IB Possible for Local Schools

Members of the Cambridge School Committee discussed the possibility of implementing an International Baccalaureate (IB) program in Cambridge Public Schools at a public roundtable event yesterday.

The IB program proposes “international education” for students ages 3 to 19 “to live, learn, and work in a rapidly globalizing world,” according to its Web site.

Schools can offer IB courses either as an alternative or in conjunction with existing curricula.

“The subject areas are like courses available now at Cambridge Rindge and Latin,” said Evangeline H. Stefanakis, a Boston University professor who presented aspects of the IB program at last night’s meeting.

The thrust of the argument for the IB program focused on preparing students for college and creating a network of worldwide equivalency with other IB schools.

There are currently 2,294 schools worldwide, and 873 in the United States, that offer the IB.

“It started out only with private schools, and it has then since moved to public school districts,” School Committee Member Patricia M. Nolan ’80 said, describing the international reach program.

While some members were enthusiastic about the potential impact of the program, others were reserved about the consequences of implementing it in Cambridge.

“What’s unique about our district is that it has just one high school,” said Committee Member Albert B. Fantini. “Other cities can experiment with one of their many high schools.”

Other individuals present, such as Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent Thomas D. Fowler-Finn, called into question the IB’s track record.

He cited a public school in Berkeley, Calif. that has recently implemented the program and has seen racial disparities in enrollment.

“Their IB program has more white and ‘paid-lunch’ kids,” he said. “At the elementary school level it worked pretty well, at the middle school level it’s deteriorating—sound familiar?”

The proposal also drew mixed reactions from the parents present at the meeting.

Kat Sullivan said she was “concerned” that the School Committee is even considering an IB program, and found the conversation “upsetting.”

“Cambridge is quite different,” she said. “The fact that we are such a mixed population is going to mean trouble.”

Another parent, in favor of IB implementation, defended the measure as a means to stabilize enrollment.

“Statistically, our student population is declining in Cambridge,” she said. “We need to do something.”

The discussion last night was not the first time the Committee has considered the issue. The possibility of such a program was discussed ten years ago.

“We were very intrigued with the idea, and we discussed it back and forth in Cambridge for a while, and then interest dissipated,” said Mayor E. Denise Simmons, who was a member of the School Committee at the time.

Yesterday’s roundtable was “just an investigation,” though, according to Fowler-Finn.

“Right now, this is being done from the top down,” Fantini said of the initiative to discuss IB. “Only four members of the school committee voted to have this meeting.”

—Staff writer Vidya B. Viswanathan can be reached at viswanat@fas.harvard.edu.