It has been five long years since the words “International Baccalaureate Organization” entered my vocabulary. In those years, I have regularly observed the disturbing tactics this organization and its supporters use to infiltrate public American school systems. Today, I want readers to travel with me through what I call an IB Triangle of Travesty, which is stealthily taking shape in New York, Georgia and California.
We’ll begin on the East Coast with Garden City, Long Island, New York. Garden City is an upscale, middle of the island Nassau County school district. In 2007, its high school had 1181 students with average class sizes ranging from 20-28 students. Incredibly, 0% of Garden City students are eligible for free or reduced lunch and only 2% are either African American or Hispanic. In Garden City in 2007, 98% of the students met the State learning standards in English and 99% in Mathematics. There’s an old saying I’m rather fond of, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
Yet for some unexplainable reason, in this dire economic crisis from which Garden City is not exempt, the district is not only putting together a bond referendum, it has already made secretive application to IBO and spent money on IB teacher training which was not in this year’s budget. The Assistant Superintendent of Garden City, Dr. Prendergast, is pushing hard for IB: http://www.gcnews.com/news/2009/0327/Front_page/005.html . In November, 2004, I had conducted a survey of the Directors of Guidance of all of the “top” high schools in Nassau County. I did so because the IB Consultant from Rockville Centre who visited Locust Valley told us that “all of the top high schools on Long Island are clamoring for IB”. At that time, I was told that Garden City offered 18 AP courses and that while they had “heard some discussion about IB as the Assistant Superintendent was from Rockville Centre (SouthSide IB HS) but that nothing was on the table at this time.” I neglected to obtain the AS’s name at the time, but even if it wasn’t Prendergast, she has apparently taken up the crusade.
What is most unconscionable is the fact that Prendergast is trying to make it sound like the district is simply “exploring” IB as an option and outright telling the community that no money has been allocated in the proposed 2009-2010 budget when the district has already spent roughly $12,000 training eight (8) IB teachers and administrators and an additional $17,000 to make application to IBO! Where did that money come from?
Now let’s take a journey south of the Mason-Dixon line to an elementary school in Georgia. Principal Sonya Bailey is probably a well-meaning soul. The following article outlines her strategy to implement IB in Lake Forest Hills Elementary School: http://www.wrdw.com/schools/headlines/41334552.html This story aggravated me enough to prompt me to send an e-mail to the Principal. This is what I wrote:
Dear Principal Bailey,
I am not the parent of a child in your school, in fact, I am not even a resident of Georgia, but of New York. But I am an American. It is as a fellow American that I am writing to you to request that you take a deep breath, put on your critical thinking cap, and grant me a few moments of your time and consideration by reading this e-mail.
I am one of the administrators of a website called
Truth About IB. I am also the parent in Chapter 45 of Jay Mathews' book Supertest: How the International Baccalaureate Can Strengthen Our Schools. We are developing a network of concerned parents across the United States who are opposed to the use of public money being spent on IB. Our objections are many and varied but are based on research, observations and personal experiences with IB and how
it has affected or will potentially affect our districts.
Every Principal I have ever met says they "care about children". I believe in their hearts they believe this to be true. It is because American children are forced to become the consumers of the IB product that we, as concerned parents, find the need to defend our children with a passion against left-wing indoctrination sold by a foreign non-profit organization in our public schools. Education is an emotional issue. I'm asking you to attempt to put aside your emotions for a moment and evaluate IB from the perspective of a business model.
In the article http://www.wrdw.com/schools/headlines/41334552.html it states that you are seeking to raise money privately for "start-up" costs for IB. Frankly, I am horrified. The article also says your school district is cash-strapped. How can you even consider spending the start-up costs, publicly or privately, for a program which will end up costing the taxpayers an annual expense of a minimum of $100,000? Are you going to continue to raise $100,000 a year from "private" sources for a public school to impose an educational program on EVERY student in your school?
