Anyone Have Any Insight on the "IB" Schooling Program?

Do you mean the International Baccalaureate program?

My daughter's school, is doing that. In the process of it.
Their middle school as well.

If this is what you are talking about, here are some links on it:
http://www.ibo.org/
http://www.ibo.org/pyp/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006...

It is a very highly regarded school program.
Internationally and highly regarded by top universities.

It is not just for gifted children.
It is a school curriculum.

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At our public school, they offer the International Baccalaureate just in junior and senior years in high school, and one of my children did it. It was an excellent, challenging program. At the core of the curriculum, they teach the kids to think critically (about all subjects, even math, which means studying math theory as well as regular calculus etc.; I dubbed the classes as "AP on steroids" meaning they are extremely challenging). At our school, you have to apply and be accepted into the program based on testing and interview process, but that may vary upon school. Colleges want to know if a child has been in an IB program and give a lot of weight to it in application decisions, we found. You are a long way from that though!! I think kids who do the program need to be bright and motivated, but also think a certain way -- like I said, the method is based on critical thinking. My son had an awesome experience with it, and his friends did too. A lot of them went into college for the sciences or math, but a few went into philosophy and writing too. Hope that helps a bit! Obviously, kindergarten is a whole different thing than high school, but I can say that our experience with it was very positive.

You will just have to tour the schools to see what is the best fit for your child. My daughter will be in kinder next year and I am applying for an intra-district transfer so she can attend the school that offers IB. I posted a question about a year ago asking about IB and I got very positive responses about it. One thing about it that makes it a good school is that it takes a HUGE commitment from all the staff because of the extra training everyone goes through. The school here just became IB certified after 3 years of working on the certification (it is a lengthy and expensive process). There was another school here that was attempting it as well, but they just didn't have the commitment and decided not to. I think some of the main points (keep in mind-my child doesn't attend yet, these are just some things I've heard) of an IB school is it teaches each child to think for him/ herself...important when it comes time for college. Also, so many other cultures are brought in. For example, some of the work posted on the walls was different government styles from around the world. In the 45 min once a week Spanish class, kids also learn about different countries that mainly speak Spanish. I moved here from Indonesia and so I was lucky to be immersed in another country and see first hand that things are not the same everywhere . Most kids don't have that chance, so I believe that an IB school is the next best thing!

Good Luck!

I am an IB certified teacher, although right now I teach AP rather than IB classes. One thing that is important to know that students who are entering the program in high school always get confused about is that with IB students earn a separate diploma. It's all or nothing. If you're in IB, you take all IB courses (the core courses, and some other courses like art as well, depending on what is offerred at each campus). With AP you can take whichever AP classes you choose. You can choose to take just one AP class, or you can take all AP classes. I know you are thinking about kindergarten right now, but on down the road this will be important. Some students are more suited for AP, some for IB. I love AP because it's what I teach, but I would love for my oldest son to be in IB. He's the perfect IB candidate. Unfortunately they don't offer IB in his district.

Those are magnet schools in Hillsborough County. They are highly sought after and there is no real qualification required. You apply just like you would for school choice. Your name goes into a lottery and if you are one of the people randomly chosen then you are in. If there were any near me I would be all over that! The deadline is approaching quickly though. You need to hurry up and get your app in if you want this.

I have done academic research on IB high school programs, which can be stressful for some high school students (as the high school student pointed out), especially if they had not been exposed to such rigor and theoretical thinking before. The IB program is philosophically different from standard education, even AP, as it takes a holistic approach to education. They develop critical thinking skills, give equal importance to all subjects (rather than emphasizing subjects that students already excel in, like AP or honors), and teach students to imagine themselves in their local community, in their own culture, but also as part of the broader world.

Personally, I love the philosophy, but it is not for everyone, just as homeschooling is not. Like someone else suggested, check out the IBO website, tour the potential school and try to meet the faculty, and see if it's a fit for you. It's great that you have the option to start your child in the program early (and if it is a fit, IB at the high school level will probably be much less stressful. Many kids talk about their IB friends and teachers as a "family," something that seems to get lost in very large, public high schools nowadays).

