More Metro Detroit school districts creating International Baccalaureate programs
Some Metro Detroit school districts are starting to create their own International Baccalaureate programs to enhance academic offerings and save money, according to a report in The Detroit News.
In Washtenaw County, seven school districts are set to begin sending students to the Washtenaw International High School in the fall, which will teach the International Baccalaureate curriculum. The high school is part of a consortium started by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.
Today's report in the Detroit News stated many school districts in Metro Detroit have opted to start their own IB programs instead of funding the International Academy of Bloomfield Hills with their students.
This is similar to the route Dexter Community Schools took when deciding to create their own IB program instead of joining in the WISD consortium.
The Washtenaw International High School is set to open for the 2011-12 school year in the former East Middle School building in Ypsilanti. The school will hold 600 students with 150 students joining in each of the school’s first four years. The allotment for students will be determined according to the size of each school district.
To read The Detroit News report, click here.
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Spyker
Fri, May 20, 2011 : 3:21 p.m.
This seems foolishly short sighted to me. The International Academy collected the minimum per pupil State stipend from each of the members of the collective for the students these schools enrolled at the Academy. Most (although not all) of the Oakland County school districts receive per pupil stipends that are thousands of dollars higher than the State minimum. These districts sent their students away to the Academy with a small allowance to be educated, and kept the remaing money within the home District to be spent as they wished. Sounds like blatant greed by the school districts within the collective. Yes, they now get to keep all of the stipend, but they also now have to provide classrooms, desks, books, Teachers, programs, etc to educate these students. It is very likey these high achieving students (and their families) will opt for another high school program elsewhere, one where in the "Home" district will receive none of the State stipend. The old adage of "Cutting off your nose to spite your face" comes to mind............
gild
Wed, May 18, 2011 : 4:14 a.m.
Yeah, and they're all evil evil commies. Who want to send the UN's black helicopters to penetrate our tinfoil hats and reprogram our minds with their secret microwave rays. Or something like that.
Lisa
Thu, May 19, 2011 : 12:04 a.m.
No secret microwave rays. Just junk education that is more indoctrination than academics.
Lisa
Wed, May 18, 2011 : 1:20 a.m.
What a horrendous waste of our taxdollars! How many of those schools are Title I? How many millions of our taxdollars from the 2009 Stimulus bill are being sent to Geneva Switzerland to support a UNESCO affiliated "social justice" program? Are you aware IBO signed an MoU with the Aga Khan's Development Network to put a more Islamic face on the International Baccalaureate programs? <a href="http://www.truthaboutib.com" rel='nofollow'>www.truthaboutib.com</a>
a2grateful
Mon, May 16, 2011 : 5:04 p.m.
It's great to see this exceptional IB program being supported here . . . Kudos!