Welcome Students and Families!
IB Coordinator: Mr. Jeffrey Salisbury
Email: salisbury@dadeschools.net
Please email us to schedule an appointment.
We would be happy to help you with any questions you might have.
When can I join the IB program?
During the sophomore year, students may apply for enrollment in the IB Programme and pursue the IB Diploma in their Junior and Senior year. These students will earn Advanced Placement credit concurrently while enrolled in certain IB courses during their upper-class years. Students must maintain a minimum “unweighted” grade point average of 2.5 in the core classes in order to be accepted and remain in the Diploma Programme.
IB Requirements
A World Class Education without Leaving the Beach
Life in the 21st century requires critical-thinking skills and a sense of international-mindedness, something that IB Scholars Academy students at Beach High come to know and understand. The IB Diploma requires a demanding college preparatory curriculum in the classical liberal arts. It was created over thirty years ago as a common university entrance credential to serve a consortium of nations under the auspices of UNESCO, the program is available today in over 600 schools all over the world.
Those who achieve the IB Diploma gain admission to selective universities throughout the world, with some universities offering advanced standing or course credit to students with strong IB examination results. In Florida an IB Diploma automatically qualifies a student for Florida Bright Futures Scholarships at Florida Public universities and students may be granted up to one year in university credits. Furthermore, IB Diploma graduates have much higher college acceptance rates when compared with general acceptance rates
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) DIPLOMA PROGRAMME
An IB education encourages international-mindedness and the cultivation of a rigorous inquiring intellect. With this in mind, Beach High will offer incoming Scholars Academy students a series of Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses along with the IB Diploma Programme. Students will enter the Scholars Academy program in 9th grade and decide in their sophomore year whether to stay in the Scholars Academy or apply to enter the IB Diploma Programme. Non-Scholar’s students may apply as well but must also complete all of the requirements.
The Diploma Programme is an academically challenging and balanced program of education leading to examinations their junior and senior years that prepares students for success at the university and in life beyond. Students must:
- Take one course from the 6 core IB groups, and a Theory of Knowledge course.
- Complete an independent “Creativity, Action and Service” (CAS) learning project. Students can choose to create their own project or continue a legacy project from the MBSH CAS database (see attachment below).
- Conduct a 4,000-word independent research project/extended essay (EE).
- Complete all Internal assessments/orals
- Sit for ALL IB exams
ELIGIBILITY AND GRADE REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY TO THE IB PROGRAM
Practice has indicated that the type of student who will be successful in participating in and completing an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is the type of student who has 1) an interest in earning an International Diploma, 2) is willing to meet the specific course completions requirements listed below, and 3) has met the following criteria:
- Completed Algebra 1, Honors Algebra 2, Honors Geometry, Physical Science and Honors Biology by the end of their sophomore year.
- Maintained 2.5 “unweighted” Grade Point Average (GPA) in the core academic subjects; and
- Passed the FSA, Algebra 1 & Biology EOC exams.
- Take the Geometry EOC, or complete this by 11th grade
- Must have completed an FLVS course (.5 credit) & PE (1 full credit)
- No more than 10 unexcused absences from the previous and current year
- No less than a C in conduct
- No less that a 2 in effort
**It is strongly advised to take the Government & Economics class as a precautionary measure to fulfill regulars FL graduation requirements (this can be done through FLVS during the school year or over the summer)
Final admission is contingent upon the final report card grades. Prior enrollment and success in AP courses as well as success in subjects to be taken at the Higher Level of study will be taken into account during the admissions process.
* If you are a transfer student you must send your transcripts to the IB Coordinator for review and once you have qualified, you must start the enrollment process at our school before officially joining the IB program and obtaining an IB schedule. You must reside within the Miami Beach boundaries to attend our school, if not, a parent choice transfer form must be filled out.
Acceptance Into the IB Program & Expectations
Once accepted into the IB Program you will need to complete the following to earn you IB Diploma:
- Take one class in each of the following core areas: English, Foreign Language (Language B), Individual and Societies, Experimental Sciences, Mathematics, and the Arts or Electives.
- Must maintain a 2.5 unweighted grade point average each nine weeks with no grades below a “C”
- Earn conduct grades of “B” or above in each class and demonstrate behavior as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct
- Earn effort grades of “2” and above in every class
- Maintain satisfactory attendance as articulated by this school
- Demonstrate honesty and integrity, and conduct themselves in a manner that will reflect well on their IB classmates, teachers, families and themselves
- Pass ALL courses in the IB Diploma.
