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Partly Cloudy South Side eliminates Regents History
All juniors will take I.B. classes
At the Board of Education meeting last week, South Side High School Principal Dr. Carol Burris received permission to remove Regents History from the 11th grade curriculum and replace it with I.B. History.
I.B., or International Baccalaureate, is a more advanced class that South Side offers in many subjects. A few years ago, the school did away with Regents-level English and instituted I.B. English For All. It plans to do the same with history.
“We only had 19 students enroll next year for [11R History],” Burris said. “And we had so much success with our I.B. English for All that we thought it was a good time to do I.B. History for All to help better prepare kids for the Common Core exams that are coming down the road.”
To help students who didn’t take I.B. History, the school will hold support classes on alternating days.
Burris explained that the I.B. curriculum is a two-year course, but is still structured in such a way as to prepare students for the U.S. History and Government Regents they take in 11th grade. “There are some additional assessments that require kids to do extra reading and writing,” she said, “all of which is important for our students to have in order to be prepared for college.”
The school received permission from the Board of Education to make the change on March 11. When student schedules are sent home soon, they will include a letter notifying students and parents about the change. Guidance counselors will also be contacting families to let them know about it, and recommending to some students that they take the support class.
Burris said that the decision to do away with 11R History would benefit the students and better prepare them for college, as has been the case with I.B. English for All.
“We saw that benefit immediately after we moved all the students to I.B. English,” she said. “We have a track record of whenever we give a challenge with the appropriate support, our students rise to the occasion and we see better outcomes. So that students come back to us and really appreciate having had I.B. experiences in high school.”
