In a reversal of national trends for cutbacks and contraction in education, Mission Bay High School (MBHS) has successfully obtained millions in additional funding as one of the few high schools in the San Diego Unified School District under the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. In addition, because of the grant funds, now grades 9 and 10 will become part of the IB Programme, thus enabling a continuation all the way from kindergarten through 12th grade in the Mission Bay High cluster of schools. This is unprecedented in San Diego County. “Our focus is that every child will be able to take an IB course at Mission Bay and that students can complete classes in the IB career certificate program as well as the diploma classes,” said MBHS Principal Fred Hilgers. The funds will be distributed over a three-year period, allowing for augmentation of the class curriculum, additional staff training, facility improvements and new technology in the classrooms. “The IB system encourages more high-level thinking skills,” said Hilgers when asked about the biggest distinction between the IB curriculum and standard state education. “You don’t just do, do, do. You have to think about why and how. There is more discussion and the auxiliary material is different from the state material.” Mission Bay has made inroads into advanced educational opportunities since its designation as a magnate school in the 1990s. Over the last five years the emphasis has shifted toward the IB Programme. There are 1,219 IB World Schools in the United States offering one or more of the three IB programs. Of these, 250 schools offer the Primary Years program, 416 schools offer the Middle Years program and 717 schools offer the Diploma Programme. The first school was authorized in 1971. The IB Diploma Programme is designed as an academically-challenging and balanced program of education with final examinations that prepare students for success at the university level. Many of the classes and the diploma program itself are treated as college level courses where course work is credited to a college applicant’s record. The IB program not only provides upper level course work to upper 11th and 12th graders at Mission Bay, but will also provide new educational opportunities to ninth and 10th graders as the curriculum allows students in each grade to pursue in-depth studies in a wide variety of subjects from marine biology to engineering to languages and art. “The classes and the process allow students to engage in a world language regardless of the subject, and this dovetails with the entire movement of the UC systems,” Hilgers said. The IB Programme appears to be providing staff and administrators with a much-needed forum to interact with leading instructors all over the world and to obtain rigorous training from throughout the region. Hilgers said that staff training is one of the bigger expenses associated with the program, but in an era of lower academic achievement across the United States, the IB Diploma Programme is offering some real solutions. IB Diploma Programme students study six courses at higher level or standard level. Students must choose one subject from each of groups 1 to 5, thus ensuring breadth of experience in languages, social studies, the experimental sciences and mathematics. The sixth subject may be an arts subject chosen from group 6, or the student may choose another subject from groups 1 to 5. In addition, the program has three core requirements that are included to broaden the educational experience and challenge students to apply their knowledge and understanding. There is also a community service component that increases students’ respect and participation in the community around them. In the near future, Mission Bay plans to hold a Cluster Festival in which parents and community members can come to find out about how this program is vitalizing not only Mission Bay, but Pacific Beach Middle School and the four local elementary schools: Kate Sessions Elementary, Pacific Beach Elementary, Bayview Terrace Elementary and Crown Point Elementary.