Rockville High School, Four Other Schools Seeking Approval of New IB Programs

MCPS Is One of Only Four School Districts in North America to Offer IB at the Elementary, Middle, and High School Levels


Over the last six years, enrollment in the rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) program in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has jumped 451 percent to nearly 6,000 students. Five schools, including Rockville High School, are applying to the International Baccalaureate Organization to offer this prestigious program in the next few years.

Rockville High School is the most recent MCPS school to seek authorization for a two-year IB Diploma Programme. It has 80 students enrolled in its pre-IB program. The other four schools applying to offer IB programs are Francis Scott Key, Newport Mill, and Silver Spring International middle schools, and College Gardens Elementary School. The middle schools are applying to offer the Middle Years Programme (MYP), and College Gardens is seeking to offer the Primary Years Programme (PYP) for students in Grades K to 5. The addition of the five schools will bring to 12 the total number of schools with IB programs in MCPS.

“The International Baccalaureate program is an important pathway to rigorous academics,” said Dr. Jerry D. Weast, superintendent of schools. “MCPS will continue to expand high-level opportunities such as this that will challenge our students and prepare them well for the future.”

MCPS is only one of four school districts in North America to offer IB courses at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The Richard Montgomery cluster also is the only one in Maryland where a student can be enrolled in an IB program from kindergarten through Grade 12.

Founded in 1968, the IB program was created in Geneva, Switzerland, to emphasize critical thinking, intercultural understanding, and exposure to a variety of points of view. The IB program has earned a reputation for rigorous assessment, giving IB diploma holders access to the world’s leading universities. Some universities guarantee admission or grant sophomore status to students with IB diplomas. Schools that wish to offer an IB program must go through a comprehensive approval process that can take up to three years.

“The growth of the IB program is one manifestation of the Board’s commitment to offering academic opportunities at the highest level to our students,” said Board of Education President Charles Haughey. “I am very proud of the 80 pre-IB students at Rockville High School who have taken on the challenge of this world-class academic program.”

Four high schools—Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Albert Einstein, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill—offer IB diploma programs that serve their local areas. A countywide IB program at Richard Montgomery High School is open to students through a competitive application process. In addition, Julius West and Westland middle schools already offer the MYP. In 2003, Julius West became the first middle school to offer MYP in the state of Maryland.

IB has grown significantly in participation since the first program opened at Richard Montgomery High School in 1987. In the 2005–2006 school year, MCPS graduated 340 students with IB diplomas. The school system is expecting to graduate 430 students with IB diplomas in the Class of 2007.

Student performance also is impressive. During the 2004–2005 school year, 88 percent of MCPS students’ IB exam scores were 4 or higher, qualifying them for college credit or advanced placement.
This compares with the average of 84 percent worldwide; 79 percent in the U.S., and 75 percent in Maryland. In 2005-2006, that number climbed to 89 percent.

In 2004–2005, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School ranked 38th in the world for the number of IB exams taken. Richard Montgomery High School ranked 47th. That same year, more than 80 percent of IB diploma candidates in Maryland were from MCPS.

During the 2006–2007 school year, the 80 Grade 9 students at Rockville High School will be enrolled in accelerated MCPS courses designed to prepare students for the full IB curriculum, which begins in the junior year. Pre-IB will be offered to 9th and 10th graders in the 2007–2008 school year.

Rockville expects to have IB certification by the 2008–2009 school year. The Class of 2010—this year’s freshmen—will be Rockville’s first IB class to graduate.

The two-year IB diploma program encourages students to become lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and responsible global citizens. In order to receive an IB diploma, students must fulfill the requirements of the internationally recognized rigorous course of study, along with MCPS and state graduation requirements. Students select IB courses from six subject groups: English, math, science, foreign language, world studies, and the arts.

In addition to the coursework, students who pursue an IB diploma must complete two Theory of Knowledge courses designed to teach students the philosophical basis to most academic disciplines. Students also must complete a 4,000-word extended essay and 150 hours of creativity, action, and service hours outside the classroom.

“IB does make a difference in how you’re seen and perceived by colleges and universities,” said Dr. Debra Munk, Rockville High’s principal. “We want our students to have a leg up on the college application process and to be as prepared as possible when they walk across the graduation stage.”