Schools

Redondo School Board Revisits International Program

The Redondo Beach school board revisits the International Baccalaureate program about a month after deciding to withdraw its application.

Though the Redondo Beach Unified School District's Board of Education voted in August to withdraw Redondo Union High School's application for the International Baccalaureate program, some parents are still questioning the move.

At a school board meeting last week, Blythe Peelor, the parent of a freshman at Redondo Union High School and an ardent supporter of the IB program, asked the board why it decided to withdraw its application.

"There's been no opposition" to the program, she told them, adding that she had submitted a petition in May with signatures of parents who agreed that the IB program would make them more likely to send their teenagers to Redondo Union.

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Hermosa Beach students have the option to attend either Mira Costa or Redondo Union public high schools.

"We've proven that this program would be the best program at this school," Peelor said.

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Superintendent Dr. Steve Keller said that the district withdrew the application because of the tough economic conditions in the state and the lack of support from the staff. But Peelor didn't seem to buy it.

"[IB is] an investment," she said. "It's money coming back to the school. The staff would be prepared if it weren't for a select few that stood up and said for select reasons they didn't like it."

In March, about  attended a school board meeting to protest the IB program. Eighty-one teachers signed a petition against the program in January. At the time, the high school's online staff directory indicated that there were 102 teachers employed by the school.

Some parents dismissed the teachers' position.

"I really don't understand how we can present this to you … this is all of the answers, right here," Peelor told the board at last Tuesday's meeting. "It's like we were talking to a wall all this time … There are a lot of parents who are very confused as to why this decision was made."

Later on during the same meeting, school board members publicly discussed their positions on the IB program.

"I really think that this is going to be an important program," said board member Drew Gamet. "The budget hopefully is an issue that we can push forward on the next couple of years … I really think this is an important piece of the future for Redondo Union High School."

School board President Jane Diehl said that when the district looked at the program a decade ago, the biggest concerns were finances. She said the program appears to have many hidden expenses in addition to the $100,000 estimated cost.

"To me, it's not just the expenses that were outlined here," Diehl said. "Even when we met with the consultant, she listed many different things that were not on the list that were additional expenses that were going to be required... I would like to make sure when the district does [the program], they have the funds to do it properly—not just 'kind of, sort of.'"

Board member Laura Emdee pointed out that the district's IB advisor indicated that Redondo Union was unprepared for the program.

"You've got to listen to the advisor," Emdee said. "If you read the report, she said we're not ready."

Board member Anita Avrick agreed, adding, "I think the IB program is a phenomenal program, but right now it's not a good program for us because we do not have the support."

Avrick also said that she was eager to hear what the teachers have in store for improving academics at the high school.

Board member Todd Loewenstein was also very supportive of the program; however, he noted that "IB was only a piece of the puzzle—we have a lot of pieces of the puzzle."

"If in the next couple of years we do not have IB, it is not the end of the world … I'm incredibly disappointed that we have delayed this perhaps permanently, perhaps temporarily … What I am encouraged to hear is that everybody thinks this is a good program," he said.

He also noted that he was disappointed in the behavior of many of the people involved in the debate, adding that he heard from people who said they were afraid to speak their minds on the issue because they didn't want their children to be singled out.

"If you're opposed to something, do it on the merits," he said. "I think some parents have been very, you know, distraught about this."

The school board members also pointed out the need for a way to gauge the success of the teachers' plans. They agreed to look into how they could improve the school for all students while simultaneously getting it ready for a future foray into the IB program.

"We need to look at the library situation because that was on the report," Diehl said. "That's something we could all work on now that would be good for all students … we could check the library part off the [IB] list."

The newest member of the school board, student representative Brooke O'Neal, said she was uncertain about how the program would affect students at the high school.

"[For] most of the students I know, the IB program doesn't appeal to them too much," she said, adding that many seemed to be overwhelmed with college. From what she had heard, "people get into the IB program and it's just completely stressful," she said.

By the end of the meeting, the board did not make any decisions related to the program.

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