Schools

Another Pittsburgh-Area School District Considers Adding IB

International Baccalaureate currently is available in the Upper St. Clair School District, at Pittsburgh Public Schools' Barack Obama Academy for International Studies, and at Vincentian Academy, a Catholic school in McCandless Township.

The North Allegheny School District could become one of the few providers in the Pittsburgh area to offer the International Baccalaureate program.

The idea is being considered in the district's six-year comprehensive plan that will go into effect for the 2014-15 school year.

The cost is estimated at $60,000 annually for three years to train 50 to 60 people to teach and manage the program, according to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Currently in the Pittsburgh area, International Baccalaureate, or IB, is available in the Upper St. Clair School District, at Pittsburgh Public Schools' Barack Obama Academy for International Studies, and at Vincentian Academy, a Catholic school in McCandless Township, according to the report.

Three IB programs are offered in Upper St. Clair schools—IB Primary Years, IB Middle Years and IB Diploma Programme.

The Upper St. Clair School Board voted to convert Streams Elementary School into an all-IB school in February 2012, which kept the Primary Years Program in the district. USC Superintendent Patrick O'Toole recommended the move due to an increase in education choices around the area.

What do you think about the possibility that the North Allegheny School District will add the IB program? Tell us in the comments below.

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