IB Program and Blended Courses

I believe that one of the best aspects of academics at WKHS is the range of choices and opportunities available to our students.  There is truly an option available to try to meet the unique needs of every student.  Sometimes it is the approach to the learning which varies and that is the case with the IB program and with the blended learning courses.  I wanted to spend a few minutes giving you highlights related to these options so that you are aware as you are scheduling your classes.

One of the top factors colleges consider when evaluating applicants is the strength of the academic schedule students take on during high school.  (And, of course, that they do well in those classes.)  One of the options that students can consider for selecting a rigorous academic schedule that also has the benefit of providing students with a global perspective and integrated learning to make connections across courses, is the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

Students who are interested in completing the full IB diploma program will have specific IB courses to take along with completing the IB exams, an extended essay, and a community action service project along with a Theory of Knowledge course.  Even if students are not sure that they want to take on the full diploma program, you can still participate in IB courses!  You can take just a handful of classes (or even just 1) if that is what appeals to you.  For example, students interested in Psychology or History might elect to take just the IB Psychology course or just the IB History course.  And there is an IB partial program that you can explore if you fall somewhere in the middle.

As an IB World School, our students have the opportunity to participate in a rigorous group of classes to push themselves to learn and grow.  Students that are in the IB program are among the first to talk about how much they have enjoyed the program.  If you have questions about IB I definitely encourage you to talk with students in the IB program or to Mr. Cooke who is the IB program coordinator.  And, of course, you can always talk to me too.

The number of Blended Courses being offered next year is growing again.  In the blended format, students will meet with the teacher for more traditional instruction, full class discussions, and other learning activities a few days a week and then the other days out of the week students will have the flexibility to take more personal responsibility for their learning by completing online assignments, engaging in digital conversations, and meeting individually or in small groups to push their learning forward.  As you are probably aware, Digital Art is a course that is only offered in the blended format.  This year students had the choice of selecting between regular or blended courses for AP English Language and Contemporary Voices.   For next school year, these 3 classes will continue to be available in a blended format, but more classes are also being added to the blended options list.  Multimedia and Advanced Multimedia will be like Digital Art in that they will now only be offered in a blended format.  Science Fiction, English 3,  and Spanish 3 will have the option of regular format or blended format.  Blended Learning courses provide an exciting opportunity for many students, but it will not be right for all kids so please know that the traditional format for these classes will also still be available if that is what you prefer.  Please note that if you are choosing a class that is offered in a traditional format and a blended format the numbers are the same, but the blended course sections have a different ending to the course code so if you do want to enroll in one of the blended courses next year, be sure to select the proper code/ course.