- Sit for all required exams (passing exams is essential in obtaining points needed for the IB Diploma)
- SATISFY ALL IB CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS: **Including all internal assessments, **Theory of Knowledge requirements, **Extended Essay, and the **Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) projects. Earn 24 points or more across the IB subjects tested. 12 Points must be attained from the Higher-Level courses.
All IB Diploma aspiring candidates will be subject to quarterly evaluations and based on the results of this review you will be allowed to pursue the IB Diploma. Students will be placed on probation if they have D’s or F’s or fall short of the requirements. If no improvement is made, students will be exited.
Because you are pursuing the IB Diploma, you are exempt from traditional Florida graduation requirements for 11th and 12th Grade. However, please be aware that if you drop the IB Diploma Program during your junior or senior year, Florida graduation requirements are reinstated. ** It is strongly recommended that’s students complete the regular graduation requirements just in case the student is unable to complete the IB requirements. Please visit FLDOE for more information (http://www.fldoe.org/academics/graduation-requirements/)
**It is strongly suggested that students complete the Government and Economics class in case they need to revert to regular graduation requirements.
Also, please note that the “fixed menu” nature of the IB curriculum does not allow for class changes or substitutions for any reason.
*IB curriculum classes subject to availability. **Required course or project.
Why should I join the IB Programme?
Students have the ability for meaningful activities and internships, and embark upon original research and service leadership projects in preparation to matriculate into selective institutions of higher learning. Our students have been accepted into top colleges and universities across the country.
Please visit: http://www.ibo.org
Reasons to Consider IB
Recognition from Colleges & Universities
College Graduation
In 2015, a longitudinal study showed that IB high school students who completed the IB diploma program were more likely to enroll in a four-year college and graduate in comparison to their peers.
* 78% of Diploma Programme students went to college right after graduating high school and, of those, 95% enrolled in a four-year institution. (Note: Nationally about 69% of high school graduates go on to college immediately & 60% choose a 4-year college).
* 79% had graduated from a college or university with a Bachelor’s degree compared to 39% nationally.
* IB students also had a higher six year graduation rate (83%) compared to the national average (56%).
College-Readiness
Researchers in a 2009 study examined the standards for seven IB Programme courses and compared them to a set of standards for college-readiness. The following was reported about the IB standards:
- A high degree of alignment with college readiness standards in all subject areas
- More advanced than those required for success in entry-level college courses
- IB standards address key cognitive strategies (critical thinking, intellectual inquisitiveness and interpretation skills) that have been identified by college instructors as necessary for college success
College GPAs
Researchers conducted a study in 2010 with more than 1,500 IB students enrolled in the University of California system. The student examined and reported the performance on IB exams and college GPAs of IB students
It was reported that IB students:
- Earned higher GPAs and graduated at higher rates than matched comparison group
- Performance in the IB Programme was the strongest predictor of college GPA
- The average acceptance rate of B students into university/college is 22% higher than the average acceptance rate of the total population.
Student Performance
At the universities in the State University System, IB diploma recipients receive a minimum of 30 credit hours and up to 45 credit hours of advanced credit. The vast majority of the top colleges and universities have a policy for granting advanced credit for IB certificates and diploma students.
Ivy League Acceptance Rate
The acceptance rate of IB students into Ivy League institutions is between 3% and 13% higher compared to the total population acceptance rate.
Miami Beach Senior High College/University Acceptances
- American University
- Barry University
- Boston College
- Boston University
- Brandeis College
- Barnard College
- Carnegie-Mellon University
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Dartmouth University
- Duke University
- Emory University
- Florida Atlantic University
- Florida Gulf Coast University
- Florida International University
- Florida State University
- George Washington University
- Georgetown University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Harvard University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Kings College London (England)
- McGill University
- Miami-Dade College
- Miami-Dade Honors College
- Michigan State University
- New York University
- Northeastern university
- Nova Southeastern University
- Occidental College
- Pennsylvania State University
- Princeton University
- Stanford University
- Syracuse University
- Rice University
- Tulane University
- University of California: Berkeley
- University of Central Florida
- University of Chicago
- University College of London (England)
- University of Florida
- University of Maryland
- University of Miami
- University of Notre Dame
- University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of South Florida
- University of Sydney (Australia)
- University of Texas
- University of Toronto
- University of York (England)
- Yale University