Woodrow to be first Dallas high school to offer IB

[Lakewooder]

http://www.advocatemag.com/lakewood/blog/Woodrow_Wilson_High_School_DISD_International_Bacc alaureate_followup.html

Woodrow's degree program expected to change school's makeup, academics
Back Talk reported here Monday that Woodrow Wilson has been selected as DISD's first International Baccalaureate (IB) high school. Woodrow principal Ruth Vail talked about the selection, its impact on the school and what it means for the neighborhood in our eight-minute podcast (listen by clicking here).

Here's some additional information about the program and how it will change the lives of neighborhood students and their families.

Woodrow's IB program will be coordinated with neighboring J.L. Long Middle School, which is the Woodrow feeder school for 6th, 7th and 8th graders, Vail says. By implementing beginning elements of the IB program at Long (9th graders who want to be in the IB program, for example, must take Algebra in 8th grade, Vail says), DISD hopes to boost the learning environment there, too, along with encouraging students to begin planning for life after high school earlier.

DISD's high school redesign program (click here to download a DISD pdf discussing the redesign) is designed to put all students on a track to be successfully prepared for college or to join the workforce, according to the district's website. Among the pathways for students identified on DISD's website are health sciences, architecture and construction, communications, law, information technology, business, and hospitality and tourism. Woodrow's IB curriculum offers general college preparatory instruction rather than specific workforce training.

If you're familiar with the Advanced Placement courses currently offered at Woodrow and other DISD high schools, you know that AP courses are more rigorous for the students, involving a higher degree of difficulty and work, and they also offer the opportunity for students to earn college credit for those who pass a year-end AP test and score at a certain level. The IB program is essentially a souped-up version of the AP program (this is probably a debatable statement given the competition between AP and IB) with supposedly even more rigor and independent projects for students, the same opportunity to earn college credit accepted at more universities (including more abroad), and even an opportunity to learn along with students throughout the world studying the same topics.

Vail says that Woodrow's new multi-media classroom will be fully operational well before the IB kickoff, allowing Woodrow students to connect via video with students in other countries as part of the learning process (hence the "international" aspect of the program). To learn more about the IB program, check out the links here and here. And here's a U.S News & World Report ranking of the nation's top IB high schools.

What does this mean for students and parents considering attending Woodrow? Here's an excerpt about the program from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators website that applies to Woodrow's student mix and discusses IB's goals and opportunities:

"Schools that offer IB courses are also helping schools integrate low-income and higher-income students. Low-income schools that offer IB courses are more successful at retaining children from higher-income backgrounds whose parents might otherwise send them to private or more affluent schools. At the same time, IB courses offered in traditionally low-income districts seem to help large numbers of low-income students better prepare themselves for college. The results seem to be in line with the Commission [on the Skills of the American Workforce]’s goals to raise the number of students who are truly prepared for postsecondary coursework."

That's a tall order for a school like Woodrow, which mixes high-income and low-income neighborhood kids in a relatively small learning environment, but it's exactly what DISD says it's trying to do in boosting the rigor of its academic programs. The way Vail explains this on the podcast is that every student will have the opportunity to learn at the IB level; those who find that level too rigorous will have an opportunity to learn at a more traditional but less rigorous academic level also offered at Woodrow; and those who are unable or unwilling to learn at either level will be asked to select another "redesigned" high school that might offer a program or level of academic rigor more in line with that student's ability or willingness to achieve.

Other issues to consider:

• Although Woodrow eventually will be open to transfers for students who want the IB program, neighborhood students automatically are enrolled in the IB program and don't have to worry about being "accepted", Vail says.

• DISD's TAG and Magnet programs will continue, but Woodrow's IB program is expected to give parents and students a significant reason to stay in the neighborhood to attend high school, Vail says, specifically mentioning the Choose Woodrow campaign that received some publicity last spring.

• Although Woodrow is DISD's first IB-designed high school, it likely won't be the last. W.T. White and Hillcrest — which have long joined Woodrow at the top of the district's academic achievers — have yet to be "redesigned". White has a long history as DISD's best-performing AP high school (in terms of number of courses taken by students and number of qualifying grades on the year-end AP tests) and is expected to be moving toward some type of science/engineering specialty as part of its redesign.

