Commack Schools Launch First-of-its-Kind IB Career Path Program

Commack NY

08 April, 2022

11:37 AM

Description

The Commack Union Free School District is excited to announce that it has beenauthorized as the first school district on Long Island to offer the IBCPprogram for students. The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Career-relatedProgramme (CP) is designed for students in grades 11 and 12 interested in pursuingan education that provides them opportunities to engage in unique learningexperiences relevant to their chosen field of study. This brand new programwill align with others at Commack High School offering college and careerpreparatory programs implementing more robust and targeted pathways that allowstudents to choose specific, high-level course work geared to their interestsin a future career pathway. The IB Career-related Programme will enhance the Commack School District's current IBDiploma offering to engage more students in meaningful and innovative work. Withinthe framework of the IB approach to learning, students have the opportunitiesto build skills that will make them highly successful for what they choose todo after they graduate from Commack High School. "This initiative will help guarantee that our high school students, instructors, andcounselors can transform a unique, meaningful early college experience intosustained development in a field of study and career," said Steven Hartman,President of the Board of Education. "Creating opportunities for our studentsto engage in challenging, stimulating, innovative programs like the IBCP areexemplary of what distinguishes the Commack School District and led to our highschool being recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence this year, andwhat helps ensure our graduates continue to be represented at the finestcolleges and universities across the country." As part of their IBCP core learning, students will extend their experiences far beyond thewalls of the classroom. To create a sense of inquiry, students will work on aReflective Project where they will seek to address an ethical issue related totheir field of study. This project-based approach will be guided by aprofessional mentor who has experience with the chosen issue. To furtherdevelop the career readiness of the student, they will complete a ServiceLearning component which will make them open-minded, reflective and principledindividuals. Through service, students will seek to impact their communities byengaging in projects that teach them the skills of the pathway, while also improvingthe world around them. Ranging from the restoration of a stream, creatingwebsites for charitable organizations and creating public service campaignsadvocating for current issues, students will lead meaningful experiences thatsimultaneously further their career education while making a lasting impact intheir local and national communities. Preparing students to enter the world of the 21st century is a key foundationof the IBCP, therefore, students will take a two-year course called Personaland Professional Skills which will foster their development of collaboration,problem-solving and ethical decision making. Additionally, students will studya second language for both years of the program as they extend theirconnections to the outside world. "This first-of-its-kind IB Career-related Programme will allow students to explorepotential careers and discover a passion or interest, complete high schoolcourses that specifically relate with their planned post-secondary courses andprograms, and develop skills to prepare them for the workforce," said Dr. JordanCox, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Commack SchoolDistrict. "This program will give our students an edge when they are applyingfor colleges and universities – there is no other program like this offered byany other school district on Long Island." The seemingly endless benefits to an innovative program like the IBCP includestudent exposure to advanced career and technical education and earningvaluable certifications, including both the NYS CTE in Business Administrationand their IBCP Certificate simultaneously. Implementing a program like IBCP takes the standard education process to a new level by incorporating real-world experiential learning with the project-based approaches of IB coursework. The IBCP program will offer two career pathways at launch: Business Administration andSTEM. Students can obtain both the NYS CTE in Business Administration and theirIBCP Certificate; and a STEM pathway for students interested in the sciences,engineering and pre-med fields. These courses will incorporate real-worldexperiential learning with the project-based approaches of IB coursework. TheDistrict fully expects to expand the number of career pathways available in theIBCP programme each year, reaching even more students and allowing them to "tryon" college and career level learning while still enrolled in high school. For more information about the Commack School District, please visit the District's website at https://www.commackschools.org. Happenings in the District can also be followed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/commackschooldistrict.