With Volkswagen just down the road and more than 40 German families at the school, Ooltewah High plans to take its program international.
Principal Mark Bean and his staff are in the planning stages this year to bring an International Baccalaureate program to the high school.
"It's a natural fit for our curriculum," said Beverly Hollingsworth, Ooltewah's IB coordinator.
WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE?Founded in Geneva, Switzerland, International Baccalaureate is a rigorous, internationally recognized curriculum that encourages students to be "active learners." The IB Diploma Programme, which is what Ooltewah High School is working toward, is normally taught over two years and includes six courses. In addition, the programme has three core requirements:* The extended essay: A requirement for students to engage in independent research through an in-depth study of a question relating to one of the subjects they are studying.* Theory of knowledge: A course designed to encourage each student to reflect on the nature of knowledge by critically examining different ways of knowing (perception, emotion, language and reason) and different kinds of knowledge (scientific, artistic, mathematical and historical).* Creativity, action, service: A requirement that students actively learn from the experience of doing real tasks beyond the classroom. Students can combine all three components or do activities related to each one separately.Source: International Baccalaureate Organization
If approved, Ooltewah would be the third Hamilton County school to offer the rigorous, internationally recognized curriculum. Brown Academy is the state's first elementary IB school, and Signal Mountain Middle School recently was approved to offer the program. Signal Mountain High School is waiting for final approval.
Hollingsworth said that with about 44 German families at Ooltewah and its feeder schools, the IB curriculum would assure they wouldn't be behind when they return to schools in their home country.
Schools Superintendent Jim Scales said he suggested the IB program at Ooltewah because of the projected growth in the area from Volkswagen and its suppliers. Plus, the school has a little extra space after some students were rezoned for East Hamilton School, he said.
"It would be attractive for Ooltewah High School and keep it on the move," Scales said.
Teachers and staff at Ooltewah will attend training this year, and full certification will be a nearly three-year process, Bean said. The first class to graduate with an IB diploma would be this year's eighth-graders.
"It's going to be some wonderful opportunities for some of our students. We have some very good kids that will benefit from this," Bean said.
At the end of the month, Bean and some of his staff will visit Dalton High School in Georgia, another local IB school, to shadow teachers and see how their program works.
This spring, Bean and Hollingsworth plan to go recruiting at Ooltewah High's two feeder schools, Ooltetwah and Hunter middle.
The IB program, which will begin in 10th grade, will be optional. In the next couple of years, students who express interest in earning an IB diploma will take a class load full of honors and Advanced Placement courses, Bean said. He anticipated starting with about 35 students.
Scales said Signal Mountain High School, which started out requiring all high schoolers to take the IB curriculum, now has made the program optional.
"In a public setting, we could not force all students to be a part of that program," Scales said.
Bean has identified 18 staff members at Ooltewah High, himself included, who will attend IB training. The training will cost $1,000 to $2,000 per person, he said.
"The training is expensive, but it will benefit every student that teacher teaches, not just those taking IB classes," he said.
Scales said the district would use money set aside for professional development, as well as money from Volkswagen.