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closeA well-rounded, preparatory education
Sumner High School proudly congratulates the school district’s first-ever International Baccalaureate graduating class
Avani Nadkarni
Early in her high school career, recent Sumner High School graduate Emily Bulley heard that the small town high school was getting a big program: International Baccalaureate. That’s all it took for the 2009 Sumner High School valedictorian to switch from the Puyallup School District into the much smaller Sumner School District.
“I took honors classes (in Puyallup), but when I heard about Sumner getting an IB program, I switched,” Bulley said. “I’m so glad I did.”
This year, Bulley and 13 other Sumner High School students became the first in the district to become IB graduates.
“This is a real focus on their critical thinking and analyzing skills,” Prestin said. “You have to be studying absolutely everything.”
The program may have come to the Sumner School District at the perfect time for Bulley, who entered the two-year program during her junior year, but for those involved in coordinating it, it was a long time coming.
“Our previous superintendent (Donald Eismann) had long hoped that one of the high schools (in the district) would have an IB program,” said Ann Cook, Sumner School District communications director. “It does take a commitment because teachers have to have specific training (to teach IB classes).”
After learning that the closest IB school for interested Sumner students was Tacoma’s Foss High School, Sumner High School Principal Bill Gaines took on the challenge. The 15-year Sumner High School veteran knew it would be tough — students like Bulley from all over East Pierce County would scramble to transfer to his high school. The logistics have proven to be a bit of a nightmare: Making a master schedule that allows for the school’s four-period days, popular agricultural science classes and electives isn’t always easy. Gaines knows, however, that it’s worth it.
The teachers pitched in as well, spending countless hours of their own time getting properly certified. The high school’s Japanese teacher, Kay Jones, paid out of her own pocket to travel to Japan and get trained.
“Our staff really stepped up,” Gaines said.
The students, too, rose to the occasion.
“I like challenges,” 2009 IB grad Zak Barry said. “As I took my regular classes, I knew that there was something harder out there for me to do.”
When the IB program came to Sumner, the high school had to let go of Advanced Placement classes, which were moved to Bonney Lake High School. This way, Gaines said, Sumner School District students have an option.
IB differs from AP in that it strives for a much more well-rounded outlook. Students are encouraged to be advanced in not just one particular subject or area, but in all.
“With IB, it’s not just in the U.S.A., it’s externally regulated,” Bulley said. “Our tests are graded in China, India, Thailand. You need to know how to analyze and organize the information in a way that is universal.”
One of the questions on the math exam, Barry recalled, asked students to find a formula to compare the Body Mass Index of American women to women in another country.
Another perk of the IB program: It can be tailored to meet the needs of any particular school. Sumner, for example, incorporated an agricultural science course into the rigorous program. Administrators are always seeking for ways to cater to the students in the program. One parent nervously asked if their child could fit IB classes, band and an agricultural science course into their schedule.
“There are a lot of kids that want to do everything,” Cook said. “(We) do (our) best to make it happen.”