Some Question Constraints in International Baccalaureate Program
Yolynn de la Cruz helps 4-year-olds Ali Corrie, left, and Asher Saul at World Class Learning Academy, which hasn’t adopted the International Baccalaureate program.KEITH BEDFORD FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
When the New York International School opens in September, the Manhattan private school will offer the usual slate of internationally themed amenities: a language-immersion program starting in pre-K, a network of schools around the world for cultural exchanges and a curriculum geared toward creating global citizens.
One thing it won’t offer: the International Baccalaureate program.
The so-called IB program—which was created in the 1960s to educate the children of ex-pat families living in Switzerland—has become one of the fastest-growing educational movements in the U.S., lauded for boosting test scores and improving college-admission rates. In 2014, more than 1,800 IB programs were offered in public and private schools around the country, up from 500 in 2004.
But several newer international schools in New York City have opted not to embrace the program, which they say is expensive and unnecessary for younger grades. They include Avenues: The World School in Chelsea, World Class Learning Academy in the East Village and the soon-to-open New York International School, which will be housed in a landmark building on the Upper East Side. Léman Manhattan Preparatory School in the financial district began offering IB in high school last year, but not for younger grades.
Some of the schools question the constraints imposed by IB in structuring classes. Others note that, unlike IB’s rigorous high school program—which offers a detailed curriculum, specific classes and tests equivalent to Advanced Placement exams—the program for younger children is little more than an educational framework. It requires schools to engage in interdisciplinary, project-based learning without dictating, or providing, actual content.
But the program has demonstrated results, supporters say, and provides untested new schools with external oversight to ensure they are delivering on pledges to parents.
“If somebody says there’s a better way, that better be proven,” saidAnjum Malik, who co-founded and runs the Alhambra-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an international nonprofit that does some educational consulting and has recommended schools implement IB. “People can make all kinds of claims, but where’s the backing?”
The newest of the globally focused schools, the New York International School, will be employing its own curriculum when it opens with pre-K and kindergarten students in the next academic year. The school, run by the British Schools Foundation, plans to later expand through eighth-grade and potentially include a high school.
Its model will diverge from the nine other schools the company operates around the world, which all offer the British National Curriculum, officials said.
“New York is a completely different market; it has completely different needs,” said Carlos Uslé, executive director of the New York school. Whereas the other schools in the for-profit network target expatriate families, “we’re aiming at the local population,” he said, adding that they were hoping to limit the number of international families to about 30% of the student body.
Students work through an exercise during a Spanish language class at World Class Learning Academy in December. KEITH BEDFORD FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Retooling for the U.S. requires a range of adjustments. Most of the teachers at the New York school will be American, not British. Classes like history and geography will be overhauled with a more American focus, and a language-immersion program in Spanish or Mandarin will be added. On the cultural side, girls won’t be required to wear ties as part of their school uniforms.
Mr. Uslé said that while the new parts of the curriculum haven’t been tested before, the company’s results in other countries should reassure families.
“That’s our asset,” he said. “That’s our credibility.”
But it is a track record less known in the U.S. than the IB system, which involves a rigorous, and costly, ramping-up process.
IB officials acknowledge that the accreditation process can be daunting and expensive, requiring schools to undergo a multiyear application process that can cost $19,000. Schools must provide extensive teacher training, host inspectors every five years for lengthy evaluations and pay annual membership fees that can reach $10,000.
“We don’t make it the easiest for a school that’s opening,” said IB regional director of the Americas Drew Deutsch.
Some education experts say that making the investment in New York doesn’t pay off. In countries where rote learning is the norm, IB’s inquiry-based approach to education makes sense, said Vimmi Shroff, co-founder of Peas, an admissions-consulting company in New York.
“But why would you have an IB school in the United States?” said Ms. Shroff, who advised New York International School.
Still, for an unproven school, IB can provide a cohesive vision, saidWilliam Phelps, headmaster of the British International School of New York, a nursery -to-eighth-grade school in Manhattan that is certified in IB and offers a modified version of the English National Curriculum.
While “it’s very hard to set up a school in New York,” said Mr. Phelps, “the IB is a philosophical framework which can unite the faculty.”
Regular inspections by IB administrators have been critical, he said, spurring the school to improve weak spots like how it tracks student achievement over time.
“Because I’m accountable to so many people, I have to make sure that my product is a premium product that is openly scrutinized,” Mr. Phelps said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
