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[quote=Anonymous]My kid is a graduate of City's IB program. I have mixed feelings about City and BCPS in general, but I will say BCC has a lot of very strong, dedicated teachers and they definitely helped sharpen my kid's writing skills, such that going to college and writing a 1200 word paper is no big deal.

Regarding IB, my kid will say they prefer AP to IB because the curricula is more straight forward and it seems like the AP credits are more widely accepted at colleges. (Though the second part might be a function of the college my child chose to attend.)

The positive of the IB program is that it's truly open to all -- that's one of City's mottos, "IB for All." On the other hand, I think there has been some watering down of the curriculum recently. For instance, where Theory of Knowledge (TOK) used to be a one-year class, it is now a two-year class, with most of the second year spent as a study hall cajoling the kids into finishing the paper they wrote in junior year. Likewise, the history curriculum for juniors and seniors seemed excessively focused on the IB history exam (i.e. we will cover Ghana both years, so that you can write about that in your exam.) Also, I think the City kids were not doing well on the IB Chemistry exam, so that is no longer one of the science paths the IB kids can choose from.

I think City can be a great education if your kid is self motivated. But if they're not motivated, it seems pretty easy to hide in large-ish classes and coast on grade inflation.

As you probably know, the school has been relocated to the UB campus for the next few years, which means sports are generally happening elsewhere. I don't think sports should determine the decision, but it's worth noting.

Anyway, that's my $.02. No school is perfect. My kid did fine. Good luck to you and your student!
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