the IB programme. Themore students who sign up for A.P. classes, the more A.P. classes South, or any high school, can offer. I believe this will increase A.P. access,not diminish it.The presence of the ISP created A.P. classes in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and World History that otherwise would not have existed. It also created schedule flexibility for traditional students to take additional A.P.s they otherwise could not schedule.