There's still a lot of work to be done to implement the IB program at Woodrow, Vail says, including developing the specific curriculum to be offered, training teachers and coordinating the school's offerings with an addition that is planned as part of DISD's latest bond program. The first IB courses probably won't be offered until the 2010-2011 school year, and they may be combination IB/AP courses as the school makes the transition.

If you would like further information about the IB program at Woodrow, click here to email Vail.

Posted by Rick Wamre on Feb 10, 2009 at 06:32 AM in DISD, Education, Neighborhood, Wamre, Advocate Mag, Lakewood - E Dallas

[Rob]

I went through the IB in high school in Florida. It's a great program and it's good to see it coming to the area.

[grantboston]

Another IB grad here. This is really good news and will probably attract more students to the school. Of course, the state recently decided to even out grade point differences between AP and IB courses, which severely hurts the IB program (since it involves more work, and is frankly harder than AP). I hope that won't act as a barrier to the program at WW or anywhere else.

IB has been in the area for 20 years or so now, but in the past 5+ years, it's really taken off. Glad to see there's another school looking for a balanced, internationally-focused and standardized course of study.

[trolleygirl]

About friggin time. Sad when Garland's had IB since I went there.

[Beanie]

That is good news. There are other public high schools in Dallas working in IB accreditation. Uplift Education (www.uplifteducation.org) operates several public charter (tuition-free) schools, three of which are in Dallas. We have two daughters at Peak Preparatory (www.peakpreparatory.org) on Bryan (also faces onto Live Oak). As of fall 2009, Peak will be k-12. These are all great schools too.

[Lakewooder]

neighborsgo.com: post your community news (http://neighborsgo.com/stories/46778)

Open House for new Woodrow College Preparatory Academies

By Dr. Kathy Scherler, Woodrow IB Diploma Programme Coordinator

Woodrow Wilson High School will host its annual “Welcome to Woodrow” Open House at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, December 8th. The evening will unveil the new “College Preparatory Academies” which will be implemented next fall, 2010.

The newly redesigned high school format will emphasize college readiness for all students. Students will choose between the four academies: 1) Academy of Math, Science and Technology, 2) Academy of Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship, 3) Academy of Performing Arts and 4) Academy of International Baccalaureate.

Woodrow Wilson is presently a Candidate School for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. After an informational and entertaining presentation in the auditorium at 6:30 p.m., students and parents are invited to tour the school, meet with faculty and current students, and enjoy the Club Fair which will provide information about clubs and organizations as well as highlight the College Preparatory Academies.

Incoming ninth graders for the 2010-2011 school year will have the opportunity to choose which College Preparatory Academy they wish to pursue. Incoming ninth grade students in the Dallas ISD may apply to Woodrow Wilson High School as a “Choice School”. Principal Ruth Vail and Associate Principal Dinnah Escanilla will be available to answer questions about the redesign and academic offerings.Woodrow Wilson is privileged to now be an International Baccalaureate (IB) Candidate School.

The IB Diploma provides an opportunity for students to earn up to 24 hours of college credit in their junior and senior years. Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Credit courses will be available for all Woodrow Wilson High School students in all academies. Pre-IB courses will be offered next fall for incoming ninth graders. For more information please call 972-502-4419.

[gshelton91]

Wow that is cool... Thanks for keeping us up to date.

I wish i were more connected to Woodrow --- coming from a small town HS sports were a big deal and the whole town had school spirit --- Woodrow needs to do more community out-reach... just some signs or banners around our downtown (lakewood village shopping center) would be great.

It seems like such a missed opportunity that the sports facilities are not in our neighborhood... but i see the reasoning for it.

[Lakewooder]

Story on Channel 11 last night - be sure to click video at upper right:

DISD School Being Redesigned Into College Preparatory Academy - cbs11tv.com (http://cbs11tv.com/local/DISD.college.preparatory.2.1355648.html)

"By next August, Woodrow Wilson High School will be a College Preparatory campus, with four distinctive academies, targeting college-readiness as the focus for every student.

The academy will be similar to a private school, with some major differences. There won't be a cost to attend Woodrow Wilson and neighborhood kids don't have to apply to get in"

[AeroD]

I know you cannot transform DISD overnight, but has Woodrow "exported" its model of success to other schools such as Bryan Adams, and W.T. White. I mentioned those schools first because they seem they would be easier to tackle and test methods than going straight to Lincoln.

