For all young people, high school graduation represents both past achievements and a new beginning, but this year’s graduating class at Chief Sealth High School may be better prepared for their future than previous classes, thanks to the school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

The class of 2009 is the first to graduate from Sealth with the opportunity to take challenging IB courses, or even earn a full IB degree.
Because Sealth has been established as an International Baccalaureate World School, it offers a curriculum that is more broad and has an international focus.

Classes like Theory of Knowledge, which requires students analyze the ways they learn, encourage them to tackle new ideas.

“(International Baccalaureate is) designed to be less about facts and more about deep learning and a global perspective,” said principal John Boyd. “For the school as a whole it’s outstanding. It has brought everyone to a higher level.”

Students can take just as many IB courses as they are interested in, or apply for the full IB degree.

Many students, 40 percent of the graduating class, have taken at least one IB course. But 17 students have applied to receive full IB degrees, which requires they write a 4,000 word essay, commit 150 hours to artistic, athletic and service activities and complete the required six IB courses.

Even after completing all the requirements, the student’s application is still reviewed and scored over the summer.

“It’s a remarkable achievement,” said Boyd. “It’s not a cake walk, but when they’re done these kids have an experience that will help them later in life.”

Students who have applied for the full IB degree have said they knew it would be difficult.

“I wanted to challenge myself,” said Cooper Smith, who has applied for an IB degree. “I knew it might be above my level but I wanted to do better than the status quo.”

Students said the biggest challenge in the program was time management.

“To manage the workload, you really have to make sacrifices,” said Emma Henderson, an IB degree applicant who stopped playing sports to focus on her school work.

But their hard work has already begun to pay off. Many students participating in the IB program have been accepted to prestigious four-year universities, including the University of Washington. Even with less than impressive GPAs, universities are recognizing the value of demanding IB courses.

“It’s a great program,” said Henderson. “You don’t have to be the best student, you just have to put your all into it.”