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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
Elementary School IB Program
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Anonymous
| Alexandria is introducing an elementary school IB program. Has anyone had a child in an elementary school IB program and what was your experience? |
Anonymous
|
I am new to the area, coming from Europe. I would appreciate your thoughts on the IB elementary schools in Virginia/Maryland. Thanks!
________________________________________ United States David A. Dutrow Elementary School 60 Curtis Tignor Road, Newport News ________________________________________ United States Highland Park Learning Center 1212 5th St. SW, Roanoke ________________________________________ United States James River Elementary School 8901 Pocahontas Trail, Williamsburg ________________________________________ United States Paul D. Burbank Elementary School 40 Tide Mill Lane, Hampton ________________________________________ United States Randolph Elementary School 1306 S.Quincy Street, Arlington How the above compare with thre ones inMaryland? United States College Gardens Elementary School 1700 Yale Place, Rockville ________________________________________ United States Thomas Jefferson Elementary 605 Dryden Drive, Baltimore |
Anonymous
| it;s 19:08 again: how do the IB schools compare with the gifted programs? Also, I read from the forum that there are other AP schools? What does AP mean? Many thanks! |
Anonymous
AP = Advanced Placement AP courses/exams are in high school. IB schools and gifted program are totally different. |
Anonymous
|
Every high school in fairfax county offers either the IB program or AP program. You can read a bit about the different programs if you scroll down on this page...http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/gt/advep.html
Although Fairfax County has a couple middle schools that offer the IB middle years program, I don't believe there are any IB elementary schools. The elementary schools tend to offer their own focus (a particular language, Core Knowledge curriculum, arts & sciences, etc...). |
Anonymous
|
There is a tiny private IB Elementary school in Fort Washington, Maryland, near the new National Harbor complex.
They are looking for their own building, so currently use rented space. It is not glamourous, but it is selective. The kids are bright, and learning. The curriculum is thorough. The kids are in a bilingual Spanish/English program and well prepared to transfer to WIS after elementary. It is also way cheaper than other area schools (though admittedly has much less in terms of facilities.) Maryland International Day School http://www.themidschool.org/ |
Anonymous
| Does anyone know any DC Public Charter schools that are IB schools? |
Anonymous
Shepherd Elem (a DCPS, not a DC Charter) is an IB candidate school - not sure where they are in the application process. You may have better response to your question about DC schools (charter and DCPS) if you go to the DC Public Schools and Charter Schools forum. |
Anonymous
| Yu Ying is IB-PYP. |
Anonymous
| Are the ES that are getting IB underenrolled? If so, that's been a way for the school system to draw students to these schools. |
Anonymous
| In VA, it seems like underperforming schools get IB programs. So my guess is this elementary school in Alexandria is failing and they are trying IB for something new. |
Anonymous
| 8:20 is on the mark. The school that is trying IB is Jefferson-Houston. The school has never met AYP and is at about 50% capacity. How it got that way is a long ugly story that involves a cynical (and probably illegal, if anyone would take the trouble to sue) redistricting that essentially drew a line around most of the public housing in Alexandria and segregated the children at the school. The result is that kids with parents who care enough to research their options and make a fuss (and can afford to provide transportation) have their child transferred to better performing schools (or just give up and go private, if they can afford it). The school is now in the middle of a big controversy over the future of the property. The school is about two blocks from King Street metro, and the school board has proposed a public/private partnership to redevelop the property with a much denser multi-use development that will include administrative offices for the school district, and, incidentally, a new school building. |
Anonymous
|
The other thing to consider is that the demographics for Jefferson Houston should change over the next several years. Currently, one Section 8 housing community is being torn down and replaced with $700K town homes.
Part of the reason to introduce an IB program is to encourage more affluent parents to have their children attend this school. As more affluence moves into the area north of King Street, there should be better quality of students in the schools. |
Anonymous
|
Wow. I am shocked that PP said, "better quality of students," to describe students who are clearly struggling academically. Wait... I really shouldn't be, this is DCUM. It seems that the schools are failing the children, but we make comments like that one about the children. *smh*
OP, we're not all like that... In any event, the demographics of JH may change given the push to decentralized subsidized housing in the City. JH would be the only IB elementary in the City. So, how the IB program will play out, remains to be seen and will likely have to be watched for a few years. |
Anonymous
| I am not the PP, and do not believe that students at JH or students in public housing are any less intelligent than students from other backgrounds. However, I do think that when students come from difficult backgrounds, there are likely things going on at home that may make it harder for them to concerntrate on their studies and more likely to act out. This isn't the fault of the children, but it does make it difficult to have a thriving academic environment. |