I didn’t get a good vibe from the principal. Go to the admitted student session to be better informed.

Anyone knows the acceptance rate? Are the students in the regional IB program friendly?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I think the point that PP was getting at is that the regional magnets are now offering the same 9th and 10th grade cohort classes as RM does. Previously, all students were mixed in general Honors classes, so they didn't get some of the higher rigor with writing, critical thinking, and problem solving that helps students be successful in the Diploma Programme. The are also offering more courses and more with both SL and HL level. They can do this by having more students completing the program and preparing them better in 9th and 10th grade.

This! Springbrook's IB Coordinators are fantastic and work together seemlessly, they both seem to be able to answer questions for each other and are willing to engage with us. The staff up the rigor of the regional magnet courses (as compared to the regular honors courses, my DC says they are boring and slow), and have way more hands on learning opportunities. The coordinators are working with a parent group to support the program and provide a real magnet experience. They are really trying their best to prepare the students, despite what I perceive as an unsupportive principal who is all over the place.

Thank you- this is helpful! We will attend the info night on Wednesday. Do you know how many kids are accepted vs. applicants? We went to the RM night and it was a bit of a turn off. Looked like they only accepted about 12% of the kids and were really pushing the idea that their program equaled exclusive college placement. We are in this more for a different learning experience and a chance to meet new kids. I'm not trying to stress my kid out about college in 8th grade. Also, which homeschool did you choose the program over?

It is a school within a school. They had some (two or three?) Ivy League acceptances last year.

Anonymous wrote:
I think the point that PP was getting at is that the regional magnets are now offering the same 9th and 10th grade cohort classes as RM does. Previously, all students were mixed in general Honors classes, so they didn't get some of the higher rigor with writing, critical thinking, and problem solving that helps students be successful in the Diploma Programme. The are also offering more courses and more with both SL and HL level. They can do this by having more students completing the program and preparing them better in 9th and 10th grade.

This! Springbrook's IB Coordinators are fantastic and work together seemlessly, they both seem to be able to answer questions for each other and are willing to engage with us. The staff up the rigor of the regional magnet courses (as compared to the regular honors courses, my DC says they are boring and slow), and have way more hands on learning opportunities. The coordinators are working with a parent group to support the program and provide a real magnet experience. They are really trying their best to prepare the students, despite what I perceive as an unsupportive principal who is all over the place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I don't personally have a student in this program at Springbrook, I am familiar with one of the other Regional programs (Watkins Mill). The regionals provide an increase in IB capacity for the county while requiring the same exams as RM. All four programs follow the same general pathways and offer similar classes leading to the same IB diploma. If IB is something of interest, all programs are going to lead to the same outcome! For what it is worth, college acceptance rates jump by 5-20% for IB students vs total applicants at most US universities.

The IB Diploma Programme has the exact same requirements, no matter where you do it.

I think the point that PP was getting at is that the regional magnets are now offering the same 9th and 10th grade cohort classes as RM does. Previously, all students were mixed in general Honors classes, so they didn't get some of the higher rigor with writing, critical thinking, and problem solving that helps students be successful in the Diploma Programme. The are also offering more courses and more with both SL and HL level. They can do this by having more students completing the program and preparing them better in 9th and 10th grade.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I am not leaning on IB as an edge to get into college. I am mainly interested in it because my 8th grader does well in math but I think he needs to step up the writing and written analysis overall to prepare for college and he knows this too.

My junior in high school at our homeschool is a decent writer but I still don’t think the rigor or practice has been there. He is in AP World History and AP Lang this year so maybe it will start now??

I went to fairly average schools as a child and I know I had to write some pretty lengthy “reports” in 4th to 8th grade. Just not really seeing this in MCPS….

My kid went to RMIB. IB, in general, is great for writing.

My kid is a STEM person, and very high achieving . Does not enjoy writing. But, Blair was too far. I thought it would be good for DC to do IBDP to focus on their weakest area, writing. DC is now in college and said IB really prepared them well for college, and enjoyed being with other high achieving kids.

