Sebring High Probable Site For IB Program

SEBRING - April Milicevic planned to drive her daughter each weekday from Lake Placid to Bartow so she could attend a school with an International Baccalaureate diploma program.

She also considered the IB program at Fort Myers High School.

So Milicevic and other parents of high-achieving students applaud the School Board of Highlands County's effort to start an IB program.

The school district's IB steering committee on Tuesday recommended the Highlands County School Board approve the program at the Feb. 26 school board meeting.

As many steps still remain to gain approval from the IB organization -- including choosing and training teachers and submitting two applications -- the committee recommended that a coordinator be selected to oversee the effort as soon as possible.

Superintendent Wally Cox announced Wednesday, upon school board approval of IB, that he would recommend Lake Placid High School Principal Ruth Heckman as the program's head, with a title of "principal on special assignment." She would assume her new role on July 1.

Sebring High School is the recommended location for the IB program, but pre-IB courses would be offered in Fall 2008 at all three county high schools to prepare all potential IB-program students.

School Board Chairman J. Ned Hancock said from 150 to 500 students in grades nine through 12 could enroll in the program.

Milicevic's daughter is an eighth-grader at Lake Placid Christian Middle School.

"I researched it [IB] and knew that's probably the route we would go when she got to high school," Milicevic said, "but I didn't know which school we would end up at. So I'm happy to see that Highlands County is trying to bring this here."

The district's timeline calls for the IB program to be instituted at grade 11 in fall 2010, with the first class graduating in 2012.

With the economic slowdown affecting budgets, Cox sought support from the community and parents for IB's start-up costs so that other important programs would not be affected.

"I feel a commitment has been made by the community," he said.

Parent Diane Juve said, "We have offered to raise funds to pay for the initial teacher training for this program. Our parent group is interested in providing a continuum of services to advanced students in the county and we are willing to raise the funds to make it happen."

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, International Baccalaureate describes itself as a challenging two-year curriculum, primarily aimed at students aged 16 to 19. It leads to a qualification that is widely recognized by the world's leading universities.