I hope the district keeps the IB program so more kids can benefit from it. It is absolutely one major thing that has made SMSD great!
A
Anonymous
10 years ago
HELP THEM!
M
Maria Walton
10 years ago
I went to Shawnee Mission East high school for 3 years before my family moved out of state, but I participated in the IB program and absolutely loved it - it is definitely worth saving.
M
Michele Logan
10 years ago
My son, Braden Pomerantz, is in this program at SMNW and has benefitted tremendously. Other students should get the opportunity to participate.
S
Sophie Flores
10 years ago
IB gets education in a way that no programs do.
S
Sylvia Fox
10 years ago
As the parent of an IB graduate, I think it would be a shame to change this program. I think IB students learn a world view that doesn't come from simply checking off college prep requirements.
M
Mike Deathe
10 years ago
Please do not end this program...
K
Kelly Morse
10 years ago
Don't mess with success! Keep the IB program intact.
A
Amy Baker
10 years ago
Important program! SMSD would be foolish to cut it.
K
Kathy Smythe
10 years ago
My son graduated from SME in the IB Program 2009. Our son visited many schools before picking the high school of his choice. SME was chosen for the IB Program. The group of students that were a part of this time in his life were incredible. Many nights they sat in my living room helping each other with their studies....not for the classes they were taking at the time but for future ones so they would have an easier time. After SME, my son attended Tufts University and now has a wonderful job with Palantir Technologies. The IB program was the start of all this greatness....
M
Marilyn Hamilton
10 years ago
As the mother of an former IB student I have had the pleasure of seeing the value of the IB education play out in his development and the development of his IB friends. The unified liberal arts education is critical in the days of ultra specialization. Society needs the type of thinkers which the IB program generates. Our community is better off with this program
E
Eric Hamilton
10 years ago
The IB program at Shawnee Mission East gave me a college-level liberal arts education in high school and was the foundation of my educational success. I look to my high school peers who are variously contributing to the humanities, sciences, medicine, policy and more and see in them what I still recognize in myself: an enduring interest in all facets of life. While many now argue that we should train our students in a narrow, marketable skill from a young age, the IB program instead encourages a lifelong commitment to being educated. As I move from research science to a career in science communication, I look back to IB as the nucleus of the diverse skills necessary for this kind of interdisciplinary work.
Do not mistake a battery of AP courses for the IB program--although the college credit and coursework are similar, the cohesive curriculum of the IB program is more than the sum of its courses.
K
Kathleen Collison
10 years ago
I believe our daughter got the best education available and she benefited greatly from the IB program. Don't cut it!
A
Aubrey Wilson
10 years ago
The IB Program at SME (class of '07) gave me skills in writing, critical thinking, and academic research that put me far beyond most of my peers in college - even those who had completed an AP curriculum. It gave me the tools to succeed in upper-level and graduate-level courses as a college freshman and sophomore, enabling me to accelerate my course load. I firmly believe that these critical thinking skills also laid the foundation for me to become a successful lawyer. Please don't lose this program. It's one of the things that makes SMSD one of the top school districts in the area, especially when Blue Valley and Olathe school districts are catching up (and my some measures, outstripping it) in test scores. The IB Program creates a self-motivated community of high-level thinkers, who go on to accomplish pretty cool things. SMSD needs more programs like that, not fewer.
A
Alex M Holsinger
10 years ago
IB should remain a budgetary priority.
J
Jordan Holsinger
10 years ago
IB was hugely enabling in my ability to attend a school I would otherwise not be able to afford and incredibly formative in my decision to pursue post-graduate education. If I had enrolled in AP classes I'm not sure I would have received as balanced an education. The tight-knit community and culture of support is not paralleled by any other standardized honors program.
J
Jessica Holmes
10 years ago
Please don't cut this program. It is one of the best things about SMSD. I finished IB in 2007 and that program has informed so many aspects of my higher education and life in general. It is more relevant and necessary than ever in 2016 and on--let's do everything we can to keep IB going!
K
Kevin Collison
10 years ago
Our daughter graduated from the SME IB program in 2009 and it was a huge benefit to her, both in terms of her intellectual advancement and winning acceptance/scholarships at some of the best schools in the country. It is a pillar of SME's reputation as an outstanding high school.
E
Emily Hartman
10 years ago
I was a member of the IB class of 2008. As many have said, I am confident that I would not be where I am today without the IB program, which transformed the way I thought, wrote, and analyzed. I am currently enrolled in a PhD program in Chemistry at UC Berkeley, and I can trace the lines of my career back to high school, IB Chemistry, and the close IB community that encouraged me to pursue a challenging and rewarding career.
