A school program falls out of favor

In Philadelphia and around the country, the rigorous International Baccalaureate program is growing, with thousands of students joining over the last few years.

In the Philadelphia suburbs, two districts - Cherry Hill and Lower Merion - and the private George School in Bucks County offer it. But now Cherry Hill, among the area's top performers, appears poised to dump at least part of the program.

Though it seems to have fallen out of favor in Cherry Hill, the program was once held up as a scholastic marvel.

Since the program - which emphasizes critical thinking, community service and global perspective - began in Cherry Hill in 2000, it has sparked controversy, with opponents labeling it elitist and calling for its end.

Cherry Hill's program is more robust than many. There's a diploma program for high school juniors and seniors; a middle-years program for sixth through 10th graders; and a primary-years program in some elementary schools. IB, in some form, is in 10 of 19 Cherry Hill schools.

Late last month, Cherry Hill Superintendent David Campbell recommended phasing out the diploma program - the most academically demanding component, reserved for students who complete a full schedule of IB courses - and called for a vote on the middle and elementary programs.

"We do not have the capacity to be all things to all people," Campbell said in a statement to the community. Because Cherry Hill is not in a financial position to expand IB, phasing it out where practical is the best option, he said.

Though the school board will not vote until later this month, sources say it will likely endorse Campbell's plan.

Keeping IB is controversial even among educators. Teachers at just four of the 10 IB schools voted to continue the program.

IB costs the district $515,000, less than 1 percent of its $155.8 million budget.

But, Campbell says, it's a matter of equity, given that the program is not in all schools. The diploma program, which is offered only at Cherry Hill High School West, has not drawn many students. This year, only six students are enrolled, though 161 more take at least one IB course.

In a statement to the community, Campbell said his recommendation to end the diploma program was not an indictment of IB but "more a question of the equitable distribution of limited resources and the need for a core educational program among all schools and on behalf of all 12,000 students."

Campbell declined to elaborate, saying he preferred not to answer questions until the school board meets publicly tonight.

At a crowded, emotionally charged informational meeting last week, about 200 residents took turns at the microphone, with statements ranging from passionate defenses of IB and pleas for its expansion to arguments for why the program should be scrapped.

Danielle Bergman, an eighth grader at Rosa International Middle, has participated in IB in one form or another since first grade.

"It has made me a better person and a really good student," Danielle said of her IB experience.

She argued that Cherry Hill had not given IB enough time to develop before calling the question.

If the board phases out the diploma program, Cherry Hill will be diminished academically, she said. Her family would move so she could attend school in Haddonfield, a neighboring district considered to have top academics.

Parent John Tremble argued that the program should be considered a success because although few get IB diplomas, more students participate every year.

"I think this program offers so much that doesn't show up on test results - your global view - how does a kid in another part of the world think of something?" Tremble said.

Parent Jeff Kirk took another view. He said that although there were commendable things about the program, keeping a patchwork system didn't make sense. "We can do a much better job if all our schools had a unified curriculum," he said.

The program has some national momentum. In announcing his American Competitiveness Initiative last year, President Bush proposed boosting student achievement by training 70,000 teachers to lead Advanced Placement and IB math and science courses.

But in comparison with the hugely popular Advanced Placement program, IB is still relatively small. And Cherry Hill is one of only four districts in North America - and 90 globally - offering the complete curriculum, from primary years to diploma.

In a handful of schools around the country, there has been some anti-IB backlash, with complaints that the program stresses world culture at the expense of American civics. Most notably, the Upper St. Clair School District near Pittsburgh cut the program, ostensibly for financial reasons, though one board member said the program went against "Judeo-Christian" values.

But the district reinstated IB after parents filed a lawsuit, saying the school board had violated their rights to free speech and due process.

In the Philadelphia School District, five high schools began offering IB in 2005, thanks to a federal grant that also ramped up AP offerings.

"The school district always looks for rigorous and interesting programs, for expanding opportunities for its students," said Ellen Linky, assistant superintendent of the Office of Accelerated Learning in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia educators are so excited by the IB curriculum that they are expanding it to the primary and middle grades.

At Harriton High School in Lower Merion, where IB has been offered since 2000, IB coordinator Thomas O'Brien said the program had weathered ups and downs but was "alive and well."

This year's diploma class has 22 juniors and 21 seniors, and based on the applications for next year, he's looking at doubling next year's junior class.

This week, a visiting delegation thinking of bringing IB to the Rose Tree-Media School District in Delaware County was impressed by IB students. O'Brien was not surprised.

"Kids absolutely rave about the kinds of thinking and writing skills they know they're developing," he said. "They know that's going to pay off in college."

For the Harriton IB class of 2007, he said, it already has had an impact on college admissions, with three early decision admissions to Penn, an early decision to Cornell, one to Yale, and one to Lehigh.

"I'm not saying that the IB program did this alone - these are great kids - but IB helped," he said. "But if all you're looking for is a magic letter to Harvard, it's going to be a long two years."

The International Baccalaureate program has three components.

Eleventh and 12th graders take challenging courses that meet global standards. They can opt for a full IB diploma - all major courses in the program - or an IB certificate with a mixture of IB and non-IB courses.

At the middle grades level (grades six to 10) the program focuses on community service, and students must complete a project on a topic they select.

In the primary years, the program emphasizes several principles, including communication, risk-taking and open-mindedness. Students also study a second language.

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