[totheskies]

Dallas International School has lots of IB courses. I guess it's not part of DISD though.

[grantboston]

Good on Woodrow for doing this. I'm a little surprised that DISD didn't put this idea at a lesser performing campus in an attempt to bring it to parity to where Woodrow already is.

Anyway, the kids will benefit either way. My first year of IB was a hell of a lot harder than my first year of law school.

[Lakewooder]

http://lakewood-dallas.blackwhiteread.com/view/articles/20812?page=1

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/1340/evettcheerleadersopenho.jpg

AP history teacher Peter Evett with varsity cheerleaders at an open house announcing the academies.

Woodrow Reinvents Itself
Posted February 12, 2010, 2:27 p.m. by Lennard Pierson

After several years of working toward becoming a college preparatory academy, Woodrow Wilson High School parents and neighborhood community have won a big victory.

The school has now been redesigned into a college prep academy.

Beginning in fall 2010, Woodrow will open its doors as a new school of choice and be home to four academies: Math, Science, Technology and Engineering; Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship; Performing Arts; and International Baccalaureate.

The high school is an International Baccalaureate Candidate School, which means it’s on its way to becoming an IB World School.

School administrators settled on these four academies after a survey of students’ interests in these magnet-like programs.

For fall 2010, the academies are accepting applications from incoming ninth-graders throughout Dallas through Feb. 26.

However, the application deadline for the pre-International Baccalaureate program is March 15. Unlike the other three academies, applicants to the pre-IB program must meet specific requirements to be admitted.

“We want the application process to be as open as possible, and we want as many good students as possible,” said Dr. Kathy Scherler, program development specialist with Woodrow.

Ninth-graders who reside in Woodrow’s boundaries and feeder pattern are automatically enrolled in the academy of their choice and will fill out choice sheets as usual at their middle schools.

All Woodrow students will choose a college preparatory academy and a major, Scherler said. They will be able to take all the courses they need to graduate and take electives that are specialized according to their course academy.

“We encourage all students to take AP and pre-AP classes or dual credit classes for college preparation,” she said.

About half of the high school’s students now take pre-AP and AP college prep courses.

The push to become a college preparatory academy was spurred by the Dallas ISD’s two-year charge to redesign its high schools to boost student academic performance and make them college and workforce ready.

Woodrow jumped at the chance of becoming a college prep school of choice.

“DISD has mandated that all high schools redesign themselves to offer certain programs, which formerly were the domain of magnet schools,” said Kyle Rains, class of 1976 and Woodrow Wilson Alumni Association vice president and a co-founder. “We decided to start the process early so that we had total input from the community .... We decided to offer [students] four college preparatory academies and apply to be the first and only Dallas high school to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.”

Graduates of the IB program can earn up to 24 hours of college credit for acceptance by any Texas public university. Moreover, college credit for the IB diploma is accepted by universities all across the world.

“IB courses are a curriculum with an interdisciplinary emphasis, that is, they make connections to other subjects,” Scherler said. “A student who receives the IB diploma will also write a 4,000-word extended essay [research paper], take a philosophy course, and also receive credit for involvement in community service, athletics, fine arts performances, and other creative projects.”

IB courses are not replacing Advanced Placement and dual-credit courses, the track for high school students who want to earn college credit for certain rigorous courses.

“Woodrow Wilson has a very strong Advanced Placement program, which will continue to coexist here with the IB diploma program,” Scherler said.

Becoming an International Baccalaureate World School is quite a coup, the Woodrow community believes. Not any high school can become an IB World School. The application process road, which includes a school visit, takes about three years and includes approval by the International Baccalaureate Organization.

In addition, high schools also have to pay the International Baccalaureate Organization a school membership fee as well as a registration fee for every student enrolled in an IB class.

“Dallas ISD has partnered with the Woodrow Wilson High School Community

Foundation to work together to fund the IB Diploma Program at Woodrow Wilson High School,” Scherler said. “Student fees are required to pay for IB exam fees, much like they pay for AP exam fees. Our foundation is also working on getting grants to subsidize these fees.”

