Polk County Public Schools
Haines City High has received official notice of its status as an authorized International Baccalaureate site, the 44th school in Florida and second in Polk County to receive the distinction.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) program is an internationally recognized curriculum and diploma program for high school students. There are 572 U.S. high schools authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), www.ibo.org, the governing body of IB schools.
Haines City High started the two-year application process to become an IB school in 2005. The school district began plans for the IB site at Haines City High in response to community members requesting an IB school in eastern Polk County.
An International Baccalaureate program has been at Bartow High since 1996. The Bartow High IB program is consistently recognized as among the best in the state and country. An article in the November 29, 2007 issue of the U.S. News and World Report reported Bartow IB as third-best nationally on a list titled “America’s Best High Schools.” The magazine evaluated more than 18,700 U.S. high schools and only two schools nationwide rated higher than Bartow IB.
Haines City High met the following conditions to receive the IB designation:
--The school has the required teaching faculty and other support resources to implement the program.
--The school’s teachers have undertaken IBO-approved professional development.
--The school district has committed to providing the financial resources necessary to deliver the curriculum including the areas of science laboratories, the library media center and instructional materials.
--Course outlines for every course have been approved by the IBO.
In the fall of 2007, IBO officials visited the Haines City High campus and met with Haines City International Baccalaureate principal Sue Braiman, Haines City High principal Deborah Elmore, teachers, students and parents. They also met with Lori Cunningham, school board chair, Hazel Sellers, school board vice chair and David Lewis, senior director of Polk high schools.
The school district provides transportation to students accepted to Haines City IB living outside a two-mile radius from the school within a specified zone. Haines City’s IB zone includes the communities of Auburndale, Davenport, Dundee, Eagle Lake, Eloise, Haines City, Lake Alfred, parts of Lakeland, Poinciana, Polk City and Winter Haven.
Haines City began as an “IB candidate” school starting with the 2006-2007 school year. The school currently has 49 tenth graders and 73 ninth graders. The school will add freshman classes in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 and have ninth through 12th grades starting with the 2009-2010 school year. Braiman was appointed to the IB principal’s position in 2005 and started plans for the school that year prior to the school’s opening as an IB candidate school in 2006-2007.
Braiman is the former principal of Daniel Jenkins Academy, a school of choice for middle and high school students located in Haines City.
Contact Braiman at (863) 421-3281 for further information on the Haines City High International Baccalaureate program.
