Save the IB Program!

This better still be a thing by the time I'm in highschool

It'd be a shame to lose a program that did so much for my classmates and I, even after graduating.

This is the best program the SMSD board offers. You can't afford to cut it.

The IB program offers students with opportunities that are distinct from AP and Honors classes. The classes emphasize problem solving and teaches unique skills that enhance academic life.

Despite receiving very little in the way of credit for my time in the IB program, I believe that it taught me a very valuable way to think and argue my point. It teaches students to write an an effective and analytic manner.

As a current IB student this is devastating to hear for future generations of possible IB students in the SMSD district.

IB offered the type of curriculum that inspired me to come to school and to learn and engage with my classmates. It offers benefits in terms of creating big thinkers, and more tangibly in college admissions. For interested and curious students, this program offers a unique opportunity to excel. Don't take this opportunity away from future students.

I don't go to a Shawnee mission school, but I have many friends that do. of these friends, a lot of them are involved in the IB program. I know how hard they work and how much it means to them. don't let this program for gifted students like my friends die. that would be awful and could potentially hurt many other future gifted students. also, your school district wouldn't have a certain credibility that others may have!!!

Although I'm not an IB student myself, this is very beneficial to our generation in the future when it comes to further education beyond high school in the U.S.

Just ask any IB student, it's so different than any other program offered. It teaches students to think which is more than I can say for the AP classes I take. It's extremely important to me, not because it will affect me, but because I know people it will, I can't sit back and do nothing.

The IB program was great cutting it from the budget would be foolish

This is an incredible program that lead me to my university and helped prepare me for college. I would not have been so prepared and done well in college nor gotten the scholarship that allowed me to go t college without it. This program is so incredible and is so beneficial for students. This is the best program to help students be successful college students. This program is a huge part of why SMNW is so successful academically and why it continues to be a nationally ranked school. Please do not take away this program, because by taking this away, you are taking away students' chances of success.

I am a junior in college and I graduated with the IB diploma from SMNW in Spring of 2013. The IB program allows students to think about course work in a different way, showing how many disciplines interact. The assignments required by the IB are extremely good preparation for college papers, and I believe because of the high level of writing I did in high school through the IB, writing graduate-level papers as an undergrad wasn't overly difficult. The preparation IB gives the student is superb. SMSD is still relatively green to the IB program, and three years out of high school I believe the program in the SMSD has improvements that can be made. Regardless, if the program is cut, there will not be the opportunity for growth and improvements so that the student can take full advantage of the program. I made some of my closest and lifelong friends through the IB. It generates a community within a large school. This is a high school experience I wouldn't have traded for the world. The program in the SMSD has so much potential. It deserves to remain a part of why Shawnee Mission Schools are among some of the highest ranked public school districts in the country.

I'm a freshman in college and I graduated with an IB diploma last spring. I definitely feel that the program strengthened my application and helped get me into a school I really love. I learned a lot from the program and despite all the hard work, and the stress that came with the program, I would do it again. I really think our district should be encouraging students to push themselves academically rather than taking away their opportunities to do so.

IB is not just a program. It's a community. It's a family. And to sacrifice that is just wrong. IB cultivates imagination and deeper thought. It teaches teenagers how to be informed while also respecting others opinions. My IB family is part of the reason I will be able to graduate in May 2016 despite my health. To think that it is okay to sacrifice the type of education that IB offers is shameful. Everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the IB program. And I will stand by my IB family as we fight to help the district realize that getting rid of such an outstanding program is a mistake.

Having had two nieces graduate from the IB program, I have personally seen the amazing benefits that this program has given them in their lives. My husband and I are preparing our daughter (currently 8th grade at TRMS) for this program at SMNW.

The IB Program is extremely important for our students. My son was part of the program and he attributes the program and the teachers to his excellent preparation for college.

IB is a very important program. Please reconsider this huge decision. There are many students who are every dedicated being in this program. Also, many teachers will be affected.

I'm looking forward to participating in such a prestigious program, and I hope I still can.

Don't cut academic programs