The good news is that for Woodrow the multiyear process is almost over.

“The school is on track to receive our final IB authorization in spring of 2011,” Scherler said. “We are confident that our investment in IB professional development, curriculum writing and supplementary documents, and support will pay off in the receipt of our final approval from the IBO.”

With the intense support of community, alumnae, PTA, and other boosters, the IB diploma program should get underway next fall as pre-IB courses for students promoted to ninth grade.

“The redesign of Woodrow Wilson High School is a giant step toward an increased focus on college readiness for all students,” Scherler said.

For more information and to download applications, visit the Woodrow Web site: http://www.woodrowwildcats.org/

[Lakewooder]

SCHOOL ZONE DALLAS AIRS ON KERA CHANNEL 13 THIS WEEKEND

The latest edition of the student-hosted show, School Zone Dallas, will air on KERA Channel 13, courtesy of John Eagle Dealerships. Show times are 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 28; 10 a.m., on Sunday, May 30; and 6 a.m. on Monday, May 31. The show also can be viewed on the district’s Web site at http://dallasisd.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=22.

Hosted from Thomas C. Marsh Middle School, School Zone Dallas will feature stories about the International Baccalaureate program at Woodrow Wilson High School where students can earn up to 24 hours of college credit; how yoga is having a big impact on students' performance in the classroom at Eladio R. Martinez Learning Center; and what it took for Mois*s E. Molina High School to achieve the rating of recognized in a relatively short period of time.

One of the hosts of School Zone Dallas is our very own Nick Muston, senior class president:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/Woodrow%20Class%20of%202010%20Senior%20Dinner/IMG_3729.jpg
Nick at Senior Class Dinner, Lakewood Theater May 24, 2010

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/goodkids/stories/DN-cengoodkid_22cen.ART.Central.Edition1.4b50a13.html

130 eighth graders have signed up for the inaugural Pre-IB this fall - 33 from J.L. Long, 40 from private schools and the balance from other middle schools in Dallas.

[Lakewooder]

NEW COURSES 2010-2011
Principles of Technology– Robotics
Engineering
Desktop Publishing
Web Mastering
Principles of Business, Marketing and
Finance
Introduction to Engineering Design
Concepts of Engineering and Technology
Music History
Aerobic Activity (PE Credit)
Global/International Business
Money Matters
Principles of Information Technology
Leadership I
Academic Decathlon

DUAL-CREDIT COURSES:
PARTNERSHIP WITH RICHLAND
COLLEGE AND EL CENTRO
Travel and Tourism
Digital Multimedia
Tech-Prep program

DUAL-CREDIT COURSES:
PARTNERSHIP WITH UTA AND LAMAR
UNIVERSITY OR WITH DCCCD
English IV
Government
Economics
Psychology
US History

[Lakewooder]

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kera/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1691749/North.Texas/New.Program.For.Woodrow.Wilson.Freshmen


Freshmen International Baccalaureate students
DALLAS, TX (KERA) - The first day of school was a first on many levels for more than 100 freshmen at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas. KERA's BJ Austin says "Woodrow" launched the first "International Baccalaureate" program in the district.

There was understandable confusion in the hallways of Woodrow Wilson High School as incoming freshmen got class scheduled and tried to find the corresponding classrooms. And, logistics trumped learning for part of the first day of school. But that was NOT the case with the 112 freshmen who are the first students in Woodrow's pre-diploma International Baccalaureate program. They got to work immediately in Catherine Pate's classroom.

International Baccalaureate or I-B coordinator Kathy Scherler says the interdisciplinary curriculum will prepare these freshmen for the more rigorous two-year International Baccalaureate diploma program their junior and senior years.

Scherler: The curriculum for IB and our pre-IB courses is geared toward an international perspective. It gives them a global outlook on subjects they would normally be learning. This program will initially give them 24 hours of college credit.

That look toward the future is what attracted these 14 year old freshmen to the program.

Students: I thought it was a good program to learn about different things, events and my studies. I chose it because it looks like a good opportunity to get a head start, be more advanced and get more credit for college. I like being smart. Just to know that I can know a little bit more and I can go a little bit further than the rest makes be feel good. I want to be successful, too - take care of my family.