You should be aware that a similar practice was attempted in a district on Long Island and was met with failure. In Glen Cove, a small group of parents (11) calling themselves an Educational Foundation, raised $10,000 so Glen Cove could "explore" IB. Teachers were sent for training, the application fee to IBO was paid. The high school was ready to schedule the final IB school "inspection" before authorization is granted, when the economic crisis hit. Due to economics and eloquent objections from educated parents in the community, the IB application was put on hold. After a $14M bond issue was defeated by voters in January, the district has wisely abandoned its pursuit of IB and has finally dropped the link to www.ibo.org on the district website.
It is my hope that you abandon your quest for IB and place your faith and energy in your dedicated teachers and students. You don't NEED IB. There are plenty of far less expensive and apolitical methods to improve educational outcomes and student centered learning.
Thank you for your time.
Now let’s hit the West Coast in Vallejo, an upscale community in the hot springs area of California, just north of San Francisco. Some parents are not very happy about what is going on in their district. Truth About IB was contacted by e-mail by one concerned Dad of two boys for advice and information about how to handle the IB shenanigans taking place. He is fortunate to also have another parent in the district who has done a little research on her own and had the time and energy to put together the following letter which was sent to many parents by e-mail:
Dear Franklin Parents:
There are many upcoming changes proposed for Franklin School. As many of you know, the board is looking into turning Franklin's 6th, 7th and 8th grades into an IB (International Baccalaureate) Charter School. The plan will be introduced at Wednesday night's parent forum. Our middle school program, according to many, is in need of enhancements. The IB Charter school is touted to be the vehicle in which we will be able to obtain the sought after changes. It is unknown and unclear if other options were thoroughly explored or considered.
Through this process of seeking change, it has been determined that our campus will be divided into 2 separate entities, Franklin School, a k-5 program, and Franklin Middle Years Charter Academy. Franklin will no longer be the traditional k-8 school as we know it. Nor, if you stay at Franklin, will a traditional school be an option after 5th grade.
While this program will offer many new and exciting programs to our students, there is quite a bit of controversy surrounding the International Baccalaureate Organization. The IBO is unarguably a program based in a political philosophy. Students and faculty must adhere to the IBO's values and beliefs. Few parents seem to be aware of the organizations values and philosophy, and most are unaware of the controversy.
Following is a list of websites I've come across regarding the IB and thought I'd share this information with as many Franklin families as possible in hopes that we, as a community, will make a well-informed decision, after reviewing both the pro's (which will be presented Wednesday night) and con's (unknown if they'll be presented) of the program.
http://www.ceopa.org/InternationalBaccalaureate.html ( The Commonwealth Education Organization, PA. has done an in-depth study of many educational programs and provides their analysis of the IB program. This site contains many additional links worth reviewing. ) http://truthaboutib.com/ (This site covers all aspects of the IBO, every link is interesting if you take the time to read through it all.)
These two sites provide links to many other IBO articles, I also have many other sites I'd be happy to forward upon request.
I'm including the following 4 links as they are current articles regarding the expense of the IB program and how, in light of recent economic downturns, schools need to eliminate the program all together. This is relevant to Franklin because one of the main points of bringing this program to Franklin is to increase revenue and to bring more money into the district.
I hope to see many people attend the forum, fully informed! Feel free to forward this on to other Franklin Families. Thanks for your time,
I deliberately left out the real names of the individuals in this article to try and prevent any unjustified attacks against them by IB supporters. The Dad reported back to me that the IB meeting was a “joke”, there was no cost presentation, only “happy” talk, and that there were approximately 20 teachers present who did not appear to support IB. The Principal refused to call on our patriot Dad who had his hand raised for so long that his arm and shoulder grew tired. No other programs have been explored. The Board of Education had scheduled April 16th as the date to officially make application to IBO, but based on the public objections, that date may be pushed back.
I certainly hope so. Good luck Franklin parents - and WAKE UP in Garden City and Lake Forest!
-Lisa E. McLoughlin 03/27/09
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