Those looking towards the future for their children in the Olympia area will be happy to know the International Baccalaureate Program will continue on.
Previously, school officials were looking to replace this college-level program with an Advanced Placement Program to save some money. Although the International program offers a great set of college-level lessons, the costs have continued to rise through the years.
The IB program cost more than $23,000 for the 2008-09 school term, which included mailing, membership, and shipping costs. Membership alone cost $10,000, while the AP Program was only $3,300 for the year. Both programs did receive $20,000 for funding.
Officials love the focus of the IB program and that students had a choice of programs, but fewer students had been enrolling.
The goal is now to seek out those students who are advanced that can benefit from this program to try to encourage more to attend these classes. Superintendent Bill Lahmann also hopes parents will encourage their children to seek out information on the IP program.
A more flexible schedule and more money raised for scholarships may enable more young people to participate in these advanced educational programs, according to Lahmann.
Last year's statistics showed 8 percent of Capital High School students took at least one IB class. At Olympia High School, about 19 percent of the students took at least one AP test.
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