Woodrow Principal Ruth Vail says it's an honor for Woodrow to be the first school in the Dallas District to be an International Baccalaureate candidate. The official designation is expected in November after a site visit from the I-B committee. Principal Vail says it's taken two years of hard work to get launch the "pre-IB" program, and she's confident of final approval.

Vail: We want our kids to have the same challenging curriculum that's offered worldwide to the best students worldwide. And being a public school, it's a great, free opportunity for parents to enroll their kids.

That's just what Jennifer Rivas wants to do. She has an eighth grader who will go to Woodrow next fall.

Rivas: When you successfully complete the International Baccalaureate program you can go to any college in the world. When I read about it a couple of years ago, there were several people to go to Oxford, you know anywhere, or Yale, Harvard, stuff like that.

But the IB program is not limited to students within the Woodrow attendance boundaries. It's open to students, district wide. Principal Vail says there are two dozen students who applied, were accepted, and transferred into Woodrow - aiming to be among the first Dallas School District senior class to receive International Baccalaureate diplomas.

[Lakewooder]

http://eastdallasblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/08/woodrow-wilson-starts-internat.html

Woodrow Wilson starts International Baccalaureate program

10:34 AM Thu, Aug 26, 2010
Nancy Visser/Reporter

About 100 freshmen jumped right into the new pre-International Baccalaureate program this week at Woodrow Wilson High School, KERA reports. The pre-IB program will prepare the students for the rigorous IB program their last two years of high school. And when they get their IB diplomas, they will have 24 college credits hours that would be accepted at more than 2,000 universities around the world.

Kyle Rains, vice president of the Woodrow alumni association said the association board got an update last week on the school's new college prep academies and the new addition that will be built behind the school. Here's what he reported:

The WWHSAA board got a presentation on the new addition -- it is to be almost 40,000 square feet, not 14,000 square feet as was in the zoning application - that may be because it is three stories. The addition will house the some of the new college prep academies being phased in over the next few years -- ninth graders have already started in them:
-- Math, Science, Technology and Engineering (STEM)
-- Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship
-- Performing Arts
-- International Baccalaureate*

* Woodrow is one of four Texas candidate schools for International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme -- expected to be finalized after a campus visit by IBO this fall. Woodrow Wilson Community Foundation has raised the start-up funds. This year ninth graders are taking Pre-IB courses.

The addition will house several new science classrooms and large labs along with new facilities for choir, drama and dance. Total cost of the addition plus renovations to the historic main building is expected to be almost $14 million.

[Lakewooder]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/090510dnmetwoodrow.20dae17.html

International Baccalaureate program helping raise expectations at Woodrow Wilson High

10:46 AM CDT on Sunday, September 5, 2010
By NANCY VISSER / The Dallas Morning News
nvisser@dallasnews.com

With their two youngest children about to start high school, Fatai and Zina Obasuyi shopped for the best college prep program they could find. Their objective was to get the girls into the International Baccalaureate program, a rigorous curriculum with a global perspective.

They found waiting lists at some schools and unaffordable tuition at others, and then they learned that Woodrow Wilson High is a candidate school for the first IB program in the Dallas public school system.

Now, the couple shuttle three of their children 30 to 45 minutes each way from Duncanville to East Dallas.

"The commuting is killing us," said Fatai Obasuyi. But he feels the hassle is worth it. "We felt the IB program would better prepare them for higher education."

The Obasuyi twins, Siara and Simone, joined 112 other freshmen in the pre-International Baccalaureate track at Woodrow, which will have a final authorization visit from IB officials in November.

Forty-seven high schools in Texas offer the IB diploma, which is awarded after students pass exams in six subjects, write a 4,000-word essay and take a Theory of Knowledge Course, among other requirements. Students with an IB diploma graduate with a minimum of 24 college credit hours.

The program was founded in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland, and more than 2,000 colleges around the world accept students with IB diplomas.

At Woodrow, the IB program was pursued by Principal Ruth Vail, who restructured the school this year into four college prep programs:

•International Baccalaureate.

•Academy of Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship.

•Academy of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

•Academy of Performing Arts.

Physically, the school looks the same. The difference is on paper.

