Dublin City Schools Implementing IB Program

International Baccalaureate Program To Prepare Students Globally 

By PAYTON TOWNS III - The Courier Herald

The Dublin City School system is in the first year of a program its superintendent hopes will push their students to be more than they can be.

Dublin school superintendent Dr Chuck Ledbetter was happy to have the International Baccalaureate program in the system.

"This is a very high end, highest of the high end internationally recognize academic programs," he said. "It's a Swiss program that is recognized around the world as having a very high academic standards. Students who finish with an International Baccalaureate certification on their diploma, are sought after and accepted in most any college any where in the world. It is very demanding academically and there's a lot of writing and a lot of research to graduate.

"Along with all of the course work and all of the things that has to be done, the student has to write a 4,000 word essay," Ledbetter added. "Bottom line, as one of my superintendent friends like to call it, it's AP on steroids. It's kind of taking AP to the next level. Every class is an AP class, and everything you're doing is really geared toward preparations to the finest college education in the world."

Dublin is currently in "applicant status" for the International Baccalaureate Program and that it takes two years to get the program fully funded.

"The first year, you're an applicant status and in your second year you are in candidate status," he said. "After that, if you meet all of the hurdles and do what you're supposed to do, you become an approved program."

According to Ledbetter, the school system is starting a middle grades program which is for those ages 11 to 16. This will prepare them for the high school program which is for those in eleventh and twelfth grade.

"We realize that this is not for every student," Ledbetter said. "We're trying to make sure that we're challenging each student to be the best that they can be. This is one more piece of the puzzle where we can help them all grow.'

The IB program isn't in every school system. Ledbetter said this one will be the first in this side of the state. He said there is one that was recently started in Macon.

"But there's nothing else around," Ledbetter said. "You'll have to go to Atlanta or Savannah to find the next IB programs."

About 15 years ago, Alabama was trying to get Mercedes to come to their state. The executives from Mercedes said they  wouldn't come there unless the schools had an IB program.

"A couple of high schools started an IB program near Tuscaloosa, Ala." Ledbetter said. "The IB has grown in Alabama and throughout the south the last 12 to 15 years. The bottom-line is the IB program is an internationally respected, top-line, academic program."

The IB program comes from part of the strategic planning that was done a few years ago. The idea was to have a "world class curriculum" Ledbetter said.

"We want to make sure that we're pushing every student to the very limits to what they can do and prepare them for when they leave Dublin High School," he said. "It's one more piece of putting together an overall picture of where we challenge every student and help them all become successful after they leave here."

"We want people to look and say "I want to put my children in that school." It could be a tool for development in this area. We're trying to do what we can," Ledbetter added.

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