No out-of-district students enroll in IB program

By Bayne Hughes
hughes@decaturdaily.com · 340-2432

Decatur City School officials said they received a few inquiries but no commitments from out-of-district students interested in the International Baccalaureate Programs.

On Oct. 5, a U.S. District Court judge approved allowing students who don’t live within the city limits to attend IB programs at the city’s two high schools and three middle schools.

Superintendent Sam Houston called the lack of response predictable considering the approval didn’t come until almost seven weeks into the school term.

The school board submitted the request in early summer but delays and attorney negotiations kept the motion from the judge until after the start of school in August.

Jeanne Payne, supervisor of curriculum, has been handling most of the calls.

She said most were about next year. She said she had parents of elementary students call.

“I think we’ll have a big influx next year,” she said.

Austin and Decatur high schools’ IB coordinators said that it would be difficult for a junior to start the IB Diploma Program, an honors program for juniors and seniors, after the first six-week grading period.

The educators said that entrance into the pre-IB Diploma classes and Middle Years Programs for grades 6-10 would be like accepting any new students into the school.

The school system would accept up to 80 students, with each paying an annual tuition of $1,000. This doesn’t include the IB Diploma Program fees, which Houston estimates are about $600 per student.

Fees cover the six IB-required tests to earn a Diploma Program.

Out-of-district students interested in the IB program should call Payne at 552-3000.

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