Richland 1 to add coveted academic program to two middle schools

Two middle schools in Richland 1 have been approved for a coveted academic program, a top official announced last week.

Hopkins and Southeast middle schools have been approved to set up an International Baccalaureate (IB) program, Richland 1 Superintendent Craig Witherspoon announced during a school board meeting. Both of those programs will feed into Lower Richland High’s IB program, Witherspoon said.

International Baccalaureate programs provide a more challenging curriculum, emphasize critical thinking, mandate community service and allow students greater freedom to choose topics and devise projects, according to greatschools.org. In order to implement an IB program at a school, the district needs to apply and undergo a site visit from the non-profit International Baccalaureate Organization, Witherspoon said.

“Not only does this expand offerings, it also strengthens the pathway at the same time,” Richland 1 spokeswoman Karen York said in an email.

One of the hallmarks of IB programs is the focus on “global thinking” and a rigorous course load, said Richland 1 board member Lila Anna Sauls, whose has a son who graduated from A.C. Flora’s IB programs and another who is currently enrolled.

“Since it is such an intensive experience a lot of students will shy away from it because they think it’s too much work,” Sauls said. “It’s a very intensive program. My children don’t take summers off.”

Students throughout the district who attend, say, Eau Claire, can still apply to enroll at the IB programs at Lower Richland or A.C. Flora, but the students have to find their own transportation, Sauls said. Adding the International Baccalaureate program to middle schools feeding Lower Richland High School — where more than three in four students are in poverty, according to S.C. Department of Education data — will help increase access to this prestigious program, Sauls said.

“Everybody is excited because it helps these middle school kids get engaged and get their diploma,” Sauls said. “This is something that can benefit a lot of children in the district.”

This doubles the number of International Baccalaureate programs in the district, and introduces the first IB programs to middle school. A.C. Flora and Lower Richland high schools are the only schools currently operating IB programs in Richland 1, according to the district’s website.

In the future, Richland 1 may be looking to add International Baccalaureate programs for elementary school students, York said.

“We do want to start looking at a primary years program that feeds into that feeder pattern,” Witherspoon said.