Whatever you choose, good luck! I have a first grader in a normal public elementary school, and we've had a good experience there, we just work on the critical thinking and global understanding at home a bit, to build those skills where the school does not.

We had 3 in our area when we lived in TX. It sounded awesome, but wasn't a lottery or anything. You just registered and....went. It was the public school for Euless, one in Hurst, one in Grand Prairie....they had excellent reputations though. If you were willing to drive, you could take your child to one of those schools whether it would have been your assigned school or not, but I don't know what the rules are there.....since you're paying taxes for another school district, I wonder if you'd have to pay some sort of fee if it wasn't your "assigned" school? I don't know really what they'd be doing so young, but the highschools I'm familiar with touted teaching children critical thinking and HOW to learn, not just teaching them stuff (or in these days, schools are all too often teaching them how to take a standardized test, not even real "teaching"). So, in theory it sounds awesome---critical thinking and logic is really missing from our educational system and is desperately needed. I'd love to have my boys in a school that stresses how to learn instead of throwing out facts. And in the high schools they required extra work be done and before graduation you write an equivalent of a thesis. Not only does this help you get into college, but you graduate the program with the equivalent of an associate's degree. My husband graduated high school with what we call an associate's degree from his school in England, so it seems to be what we would want. However, I have heard conservatives say those comments about one world and pro UN things and I have no idea what they're talking about. I haven't done the research to know what they're talking about, but would be interested in some credible information there. It's my understanding the IB World schools taught a broader world view, but honestly, I think at least the way I would define that, it'd be a very good thing. Too many kids I encounter have no knowledge of anything outside their own immediate community. I've taken children on mission trips that blew kids' minds to realize you don't really need an ipod and iphone to survive in life. Perhaps you should go to your local school's website since it seems from the answers you've received like different communities have different set ups, and get the details there. Good luck to ya!

I was in International Baccalaureate for 2 years in high school then dropped out because I had no other time for being a teenager. All of my friends in IB who finished all 4 years regret it now--they feel like they wasted a lot of their youth taking extremely difficult courses. They went to the same state schools as everyone else, and are now working the same jobs as everyone else we graduated with. If your child does well in it and loves it--go for it! If it becomes a big stress factor, please don't push your child into continuing.

My sister was in the IB program in high school about 15 years ago. Her class was the first class the school had and no one passed the IB exams. So they didn't get the IB diplomas, just their regular high school diplomas. Nevertheless, she loved the program, the curriculum and the friends she made. And she still had time for extracurricular activities.
Our school district only has a high school IB program and my daughter is in the 9th grade so she is taking the pre-IB curriculum. I love the philosophy of the program and the focus on critical thinking skills and community service. I would love to have been able to expose her to this type of curriculum in elementary school. I think that if you start in kindergarten it would be appropriate for virtually everyone. It is probably difficult for high school students to succeed in the program when they have had a less rigorous curriculum for the majority of their academic career. However, if this is how they begin their education I believe that most children could rise to the challenge.

I guess it depends on your worldview whether or not you would want your child to participate in the IB schools. IB schools train the children to think in a "one world government" mentality. They are very pro-UN. They scare me, to be honest.

You are hearing from a lot of people talking about the high school IB programs, but there is a such thing at the elementary level. For high school, you have to test into the program and it's very rigorous. My son goes to a school that offers IB for elementary. It is more about a curriculum that provides exposure to the world. I just asked my son what IB means to him (4th grade) and he said "social studies." It's not necessarily for advanced students in elementary like it is in high school.

Gifted is different. In Pasco County where I live, it starts in 3rd grade. Not sure about Hillsborough County. Pasco also has some elementary schools where all gifted kids are in the class together and they come from other districts for the program. In some of the Hillsborough County schools, gifted kids get pulled from their classes for 1-2 periods a day.