International Baccalaureate Program Approved for Western Middle School

The Greenwich Board of Education voted 6-1 to expand the International Baccalaureate program into Western Middle School, after lengthy discussion Thursday night.

The vote appears to bring to an end, the continued controversy over the Swiss-based educational program that champions learning through critical thinking and questioning, and student engagement. The vote now means that grammar school students who attend IB schools will be able to continue to their studies with those teaching methods at the middle school level.

The vote came at 10:05 p.m. – nearly 90 minutes after Superintendent Sidney Freund recommended the board approve the proposal, and after nearly 2 1/2 hours of comments from the public and the board.

Freund’s recommendation also included the understanding that the district will retain a non-obligatory option to consider further expansion of the program to the ninth- and tenth-grades at Greenwich High School.

“It is not a new program or a concept,” Freund said in his recommendation to the board and more than 100 parents and teachers attending the regular monthly meeting held in the auditorium of New Lebanon School. “I believe the (vetting) process has been followed long before I was your superintendent. It began with a feasibility study in 2004.”

The school district first implemented the IB program at the International School at Dundee 10 years ago. More than a decade ago, the discussions were similar to what has transpired in recent weeks over whether the school district would concede curriculum authority to the Swiss program, concerns over program costs and whether students would benefit from the program and that their state mastery test scores would improve.

Leading up to the vote, the board listened to more than two dozen parents, teachers and members of the Representative Town Meeting who addressed the Board of Education. A majority voiced support of expanding the IB program to the middle school level, while one vocal parent, Sean Goldrick, reiterated his opposition saying he believed the education board was opening the doors to consider expansion to the high school – at the expense of the school’s successful Advanced Placement curriculum.

After board members traded some verbal sparring over the rather public attacks on the administration’s and board members’ intentions and dissemination of information, Board Member Natalie Queen said,  “I want to make a motion to implement IB MYP in grades 6 though 8 at Western Middle School.”

Several board members voiced their support of Freund saying they wanted to rely upon his judgment on how to proceed with the expansion of the IB program to the middle school level.

Nancy Kail said, “I don’t want micromanagement. We need to let him (Freund) do his job. We have sufficiently investigated IB and I want to vote tonight to approve.”

Before the vote,  member Marianna Pons Cohen continued to question the veracity of the IB program and said that the school administration hid a decision to move forward in its proposed 2011-2012 budget in such line items as teacher training. She said she was unaware that teacher training expenditures were for training high school teachers in IB teaching methods and by approving that training, there is the implication the district will expand the program to the high school level.

Both Freund and Board Chairman Steve Anderson said that all teacher training exercises will benefit students, regardless of the educational platform used.

As Pons Cohen continued her pointed line of questioning, there were audible sighs and moans, along with head-shaking and eye-rolling, from the audience.

When the vote was finally taken there was applause and most of the audience quickly left.

The board also in a vote of 6-1, with Ponns Cohen dissenting, supported continued International Baccalaureate-based professional development for teachers. Freund said the training – to be conducted during the summer – will cost $100,000 and that all but 20 percent of that will be paid for with a federal grant.

The board also directed Freund to submit this coming fall, a long-term proposal of how the district might expand the IB program to the town’s two other middle schools as well as into the ninth and 10th grades.

Board Member Peter Sherr was absent because of a business commitment. Ponns Cohen said she had a request from him that the vote be delayed because of his absence.