Reply to 9th grade at AP school, then transfer to IB program: is this possible?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As long as we're talking without actual knowledge (a DCUM specialty!), it's worth remembering that there are only a certain number of spaces for IB transfers. So even assuming you could get an application for the IB program done, you'd be the last one on the wait list, following everyone who was in the lottery for 9th grade transfers.[/quote]

OP, this post has issues. The poster admits to not having any "actual knowledge." I do--our kid transferred from the assigned local HS to an IB HS. We did it before freshman year, but yes, your child can transfer starting in sopohomore year and will be fine academically.

Regarding the comment on space availability: [u]Any[/u] HS has only a certain number of spaces for transfers, IB or not. IB schools will make an effort to accommodate any student who wants to commit to IB. Unless your nearest IB school is so overcrowded that it can't add even a single student, your child pretty likely will get in as a transfer to IB. Academic reasons for transfers seem to be taken pretty seriously in FCPS. Ignore the stuff above about how 9th graders would be ahead of your 10th grader etc. You can't know that and the school will probably try to accommodate you if possible.

The FCPS "Dashboard" website that lists whether a given school is "closed to transfers" is notoriously unreliable -- please do [u]not [/u]look there, see that the school is "closed to transfers" and just stop at that point! Our IB HS was listed as closed to transfers and I was told that Dashboard doesn't reflect reality very well when it comes to students who want to transfer for academics (IB, AP, Academy programs, etc.)

The reference to an "application" for the IB program in the post above gives an impression (to me, at least) that it's some big deal ("...even assuming that you could get an application done"? Wow, it's just a couple of forms.). Look up the form for academic transfers for HS on the FCPS web site. Your child also will have to sign off on a letter of intent, committing to taking a certain minimum number of IB courses, but that's about it. You DO need to be aware of the deadline for getting this application to your child's current HS, which must sign off on it and then pass it on to the IB school -- stay on top of that, because you want to ensure that your current HS doesn't forget to get these forms to the new HS on time. I had to kind of push our base HS to ensure that people got these forms signed and sent to the other HS in time.

Your child can transfer just to do some IB classes. If he or she does the full IB diploma program, great! But a student can transfer just to take IB courses and does not have to commit to do the full IB diploma. Some kids do transfer intending to do the IB diploma then don't end up doing it after all, but as long as they take the minimum required number of IB classes to keep the transfer status (I think it's three but am not sure, so check) -- then the kid stays at the IB school and will [i]not[/i] be forced to transfer back to the original school etc. ALL students get an FCPS diploma -- it's just that those doing an IB diploma track get both the FCPS diploma and an IB diploma as well.

You DO have to renew the transfer every single school year. It's a pain but again, it's just a matter of forms being in the right office by the deadline.

At our IB HS, the 9th and 10th grade classes for kids doing IB track tend to be honors classes and many are run using IB structure and grading scales that, my child says, are like those used by IB courses in 11th and 12th grades, so your child [i]could[/i] get a tad of culture shock when it comes to grading structure, terms used for assignments, acronyms for various assessments, etc. Depends on how the specific HS structures its 9th and 10th grade years. But it'll be fine. You'll adapt quickly and so will your kid. If he or she is in mostly honors courses in 9th grade, that's the same basic curriculum as any 9th grader in honors, IB school or not.

The one requirement that can get in the way for some students who want to do a full IB diploma is the language requirement. The IB diploma requires five years of foreign language and unless a student already took the first year of a language in eighth grade, that can be tough to fulfill -- but it IS doable. (For instance, a friend's son just took Spanish 2 over the summer at home so he could enter the IB diploma program next year as a junior, and I've heard of some kids testing out of parts of the requirement...check with the IB school.) Again -- if your child doesn't want to do the full diploma but does want to take some IB courses, the language requirement shouldn't be an issue.

You absolutely should go now to your IB school's IB coordinator and discuss this in detail with your child there and with your child's 9th grade class schedule in hand. The IB coordinator should be able to walk you through all this. Bear in mind that many IB courses cover two academic years, which is very different from AP or regular classes, so you need to plot out a course over time, more than with some other programs. This is why it's key to work with counselors and advisers at the school.

Also, most IB schools have an information night - ours has one in the fall and one in the spring -- where former students, current students, parents of IB students, the coordinators and counselors etc. are all there to explain IB and take questions. Consider going to both if the IB school offers both spring and fall information nights, so your child can talk with some of the current IB students and hear the courses outlined.

OP, I'm figuring here that you know that when I say "your IB school" you realize I mean the closest HS to your home that offers IB. Your student must attend whatever is the IB HS closest to your home. You don't get to pick which one of the FCPS IB high schools your child attends. Be aware, too, that your child will not be allowed to ride a bus to school; at HS level, academic transfer students do not have bus privileges so you need to get your student to the IB HS on your own. But frankly, for us at least, IB is worth it.

Hope all that helps, OP. [/quote]

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