E
Edie Cao
10 years ago
I specifically transferred at the beginning of high school to SME to be in the IB program (class of '09). Without my experiences in IB, I sincerely do not believe that I would be able to have a comparable education, diverse and open-minded perspective, and network of incredible friends. I also took a number of AP classes. The purpose of IB is beyond its individual classes, rather it provides a holistic approach to foster a sense of intellectual curiosity and preparedness for college and the future.
I hope the district keeps the IB program so more kids can benefit from it. It is absolutely one major thing that has made SMSD great!
HELP THEM!
I went to Shawnee Mission East high school for 3 years before my family moved out of state, but I participated in the IB program and absolutely loved it - it is definitely worth saving.
My son, Braden Pomerantz, is in this program at SMNW and has benefitted tremendously. Other students should get the opportunity to participate.
IB gets education in a way that no programs do.
As the parent of an IB graduate, I think it would be a shame to change this program. I think IB students learn a world view that doesn't come from simply checking off college prep requirements.
Please do not end this program...
Don't mess with success! Keep the IB program intact.
Important program! SMSD would be foolish to cut it.
My son graduated from SME in the IB Program 2009. Our son visited many schools before picking the high school of his choice. SME was chosen for the IB Program. The group of students that were a part of this time in his life were incredible. Many nights they sat in my living room helping each other with their studies....not for the classes they were taking at the time but for future ones so they would have an easier time. After SME, my son attended Tufts University and now has a wonderful job with Palantir Technologies. The IB program was the start of all this greatness....
As the mother of an former IB student I have had the pleasure of seeing the value of the IB education play out in his development and the development of his IB friends. The unified liberal arts education is critical in the days of ultra specialization. Society needs the type of thinkers which the IB program generates. Our community is better off with this program
The IB program at Shawnee Mission East gave me a college-level liberal arts education in high school and was the foundation of my educational success. I look to my high school peers who are variously contributing to the humanities, sciences, medicine, policy and more and see in them what I still recognize in myself: an enduring interest in all facets of life. While many now argue that we should train our students in a narrow, marketable skill from a young age, the IB program instead encourages a lifelong commitment to being educated. As I move from research science to a career in science communication, I look back to IB as the nucleus of the diverse skills necessary for this kind of interdisciplinary work. Do not mistake a battery of AP courses for the IB program--although the college credit and coursework are similar, the cohesive curriculum of the IB program is more than the sum of its courses.
I believe our daughter got the best education available and she benefited greatly from the IB program. Don't cut it!
The IB Program at SME (class of '07) gave me skills in writing, critical thinking, and academic research that put me far beyond most of my peers in college - even those who had completed an AP curriculum. It gave me the tools to succeed in upper-level and graduate-level courses as a college freshman and sophomore, enabling me to accelerate my course load. I firmly believe that these critical thinking skills also laid the foundation for me to become a successful lawyer. Please don't lose this program. It's one of the things that makes SMSD one of the top school districts in the area, especially when Blue Valley and Olathe school districts are catching up (and my some measures, outstripping it) in test scores. The IB Program creates a self-motivated community of high-level thinkers, who go on to accomplish pretty cool things. SMSD needs more programs like that, not fewer.
IB should remain a budgetary priority.
IB was hugely enabling in my ability to attend a school I would otherwise not be able to afford and incredibly formative in my decision to pursue post-graduate education. If I had enrolled in AP classes I'm not sure I would have received as balanced an education. The tight-knit community and culture of support is not paralleled by any other standardized honors program.
Please don't cut this program. It is one of the best things about SMSD. I finished IB in 2007 and that program has informed so many aspects of my higher education and life in general. It is more relevant and necessary than ever in 2016 and on--let's do everything we can to keep IB going!
Our daughter graduated from the SME IB program in 2009 and it was a huge benefit to her, both in terms of her intellectual advancement and winning acceptance/scholarships at some of the best schools in the country. It is a pillar of SME's reputation as an outstanding high school.
I was a member of the IB class of 2008. As many have said, I am confident that I would not be where I am today without the IB program, which transformed the way I thought, wrote, and analyzed. I am currently enrolled in a PhD program in Chemistry at UC Berkeley, and I can trace the lines of my career back to high school, IB Chemistry, and the close IB community that encouraged me to pursue a challenging and rewarding career.
I specifically transferred at the beginning of high school to SME to be in the IB program (class of '09). Without my experiences in IB, I sincerely do not believe that I would be able to have a comparable education, diverse and open-minded perspective, and network of incredible friends. I also took a number of AP classes. The purpose of IB is beyond its individual classes, rather it provides a holistic approach to foster a sense of intellectual curiosity and preparedness for college and the future.