Every Woodrow ninth-grade student is in one of the academies, even those with no plans for college. Kathy Scherler, Woodrow's IB coordinator, said one student told her he plans to go into lawn maintenance; she steered him to the business academy for its entrepreneurial emphasis. She also suggested the business academy's leadership emphasis for a student who is in ROTC and wants to join the Marines.

The academies are being phased in so that all Woodrow students will be enrolled in a college and career preparatory program by 2014, Scherler said.

The most academically challenging academy is the IB program, for which students must apply with two teacher recommendations.

PTA president Jill Cochran said the IB program "will make Woodrow cutting edge, and it's where we need to be headed."

Rene Martinez, a local leader with the League of United Latin American Citizens and a former DISD administrator, said the IB program is raising expectation levels at Woodrow.

"Students are excited and parents are excited," he said. "... I have observed Woodrow Wilson for many years and have not seen so much enthusiasm on the part of the faculty and staff."


Making it relevant

Woodrow, as the school is known, is one of the oldest high schools in Dallas, having recently passed its 80th year. It sits amid relatively stable neighborhoods, rich and poor, from which families have sent multiple generations to the school.

It has strong support from the community and alumni association. But Vail, in her sixth year as principal, said the school was beginning to feel stagnant – and she made it her mission to improve it.

After attending education and leadership programs at Oxford and Harvard, Vail realized there was much more Woodrow could offer its students. So when DISD administrators indicated they were open to restructuring proposals, she and her staff went for it.

Her IB proposal gained momentum through the enthusiasm of teachers, parents and the community.

The IB teachers have connected with peers from throughout the world, Scherler said. "They're finding out ways to make their classes more rigorous, to keep the kids engaged in class, to make it relevant."

For community support, Vail turned to Richard Vitale, a banker and former classmate from the Class of '91.

Vitale set up the Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation a year ago and quickly raised donations to be able to pay the school's annual IB fee of about $10,000 and to meet other needs. Vitale said the foundation is already setting up scholarship programs separate from the IB project.

He said the IB proposal has been embraced by Woodrow supporters.

"It's a way to make not only Woodrow but DISD better," said Vitale, who plans to send his two children to his alma mater. "This isn't a program just for East Dallas or for the advantaged East Dallas children who live in Lakewood. It's for children all over Dallas."

Woodrow has about 1,470 students enrolled this school year. The majority, about 67 percent, are Hispanic. About 17 percent are white, 13 percent are black and the rest are other ethnicities.

Most of the students in the IB program are minorities, Vail noted. The breakdown: 53 students are white, 42 are Hispanic, 15 are black, and there are four students of other ethnicities.


Beyond estimates

Vail and her staff recruited students for the pre-IB program last year at feeder schools and through on- and off-campus information sessions.

They expected maybe 40 students the first year, and then boosted the estimate to 80 based on interest. They ended up with 114 students, and about 30 applicants were from outside the feeder area.

Like the Obasuyi twins, Chase Fisher, 15, of Old Lake Highlands, began to shop for a high school during eighth grade. He attended William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard, a DISD magnet middle school.

He's interested in photography, theater arts and drama but requested Woodrow's pre-IB program over the arts magnet high school because he wanted a tough academic program.

"It's harder, and I like that," Chase said. "That's why I went to Travis."

Siara Obasuyi, 14, who wants to be a lawyer or an actress, said she warmed up to Woodrow after attending one of the IB meetings. "It feels welcoming," she said.

And, she said, echoing her parents' sentiments, "I wanted to have a better shot at getting into a better college."

[Lakewooder]

Woodrow open house Tuesday, Nov. 30 | Advocate Magazine (http://lakewood.advocatemag.com/2010/11/woodrow-open-house-tuesday-nov-30/)

As we often point out here on Back Talk, Woodrow is one fantastic school. I even learned the other day following a post about magnet schools, that families outside the Woodrow attendance area can apply to Woodrow...Why would they want to do that? For one thing, Woodrow is one of four Texas candidate schools for International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. It hopes to earn the designation by February, 2011. Learn more about that program here: http://lakewood.advocatemag.com/2009/08/advocate-podcast-more-on-woodrow-wilsons-ib-program/

...After an informational and entertaining presentation in the auditorium at 6:30 p.m., students and parents are invited to tour the school, meet with faculty and current students, and enjoy the Club Fair which will provide information about clubs and organizations as well as highlight the College Preparatory Academies. For more information please call 972.502.4400.”

