Allan Aho and Reyna Jensen are,
according to their school’s diploma coordinator, “our version of (explorers)
Lewis and Clark.”
In turn, the two Santa Ynez Valley Union High School
students are the first to earn International Baccalaureate Diploma Award
honors. The school board recognized the pair at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We’re very lucky to have two of our finest students at
this school,” Superintendent Paul Turnbull said, moments before handing
certificates to Aho and Jensen’s father, the latter
of whom accepted on Reyna’s behalf. “We congratulate both of them.”
Chris Avery, coordinator for the diploma program, said in
a press release about the award recipients: “They blazed a trail of academic
excellence and exploration. We are proud of this significant achievement.”
In spite of the students’ success, the school board is
looking at the possibility of cancelling the program. The board opted to table
the discussion about the program for 2009-10 until the next meeting. Turnbull
cited the scholastic exercise’s resource-intensive nature and considerable
price tag of $95,000.
“I’m not disappointed it was tabled,” the superintendent
said afterward. “It’s a great program, but not necessarily the best program for
us at this time. Either way, it’s a difficult decision.”
As part of the meeting’s public comments, one concerned
parent argued there wasn’t enough notification about the International
Baccalaureate program being listed as “cancelled” on the board’s agenda. (Turnbull
pointed out the website hasn’t been updated because the webmaster is on summer
break.)
“More parent involvement would be beneficial,” she said.
While the program may be nixed, Aho
said the hard work paid off for him.
“It’s pretty rewarding. I was actually sort of reluctant
at first, but the (IB) program was worth it. Some of the exams got me college
credits,” said Aho, who plans to attend Chapman
University in Orange.
One parent at the meeting said certain students shouldn’t
be forced to participate and deemed the program a “waste of time.”
Board member Jeffrey Little
disagreed, noting that big-name colleges such as the University of Texas are
impressed by students with International Baccalaureate credentials. If money is
a problem, he said, perhaps it’s time to prioritize the budget.
The diploma program, universally acknowledged for its
academic values, features three core requirements essential to the curriculum:
theory of knowledge; extended essay and external assessed independent research
assignment of 4,000 works of the six main subject areas; and creativity, action
and service; a minimum of 150 hours of participation during the two years that
allow students to gain real-life experience outside classrooms.
Students who display “good” levels of performance across
all half-dozen subjects and achieve a minimum of 24 points (out of 45) earn the
diploma. Others receive a certificate.
One thing seems certain, said board member Holly
Lindberg: “Once we get rid of the program here, it won’t ever come back.”
The board will discuss the program at its meeting
Thursday, July 30.
Jim Luksic can be
reached at jluksic@syvjournal.com.