GROTON, Conn. – In the past nine months, the International Baccalaureate Program at Fitch High School has experienced a lot of changes that could stand to benefit students in the next few years. Fitch’s IB Coordinator has changed, more teachers are interested in IB, and new IB classes are in the works. In this feature, you will learn all about these changes.
Firstly, the IB Program contains the Diploma Program, and the Career-related Program. It is part of an international education that is recognized in over 156 countries for teenagers in Junior and Senior year. It requires students to take a set number of IB classes of their choosing.
The first major change came when English teacher Christopher Morth was named the new IB Coordinator. After many years as an IB English teacher, he was chosen to take over two IB Theory of Knowledge courses, and the full responsibilities as Coordinator.
“My big goal with IB is to grow the program beyond what it has been […] it has developed a bit of an elitist stigma to it and I’m really trying to do away with that,” Morth said of his goals with the program. “If a four-year university is on your horizon this is the best preparation you could possibly imagine.”
In further changes to the program, Daniel Giovinazzo, an English teacher at Fitch, will be trained on IB English this upcoming summer.
“I think for me as a teacher you have to be a learner and you don’t ever want to limit yourself, and IB, from what I know about it, would just make me more versatile as an English teacher,” Giovinazzo said of his future IB training. “I really like this idea of how to approach ideas, texts, and subjects with a global context in mind.”
New classes are coming to the program, and several more are able to run, yet need more people interested. Some of these classes include Ab Initio (Beginner) Language Acquisition (Spanish and French) courses, Environmental Systems and Societies, Digital Societies, Geography, History, and more.
The IB Program includes several courses that are part of the IB Career-related Program. Fitch offers education, engineering, and medical preparation.
“If you’re not going to a four-year university we do have the Career Pathways, the IB Career Program, and we have other things here that are maybe a little more tailored to your needs,” said Morth.
Course selection, including IB course selection, will last from now until Feb. 29. Anyone interested students should make contact with Mr. Morth in Room 3111, and/or their guidance counselors. It is to note that any IB classes can be taken on their own, without being in the full IB Diploma Program.
