The International Baccalaureate (IB) program was founded in 1968 to provide a rigorous, well-rounded education for students throughout the world, enabling them to qualify for university study no matter where they had pursued their high school education. The program is a rigorous pre-university course of study, leading to examinations, that meets the needs of the highly motivated secondary school student. IB prepares students for adulthood by enhancing skills in creativity, critical thinking, technology, and international understanding. Students who graduate from the IB program are well prepared for college course work.
IB differs from Advanced Placement (AP) programs in that it is an international and comprehensive diploma program, rather than a national program where students may choose to enroll in only a few select courses.
At Lakewood High School, IB is a four year program.
The first two years, IB Prep, prepare the student for the IB Diploma program (11th and 12th grade). During their freshman and sophomore years, IB Prep students are required to successfully complete English, math, social studies,science and foreign language classes at an advanced level, as well as CAS (Creativity, Action and Service) activities.
Successful completion of the IB Diploma Program requires the achievement of receiving passing scores on examinations in six subjects, researching and writing a 4,000 word Extended Essay, taking the IB Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course, and completing 11th and 12th grade CAS project requirements.
Around the world, 2404 schools in 129 countries are sanctioned to offer IB programs, with 749 Diploma Program schools in North America. Currently, there are over 80,000 students in the IB Diploma Program. 82% of the IB program schools in the United States are public high schools.
Students worry that when they leave their former school, they will not be an integral part of the new high school community. However, Lakewood IB students are not isolated from the total high school experience. Every effort is made to encourage students to participate in choice electives, athletics and extracurricular activities, which are opportunities to interact with students outside the program. Since students come to the IB program from many different schools, most will be new to Lakewood High School and will be making new friends.
IB teachers are also an integral part of the Lakewood High School community. They have been specially selected for their teaching excellence, and do receive additional training by IB examiners from around the world.
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