[Lakewooder]

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 21, 2011



WOODROW WILSON BECOMES IB WORLD SCHOOL

International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Will Bring Global Emphasis
to Students



DALLAS—The International Baccalaureate Organization announced
recently that Woodrow Wilson High School is officially an International
Baccalaureate World School.

The announcement came after Woodrow completed an
intense, two-year screening process and teacher training by the
International Baccalaureate Organization.

“This has been an amazing process and so
worthwhile,” said Principal Ruth Vail. “Our students will have
the opportunity to earn an IB Diploma which will provide them with the
skills to compete globally in the 21st Century. Our teachers, students
and parents have dedicated an enormous amount of time and effort to
ensure that Woodrow Wilson High School was well prepared for this
stringent process. I’m grateful to everyone involved including our
trustees, alumni association and community foundation.”

The IB program is an honors curriculum for juniors and
seniors which is used globally and recognized by universities all around
the world. The program is designed to develop inquiring, knowledgeable,
caring students who help to create a more peaceful world through
intercultural understanding and respect.

Students enrolled in IB programs take three higher
level courses and three standard level courses. Other requirements
include: an extended essay (4,000 words) on a topic of the student’s
choice, creativity, action and service activities that enable students
to learn through experiences outside the classroom, and completing an
interdisciplinary philosophy course.

Students completing all IB diploma requirements and
scoring a four or higher on all exams may earn up to 24 hours of college
credit. In addition, IB students may also take AP exams to receive even
more college credit in high school.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our
students,” said Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa.
“International Baccalaureate programs are exceptional in every way.
Not only do they challenge students to think with a global outlook, but
it prepares them to become critical thinkers so they can have an impact
all around the world. Congratulations to the students, staff, parents
and the entire Woodrow community for achieving this prestigious
honor.”

The school will celebrate the announcement with an
official IBO flag raising ceremony 8:15 a.m., Wednesday, March 30 at the
school located at 100 S. Glasgow.
________________________________________

[AeroD]

Lakewooder,

What does Woodrow and all the feeder schools do to attract new Dallasites? I figure a great school, trees and and an urban lake...it's a great sale. If there is going to be a Dallas comeback and lot of it is going to start in East Dallas. All those folks in Deep Ellum when they have kids...they might actually stay in Deep Ellum or the area if the Woodrow starts to spill over.

[elmstreetdallas]

Lakewooder,

What does Woodrow and all the feeder schools do to attract new Dallasites? I figure a great school, trees and and an urban lake...it's a great sale. If there is going to be a Dallas comeback and lot of it is going to start in East Dallas. All those folks in Deep Ellum when they have kids...they might actually stay in Deep Ellum or the area if the Woodrow starts to spill over.

Huh?

[F4shionablecHa0s]

Huh?
Oh, you haven't heard? The sky is falling and Dallas is the new Detroit. Soon we will all be huddled around trashcan fires and the city will be annexed by Houston. New mayor: Trae

[Lakewooder]

Lakewood - area schools are always popular. I'm suprised that people in Deep Ellum would not know about this - they should at least be somewhat skeptical of the siren call of the northern suburbs.

Even before Woodrow was approved we have attracted almost three hundred students in the last year for 9th grade Pre-IB - 120 last fall and 170 for this fall. Approximately 40% are from private schools and about 30% are transfers from other schools (both inside and outside DISD).

[Lakewooder]

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20110325-editorial-hits-and-misses.ece

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/2469/choosewoodrowsign.jpg (http://img834.imageshack.us/i/choosewoodrowsign.jpg/)

Woodrow Wilson’s team hits a big home run

The folks at Woodrow Wilson High School didn’t just wake up one day and receive a coveted high school curriculum. Woodrow’s administrators and parents had to go out and earn it. This week, they learned that the historic Dallas high school has been designated an International Baccalaureate World School. Principal Ruth Allen Vail spearheaded the petition for the designation, which required numerous hours of prep work by parents and alumni. The school now can offer the IB curriculum, which requires rigorous studies in the arts, foreign languages, sciences, humanities and math. Students also write long essays, take a philosophy course and do community service. At the end, IB diploma recipients may receive automatic college credit in Texas. More than that, they will leave high school with a deep understanding of how the world works.

