Bloomfield Hills academy named No. 2 in nation
Friday, December 11, 2009
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
Of The Oakland Press
U.S. News & World Report has placed the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills in the No. 2 spot of its top 100 Gold Medal schools across the nation.
The magazine looked at more than 21,000 public high schools in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., was named No. 1.
The Gold Medal designation was nationally based on the College Readiness Index, which included scores on Advanced Placement tests or International Baccalaureate tests.
The school is at 1020 E. Square Lake Road in Bloomfield Hills and takes students in grades nine through 12 from several Oakland County districts.
Bloomfield Hills opened the first public International Baccalaureate school in Oakland County. More recently, other districts have started their own programs at various levels. Among them are Huron Valley, Troy and Berkley districts and Notre Dame Preparatory.
Enrollment includes 60.4 percent white students, 36.4 percent Asian, 1.9 percent black and 1.3 percent Hispanic.
It was the school’s longtime principal Bert Okma who presented the case for a new high school offering the International Baccalaureate program in the 1990s.
The program is a rigorous interdisciplinary program which has the same high standards globally. Students produce a portfolio of work that is evaluated by expert assessors throughout the world.
To earn the diploma, students’ work must meet the standards of the program and they must also pass exams in each subject area. Not every student who completes four years at the school and meets the standards that earn them a high school diploma in their district will earn the IB diploma.
The magazine looked at more than 21,000 public high schools in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., was named No. 1.
The Gold Medal designation was nationally based on the College Readiness Index, which included scores on Advanced Placement tests or International Baccalaureate tests.
The school is at 1020 E. Square Lake Road in Bloomfield Hills and takes students in grades nine through 12 from several Oakland County districts.
Bloomfield Hills opened the first public International Baccalaureate school in Oakland County. More recently, other districts have started their own programs at various levels. Among them are Huron Valley, Troy and Berkley districts and Notre Dame Preparatory.
Enrollment includes 60.4 percent white students, 36.4 percent Asian, 1.9 percent black and 1.3 percent Hispanic.
It was the school’s longtime principal Bert Okma who presented the case for a new high school offering the International Baccalaureate program in the 1990s.
The program is a rigorous interdisciplinary program which has the same high standards globally. Students produce a portfolio of work that is evaluated by expert assessors throughout the world.
To earn the diploma, students’ work must meet the standards of the program and they must also pass exams in each subject area. Not every student who completes four years at the school and meets the standards that earn them a high school diploma in their district will earn the IB diploma.
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