@chioK_V, as it states at the top of the story, Howard's Principal Paul Smith had nothing to do with choosing the students or teachers with whom I spoke. He gave me complete and total access to the school. I was allowed to walk into any classroom I wanted to at any time, and talk to any person in the building.

Just to clarify, lkeithlu, the lawyers for the Freedom from Religion Foundation did tell me the students at Soddy-Daisy mentioned their concerns to administration, but nothing was done. I was unable to reach any school leaders to confirm whether or not that was true.

I didn't graduate with an IB diploma myself, so I can't speak from experience about the rigor of the program. But keep in mind the college courses for which these students would be earning credit are general education classes: lower level English, science , foreign language, etc.

I appreciate both of your comments. I'm always looking for sources for stories, so please feel free to e-mail me (kgauthier@timesfreepress.com) and we can talk further.

Thanks for your time, Garry. I enjoyed my trip to Scottsboro!

Thanks for your comment--Zane certainly seems like a generous young man!

@elvisd, where did you work with the ineffective mentors? How should oversight be provided? By whom?

It's true, there is an overwhelming amount of data. Thanks for those links. I'll make sure to check them out.