H-F is transitioning to an IB for all program which will complement the already existing curriculum and provide opportunities for all students to take rigorous courses with real world career experiences. This new direction will launch in Fall 2026.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (DP) is an advanced placement curriculum designed to meet global standards and high expectations.
At H-F, the shift to IB for all will have two tracks that prepare students for success in college, career and their post-secondary lives.
The first is a traditional IB Diploma track. This will maintain the same IB standards that H-F has had in the past.
According to H-F’s School Board notes, the second track is “a Career-related Program (CP) model which combines two IB courses of choice with a career-related core [focus], including personal and professional skills, community service, reflective projects and cultural studies.” This would be the new curriculum initiated by H-F’s new administration.
The new IB courses (pending Board of Education approval) are open to all students and bear college credit opportunities if students participate in the IB exams. According to H-F’s School Board notes, the new proposed IB courses include Sports, Exercise & Health Science, Design Technology, Global Politics, Theatre, Film, Digital Society and Dance.
The IB CP options will be connected to a career pathway. H-F is designing “career clusters,” which includes pathways in Health Sciences, STEM, Arts & Communications and Business & Public Service.
To achieve the school’s IB for all goals, the rest of this school year will be filled with professional development for teachers and continued partnerships with IB schools and those knowledgeable about career pathways, according to H-F’s School Board. The school also plans to staff “key roles such as a CP Coordinator and Community Engagement Coordinator.”
H-F’s existing IB program started in 2013 and has served dozens of students. With the new IB CP, H-F has the opportunity to serve the whole community.
Though many students find the IB program time consuming and sometimes frustrating, many still love the program and its benefits overall.
IB student Rachel Latman stated that her favorite subject is Theory of Knowledge (TOK). She likes this subject because the class gets to explore the true “meaning of kindness.”
Latman is a non–diploma student. She stated that the IB program requires more deep thinking especially in TOK. Latman also stated that the IB program is a very accepting community especially because the classes all work together on their projects.
Junior Kamille Thorton finds that the program requires a lot of deep thinking. Students are “forced to analyze subjects a little bit deeper.”
Thorton stated that the program isn’t that bad if you stay afloat, similar to the workload of an AP class.
Thorton remembered an assignment in which she had to guess who of her peers was a man and who was a woman while blindfolded using a sense of touch and smell.
IB student Lady Tedora Gibson stated that she loves to participate in conspiracy theories with her class. She explained that there is no right answer in TOK and that you should always stand out.
IB teacher Joseph Upton stated that he loves how the IB program has extended essays and how the students get to choose what they want to discover.
Upton stated that students planning on joining the IB program should make sure to find a way to stay organized. He also stated that one of his favorite aspects about the program is the diversity in each subject and the different views amongst the students in general.
