Reply to why do people prefer AP schools to IB?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This thread is very enlightening.  I posted earlier about my experience at IB in Florida.  By the tone of the discussion in this thread, I probably wouldn't even be allowed to breath on the glass of the school.  We are childless at the moment.  I can't imagine how insufferable growing up here must be.  [/quote]

Florida poster. I don't have time to shift through so many pages again to read the details of your school, but I believe you posted several days ago about a magnet experience at an IB school and maybe even a test in school. The eastern portion of the county is functioning in the opposite way of a magnet. It is close to DC, yet it is in decline because the neighborhoods are getting older. Fairfax has put IB in these schools for the past 15-20 years hoping it would revitalize the areas and it has done the opposite. There are just too many IB schools right there. TJ, a test in stem magnet school, is also nearby and sucks a lot of the brightest kids too. The neighborhoods are declining further and people are getting tired of paying additional taxes for additional teachers as well as the IB program. It is a high immigrant and FARM area. Class sizes for middle and high school were increased again last year for everyone about the 3rd time in 10 years. It is the only area of the county with IB schools right next to each other and people are frustrated that the school board cannot admit they made a mistake and fix this area. This is why there is so much frustration about IB. It is a more expensive program, kids aren't using it to the same level as AP, it is not serving the residents well there, and it is a factor in causing class sizes to rise. Their lack of action is prompting people without kids to fight against tax increases because they see the school board as ineffective so the schools are getting low on funding. You don't know all this because you don't live up here. I will not judge your school not knowing enough about it if you will let us handle this local decision. This question seems to come up every month for the past 3 years here and still the school board does nothing.[/quote]

to Florida poster - it does sometimes appear "insufferable", but the passion and commitment of many parents to education is the fundamental strength of the public schools here.  We tolerate and manage to generally remain civil.  To the respondent poster, you bring up an interesting point about TJ, which is that it draws, on average, approximately 90 students from the 24 HS in the division.  These are among the best students and presumably have among the most committed parents - this has an impact on the culture/feel/ambitions of the remaining students.  I don't know how impactful this is, but to withdraw the top 10% of academic students from every class must have some effect.

On another point, I understand that needs based staffing actually provides more teachers to schools with higher FRM and ESL populations - so there class sizes are lower in these schools as compared to the high SES schools (all else held constant).  I don't know how IB in itself results in higher class sizes.  The biggest factor is that spending allocated to students who are not ESL, FRM or SpecEd, hass fallen by more than 5% over the past 5 years.  This is what is resulting in increased class sizes.  I agree that families are sensing that their children are not getting equitable spending and the "value proposition" - i.e. "what does my family receive for my taxes paid" is declining for many families that don't have a special status designation.  School funding rises substantially every year, but it is allocated deferentially(and some argue inequitably) to various groups/interests/needs.

i'm agnostic on IB - it certainly is not for everyone - and as with every program, it is well worth studying the issue and evaluating whether some change could improve outcomes.  Superintendent Brabrand has pointedly said he is not funding more programs in this year's Budget and has implied that he is open to reviewing and challenging existing programs to find efficiencies.  I believe the School Board is committed to success but they respond to "squeaky wheels" and these are often groups with particular objectives and not necessarily those who represent the broad majorities in the system.  Keep at it.[/quote]

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