The IB Effect

Secondary education in the Springfield area includes an international influence shaping not only the way teachers teach, but also how students learn. With two of the seven International Baccalaureate high schools statewide located in southwest Missouri, the program’s effect is being felt throughout the area’s education system.

For Springfield Public Schools, the IB program represents a 21st century approach to teaching that administrators say only is growing in reach. And it’s on the precipice of a milestone.

With the first graduates rolling out in 2000, the class of 2015 is slated to be the largest to date. Overall, 884 have received their diplomas, or IB certification, in one or more subjects, and 145 are in line this year, pushing the district past the 1,000 IB diploma mark.

Central High School Principal Ron Snodgrass said the program not only produces globally certified students, but also has helped improve the culture of learning at the center city school. Central High has for multiple years ranked on U.S. News & World Report’s list of best high schools in the nation on the back of its IB program.

“It’s been one of those programs that lifts all boats,” Snodgrass said. “Here, it’s OK to be smart. In some environments, that’s just the nerdy kids.

“Here, the nerdy kids are our leaders.”

The IB effect is visible.

Since IB classes began at Central in 1996, the school’s dropout rate has fallen to 3 percent in the 2013-14 school year from 11.6 percent the year before IB was launched. Total enrollment also is slowly on the rise, according to Snodgrass, to around 1,700 this year up from below 1,500 when he came on as principal seven years ago.

Joining Central High and south central Missouri’s Camdenton High School, Christian County’s Ozark High School began the Geneva, Switerland-based program in 2012 in an effort to address the needs of its high-achieving students. Since then, four other high schools have joined the IB mix: Lee’s Summit High, Lindbergh High in St. Louis, North Kansas City High and Raymore-Peculiar High, just outside the Kansas City area.

With a $10,000 annual price tag, it wasn’t a decision the district made lightly. Principal Sam Taylor believed it was the right choice to address the growing threat of OHS brain drain as parents in Ozark mulled options at Central, the science, technology, engineering and mathematics elementary in nearby Nixa and growing private school options.

Private schools seem to have bore the IB brunt well. Snodgrass said only about a dozen students a year transfer into Central High from local private schools or their home-school environments.

Dating back to 2007, area private-school enrollment has generally been unaffected by the program. Among the most popular schools, enrollment has been marked by modest increases, according to Springfield Business Journal list research. At Springfield Catholic Schools – the largest private school system in the area – enrollment is up 5 percent during that time, up nearly 12 percent at New Covenant Academy and Greenwood Laboratory School has realized a nearly 3 percent bump.

Beyond the IB core
IB at Central has influenced curriculum areas at Springfield’s other public high schools through the Choice Schools program, which emphasizes specific areas of education. With open enrollment for Springfield’s eighth and ninth graders, students can pick the high school they feel gives them the best educational opportunity.

“Because of some of the success Central has had, you’re seeing Choice programs at other schools,” said Justin Herrell, SPS associate superintendent of secondary education.

Glendale High School offers Quest, a program that focuses on innovative learning; Kickapoo High has Kickapoo U, a college and career preparatory program; Hillcrest High has a junior ROTC program; and Parkview High is developing a leadership program, Snodgrass said.

Jim Hubbard, Ozark assistant principal and IB coordinator, said the program is part of a broader effort by the district to boost opportunities for success after high school.

“We want to have pathways for kids across the entire spectrum as they come through school, depending on where they want to go when they’re done with school,” he said.

The district has automotive technology and construction training programs, as well as a school farm for agricultural education.

The comprehensive nature of the IB approach, as well as changes district officials had spotted at Central, helped spur initial interest, Hubbard said.

“Anyone who has been in the area very long can see the impact it’s had on Central High School,” he said, adding Ozark officials consulted CHS administrators during implementation. “Yes, we were influenced.”

Ozark’s first class of seniors will graduate with IB diplomas this spring. In all, 18 seniors soon will take their final assessments, but more are waiting in the wings. Hubbard said 22 juniors are taking IB classes and 24 sophomores have signed up for the program next year.

While the international education system is changing learning opportunities in the area, not everyone has felt the impact.

Joy Davis, head of school for Gloria Deo Academy, said the IB program has had a minimal effect on its operations. With a fall 2014 enrollment of 268, according to SBJ list research, Gloria Deo is the fourth-largest private school in the area. Enrollment in the fall was up 21 percent compared to the year before.

“The IB program has impacted enrollment very minimally. Over the past 10 years, we have had five students leave GDA to attend the IB program,” she said by email.

Robert Gronniger, head of school at Summit Preparatory School, also said the program hasn’t influenced its curriculum or enrollment, even though its enrollment trended down last year. In 2013, the school was serving 152 students, and currently 130 are enrolled. Director of Admissions and Communications Amy Maas said several Summit students moved away. In 2007, the school’s enrollment was 108, according to SBJ list research.

Beyond high school
According to IBO.org, more than 3,900 schools have signed on to teach IB programs, which emphasize students’ personal development in areas such as critical thinking, public service, athletics and the arts, alongside academic training. Worldwide, IB schools employ more than 70,000 teachers, educating more than 1 million students.

SPS’s Herrell said the IB numbers don’t tell the whole story.

“When you talk about the students who have been involved with it, you’re going to have a real variety of degree of involvement,” he said.

“To my knowledge, we are the only district [in Missouri] that has a full continuum, so we go from kindergarten through senior.”

Through its Primary Years Program, students at Boyd, Field and Rountree elementaries are exposed to IB curriculum. For example, at Rountree, all students learn about its language of focus, French, whether they ever seek an IB diploma or not, according to Melissa Morgan, SPS IB diploma program coordinator.

“In essence, any student in any of those schools is getting a component of the IB approach,” Herrell added.

Morgan said 488 Central students have signed on for IB classes next year, and the program boasts roughly an 80 percent success rate. Snodgrass said IB is designed to give students a deeper learning experience.

“College is out there, and it’s very competitive. IB is something different. It’s a different approach to learning,” he said. “The bottom line is, (students) are better prepared for the next step, the next level of learning. No question about it.”