Baccalaureate on Agenda

Pierson High School’s International Baccalaureate program, launched three years ago, is still relatively new and officials, hoping to ramp up participation this year, have invited students and their families to a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Pierson High School library, at which the program and its goals will be presented. According to Mike Guinan, Pierson’s new assistant principal, achieving an I.B. diploma “is its own reward. It helps students to become more independent learners, thereby setting them up for success in college and careers.”

Toward the end of the last academic year, the school found itself struggling somewhat to get more students interested in an I.B. diploma, the culmination of a rigorous curriculum in the junior and senior years. There are 16 seniors who are candidates for the diploma this year, but so far only 8 juniors have signed up. In 2013-14, there were 8 diploma candidates with 5 awarded, and the following year 8 diplomas were awarded among 11 candidates.

Mr. Guinan, who is the director of the program, has been looking through student profiles in the last few weeks, identifying strong candidates, and calling students’ families to gauge their interest. In addition to high school students, middle school students have been invited to learn more about the I.B. program for the middle years, which the district could soon be launching.

“The overarching goal is to continue to communicate, as much as possible, for whomever is interested in the community, the work we’re doing in I.B.,” Mr. Guinan said by phone on Tuesday. “It’s an opportunity for them to challenge themselves to achieve something extraordinary. . . . It prepares them very well for the rigors of higher education.”

Pierson’s I.B. program, which is the only one east of Hampton Bays, is an open-access program. That means all students are eligible to take I.B. classes  even if they are not on the I.B. diploma track. Most of the courses have no prerequisites, which allows classes to be more robust than if they were limited to those seeking the diploma, he said. Last year, Mr. Guinan said, about half the juniors and seniors at Pierson took an I.B. class, and 86 percent passed the 144 exams given with a score of 4 or better on a scale of 7. Such a score often yields college credits.

“We allow students to opt in to the coursework and we provide as rich and differentiated coursework as possible,” Mr. Guinan said. “We do not discourage students from entering rigorous classes. We won’t stand in their way.”

Pierson offers I.B. courses in literature, Spanish, French, history of the Americas, two levels of math, environmental systems and society, biology, chemistry, physics, visual arts, music, and computer science. For the diploma, another requirement is a two-year course in epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, which Mr. Guinan said leads to a higher level of self-awareness. The diploma also requires evidence of creativity, action, and service. Students must score a 4 or better on six I.B. exams, including three at the standard I.B. level and three at a more rigorous level, in order to achieve the diploma.

The International Baccalaureate is a nonprofit educational foundation founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1968. Its goal is to help students develop the intellectual, personal, emotional, and social skills needed in a rapidly globalizing world.

While the program is known for its high academic bar, it is also known for its costs. Districts pay about $13,500 to apply, the annual membership fee is $8,000, and professional development for teachers costs about $20,000. If the district adds the I.B. Middle Years Programme, for which an application is  underway, the fees may increase.

“I believe that the I.B. professional development is first class,” he said. “It’s not necessarily something we’re spending money on that we wouldn’t be spending in another way.”

Mr. Guinan said the program is financially sustainable at Pierson. “It’s a popular misconception that it’s overwhelmingly expensive. It’s not. If we have 11 students graduating with the I.B. diploma, and we have a graduating class of 80 or 90 kids, that’s a significant percentage.” He added, “I would like it to be more, because I am always striving for more.”