New I.B. course for SSHS

Next year, South Side High School will be offering students a new International Baccalaureate class: I.B. Business Management.

The new class will be offered to students who are juniors starting next year. It will be a two-year course that students can either take as a High Level or Standard Level course, depending on if they are going for their I.B. Diploma or not.

“This is an idea that has been a longtime coming, and is the result of a lot of really long, hard questions that we asked ourselves,” said SSHS Principal John Murphy who, until this year, was the district’s I.B. Coordinator. “The business sequence of courses is alive and well at South Side High School, but has remained unchanged, relatively speaking, over the last eight years. And as we all know, as the world changes, so do the services and the learning opportunities we provide our kids.”

The I.B. business course will be offered in addition to the business classes the high school already has. There are currently 10 sections of business classes, Murphy said, each which enroll between 25 and 29 students.

Over two years, the students will explore case studies and perform research based on real-world business issues and experiences. They will have to work on research projects and papers. The I.B. exam will be taken at the end of the second year of the course.

It will be open to all juniors next year, as there is no prerequisite to taking the class.

“The I.B. Business Management course is looking to develop in students a holistic understanding of today’s dynamic business environment,” said Elizabeth Nisler-Cross, an assistant principal at SSHS and the current I.B. coordinator. “So concepts such as innovation, strategy, globalization are anchored in business management theories and tools, and they are explored further in real-world examples and case studies. Very much like what students are familiar with in courses like environmental systems and psychology.”

According to Superintendent Dr. William Johnson, the district would not have to hire any new teachers. The only cost, Murphy said, would be about $1,500 for textbooks.

“We’ve had lots of discussion,” said Johnson. “We believe it’s very timely, and it’s something that both Mr. Murphy would like, and I would recommend that the board accept it for this coming school year. We’re ready to roll on this.”