Courtesy of the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza
Kyle Magin, Staff Writer

The Incline schools’ plan to implement an International Baccalaureate curriculum may not need Washoe County School District Board approval, said Superintendent Paul Dugan.

Last week, the Incline Schools Reflective task force recommended Incline add the IB program to the public school system, among two other recommendations.

One of the recommendations — funding for a Spanish-language liaison — will be implemented without extra district funds. The others — IB and a ski academy — are curriculum matters and may not need board approval, Dugan said.

“It’s a curriculum piece, and generally the board does not need to approve that,” Dugan said. The matter will probably still go before the board as an information item on a future agenda, Dugan said.

He said Incline educators have the go-ahead to begin implementing IB into the school district.

Jeni Cross, who spearheaded much of the IB push in this year’s task force, said Incline High School will submit its initial application for the IB Diploma Programme this October.

The Diploma Programme covers grades 11-12 in high school, offering a strenuous college-preparation curriculum for highly motivated students only.

She said the program could be implemented and authorized by IB’s governing body by fall 2011.

For the Middle Years and Primary Years programmes, initial applications must be submitted by May 1, 2010. The Primary Years Programme covers elementary school grades, and requires a full time foreign language teacher, as a second language is mandated under IB curriculum. Given Incline’s geography and demographics, Cross said Spanish is the likely second language, which is taught to children as early as first grade. The Middle Years Programme covers middle school through grade 10.

All initial applications come with a $8,500 application fee. A second fee of $8,500 is due at the time of a school’s authorization with a second application. With the three Incline schools applying, the entire application/authorization price tag is $51,000.

Defined figures on additional costs such as teacher training and a yearly IB program fee are unknown as of this writing.

Still, if all goes according to plan, Cross said, all phases of Incline education could be implemented as IB by the 2012-2013 school year.

Dugan said the district will not fund Incline’s IB aspirations beyond the funding already allocated to the schools on a per-student basis.

“I think what may occur is the popularity of the program will attract many more students, and with those students come more funding,” Dugan said. “I think that is how they will pay for the program, it will be self-sustaining.”

Dugan, who retires Aug. 1, said he plans to work with his as of yet unnamed successor to educate them on the efforts of the task force and the importance of IB in Incline.

“That will definitely be a part of our transitional documentation,” Dugan said.

His office also pledged $5,000 to the curriculum’s establishment, which Dugan said will remain on record for his successor.