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What the Program Looks Like at South Forsyth High School



The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program has been implemented where I teach at South Forsyth High School. In order for the students to receive credit for the IB diploma, they are required to take six International Baccalaureate classes during their junior and senior year. The class requirements are one English, one science, one mathematics, one foreign language, one Social Studies, and one elective choice. Three of these classes must be Higher Level and three must be Standard Level. The International Baccalaureate Program defines Higher Level as requiring 250 hours of coursework and Standard Level as requiring 150 hours of coursework. At South Forsyth High School, this translates to students taking Higher Level International Baccalaureate classes over the course of two years. This means that the Standard Level classes will be taught over the course of just one year. The reason for the courses to be considered Higher Level is the deeper journey into the coursework allowing for deeper understanding. The content in the Higher Level course is more detailed and requires a greater application of skill than those of the Standard Level course. The catch is that some colleges do not recognize the Standard Level courses of the International Baccalaureate Programs, which leads to questions of why students should not take all Higher Level classes. South Forsyth High School requires that only three of the six classes in the program should be Higher Level. This is recommended by the high school due to it being impractical to bring about a workload of six Higher Level classes.

Students who are enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program must also participate in the program called CAS (Creativity, Action, Service). This requires students to participate in community service, theater production, or sports. The program emphasizes life outside of the world of academics in order to balance the rigor of the IB classes.

Examples of CAS activities include:


 * Volunteering at a Boys' or Girls' Club
 * Serving as Yearbook photographer or writer
 * Participating in performing arts
 * Competing on a school sports' team
 * Organizing a fundraiser or community service project