[Lakewooder]

On March 30 Woodrow celebrated its accreditation as an official IB World School with a flag-raising ceremony, followed by a breakfast reception with cake.

The flag of the International Baccalaureate Organization flying over the school culminated a three-year quest to become the first school in Dallas to offer the complete IB Diploma Programme.

As part of the school’s redesign into four college preparatory academies the idea of an IB academy was put forward by principal and alumna Ruth Allen Vail. Aided by parents, alumni, faculty and DISD administration Woodrow applied and became one of four candidate schools in the state of Texas. After extensive teacher training and a site visit by IBO officials the school received a letter from the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Woodrow, along with schools in Hong Kong, Germany, Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Greece were designated as official IB World Schools in March, 2011.


http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBWorldSchoolCake.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBWorldSchoolDedication.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBJesseMorenoJrleftclassof2004providedbreakfastfro mLaPopularTamaleHouse.jpg
Jesse Moreno, Jr. '04 provided breakfast from his La Popular Tamale House


http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBFlag-RaisingLongShot2.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBDaynaMartin.jpg
ROTC Commander Dayna Martin

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBFlag.jpg
IB World School Flag

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBRichardVitale91jpg.jpg
Ricard Vitale '91 president of http://www.woodrowfoundation.org/

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/WoodrowFoundationBoard.jpg
Foundation Board About Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation (http://www.woodrowfoundation.org/about.php)

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBStudentsFlag-Raising.jpg
Some of the ten foreign exchange students this year. A dozen from France arrive in April.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBStudentsawaittheirturntospeak.jpg
IB Students await their turn to speak

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBPrincipalVail.jpg
Principal Ruth Allen Vail '91 - her father, Dr. Edward Allen, was a '65 graduate.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBVinceM.jpg
Attorney Vince Murchison, J. L. Long parent and chair of SBDM, applying for International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBAnaHarris.jpg
Ana Harris, Senior Class President and National Merit Commended and AP Scholar

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBFreshmanS.jpg
IB student Chase Fisher

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBFreshmanZaneWright.jpg
IB student Zane Wright

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBStudent2.jpg
IB student Barrett Blaker

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBCoordinatorDrKathyScherler.jpg
Woodrow IB Coordinator Dr. Kathy Scherler


http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBFormerCityCouncilmanGaryGriffith66andDallasCount yTreasurerJoeWells66.jpg
Former Dallas City Councilman Gary Griffith and Dallas County Treasurer Joe Wells, both class of '66

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee279/lakewooder/IB%20Dedication%20Woodrow%20Wilson%20High%2030%20M arch%202011/IBPrincipalRuthVail91WoodrowFoundationBoardMemberJ asonKulas89.jpg
Principal Ruth Allen Vail '91 and Santander USA CFO Jason Kulas '89, also a member of the Woodrow Foundation Board.

[AeroD]

AH!!! I see what white kids at a DISD school!!! Don't their parents know any better!!?!?!

[ihavebeenseen]

AeroD,
WTF is wrong with you. WWWhy make that comment. You are adding nothing to this thread. It comments like this I wish this board had a down vote capability.


Lakewooder,
I think everybody is buying into a lot of the elementary schools that feed into WW and even WW itself, but the problem in the WW zone is Long. I have heard from so many parents that sent their kids to Lakewood or Stonewall but then they entered Long and pulled their kids out and ended up sending them to private schools if they could not get them transfered into a magnet school. Another problem this brings up is the parents are left sending their children to lesser private schools as those spots are even fewer in the better private schools at 6th grade.

Fix Long and you really fix the WW Zone.

Something I wish DISD would consider is dropping Mata, Auburn and Roberts from the WW feeder pattern. Then add in Sanger and Hexter with a slight redraw of Sanger zone, which is important to get Forrest Hills (and Little) to buy into DISD. That way you would have all of the White Rock neighborhoods going together and needless to say would make a zone that could compete with the best North Texas has to offer.

[Columbus Civil]

Are they white? I honestly don't see skin color.

[AeroD]

AeroD,
WTF is wrong with you. WWWhy make that comment..

I am being a smartass.