While I don't know anything about Springbrook IB, the IB program in general is heavy on the writing. There are IB specific rubrics that are used when grading. Every class has some time of Internal Assessment (IA) - whether it be oral or written presentation, and an extra class "Theory of Knowledge", which includes another research paper - "Extended Essay".

I would imagine Springbrook IB is no different in terms of what is required compared to RMIB.

Having stated that, some of the IB exams are less likely to be taken by colleges for credit than AP exams. So, keep that in mind.

OP here. I am not leaning on IB as an edge to get into college. I am mainly interested in it because my 8th grader does well in math but I think he needs to step up the writing and written analysis overall to prepare for college and he knows this too.

My junior in high school at our homeschool is a decent writer but I still don’t think the rigor or practice has been there. He is in AP World History and AP Lang this year so maybe it will start now??

I went to fairly average schools as a child and I know I had to write some pretty lengthy “reports” in 4th to 8th grade. Just not really seeing this in MCPS….

Anonymous wrote:Please share your experience with Springbrook IB. There are other threads on IB but most focus on RM.

Established in 1998, Springbrook's IB program is one of the older MCPS IB programs. While I don't know anyone who's completed it recently, I know someone who graduated from Springbrook's IB DP in the 00s. They had a good HS experience overall and went to UMD for engineering.

I wish I could be more helpful with current info.

Anonymous wrote:While I don't personally have a student in this program at Springbrook, I am familiar with one of the other Regional programs (Watkins Mill). The regionals provide an increase in IB capacity for the county while requiring the same exams as RM. All four programs follow the same general pathways and offer similar classes leading to the same IB diploma. If IB is something of interest, all programs are going to lead to the same outcome! For what it is worth, college acceptance rates jump by 5-20% for IB students vs total applicants at most US universities.

That’s simply not true. Have you ever heard of confounding variables and controls? Do t do the program bs it increases the chances to a college, do it bc it’s a good fit for the student.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I don't personally have a student in this program at Springbrook, I am familiar with one of the other Regional programs (Watkins Mill). The regionals provide an increase in IB capacity for the county while requiring the same exams as RM. All four programs follow the same general pathways and offer similar classes leading to the same IB diploma. If IB is something of interest, all programs are going to lead to the same outcome! For what it is worth, college acceptance rates jump by 5-20% for IB students vs total applicants at most US universities.

The IB Diploma Programme has the exact same requirements, no matter where you do it.

While that is true, RM only offers diploma and has a Chinese pathway for language acquisition. Alternatively, Watkins Mill has IB Career programme pathways and doesn't offer Chinese, only French and Spanish.

Anonymous wrote:While I don't personally have a student in this program at Springbrook, I am familiar with one of the other Regional programs (Watkins Mill). The regionals provide an increase in IB capacity for the county while requiring the same exams as RM. All four programs follow the same general pathways and offer similar classes leading to the same IB diploma. If IB is something of interest, all programs are going to lead to the same outcome! For what it is worth, college acceptance rates jump by 5-20% for IB students vs total applicants at most US universities.

The IB Diploma Programme has the exact same requirements, no matter where you do it.

I am noticing that more schools are going towards the track of "honors for all" so Springbrook offering IB regional (magnet) and IB diploma program offers a rigorous course offering for those students who need that challenge.

While I don't personally have a student in this program at Springbrook, I am familiar with one of the other Regional programs (Watkins Mill). The regionals provide an increase in IB capacity for the county while requiring the same exams as RM. All four programs follow the same general pathways and offer similar classes leading to the same IB diploma. If IB is something of interest, all programs are going to lead to the same outcome! For what it is worth, college acceptance rates jump by 5-20% for IB students vs total applicants at most US universities.

Please share your experience with Springbrook IB. There are other threads on IB but most focus on RM.