Support IB Proposal

My goals for my children's education include development of a lifelong love of learning, higher order thinking skills, and the gift to become good world citizens in the age of a global economy.

The best classes are those that encourage my children to think and apply knowledge across disciplines, not merely to memorize and regurgitate facts in isolation. Our schools are evolving to meet the needs of today's student and must continue to do so. Computers in the classroom were an important step in this process and now Highlands County is ready for the next.

The school board's willingness to back the HAART program went a long way to advance academics in our county. But what next for these students? They have become accustomed to new methods of inquiry and utilization of advanced technologies in our elementary and middle schools (Smart Boards, online programs and research, Power Point presentations, etc.). I believe they are ripe, ready, and fully capable of participating in the rigorous International Baccalaureate Program. Bartow's recent IB program ranking of third in US News and World Report's Top 100 High Schools in the Nation, illustrates that such a program is a highly effective tool in preparing advanced students for college.

One size will not fit all. Many students will continue to enjoy and even thrive in current programs. The addition of this program ought not detract from current offerings. The time has come to stop Highlands County "brain drain" where those who can, transfer to the Bartow program and then do not return here after college.

We want our children here, contributing to our community and hopefully returning after college to make this the best small county in Florida. What we put into our children's education now will return to us in the form of high quality services, new businesses, attraction and retention of professionals and visionaries, and in turn, more families raising children here. The time to act is now. I want my children to be able to look back and appreciate the high quality education they received here in Highlands County, which had them well prepared for the challenges of college and beyond.

Brittany Hay
Sebring