The Upper Grand District School Board is exploring an expansion of the International Baccalaureate program to North Wellington and Dufferin County.
The diploma program is for students ages 16 to 19. It’s an academically challenging program to prepare students for post-secondary education and is internationally recognized by universities.
A report reviewing the IB program was presented at a special policy and priorities meeting on Tuesday. One of the recommendations was for UGDSB to explore expanding the program. It’s currently only offered at Guelph CVI within the board although students from across the board can apply to the program, which started in 2016.
It’s a two-year program for Grade 11 and 12 and costs $2,000. There is a bursary for students and families who may need financial assistance for the fee. Students accepted into the program go through IB preparatory courses for Grade 9 and 10, although those courses aren't mandatory.
Staff recommended the program start in Grade 11 instead of Grade 9 because it gives students time to explore their academic interests. It could also help prevent students from dropping out of the program because 50 per cent of students leave the program before they get their diplomas. Admissions would start in 2026 if the change was approved.
There has been a wait list for students to enter the program since 2017. For the 2023/2024 school year 164 Grade 9 students were accepted and 88 students were on the wait list.
For the coming school year 135 students were accepted and 115 students are on the wait list. It is a prioritized wait list based on the scores students receive in their applications.
Students apply for the program in Grade 8 “to gain entrance because the number of applications are much higher than spaces available,” said Denise Heaslip, superintendent of education.
Staff also recommended the IB program expand to North Wellington and Dufferin County. The expansion would include considerations for how the program will be delivered which hasn't been determined, said Heaslip via email.
“Students are clearly benefiting from the learning opportunities provided by the IB program at GCVI and an expansion of the IB diploma program in Upper Grand would allow other students within the system to also benefit from accessing the program,” said Heaslip, in the meeting.
To expand the program offering some of the IB program courses online could be an option.
It costs about $600,000 to run the program as it is. It’s not self-sustaining and requires almost $100,000 of funding from the board each year. It was supposed to be self-sustaining in 2016/2017, said in the report.
Trustee Robin Ross gave an example that if $600,000 was put into a program at Norwell District Secondary School with limited students admitted to it, the program would stop.
“So I get that it’s a great program. My problem is, is that it is only ever applied to a very small group,” said Ross.
The report on the IB program review and the recommendations were received by trustees. Recommendations will be brought to a board meeting at a later date.
