J.E.B. Stuart High School
Falls Church, Virginia
USA
Located in one of the wealthiest counties in Virginia, J.E.B. Stuart High is the most culturally and socio-economically diverse school in Fairfax County. A partnership between parents and school officials has resulted in an IB programme that has created opportunities for all its students to excel.
Back in the 1960s, J.E.B. Stuart High School was responsible for educating the children of wealthy families in Fairfax County. At that time, approximately 97 percent of the mostly upper-middle-class, white students went off to college. All that changed in the late 1960s and 1970s, when African Americans and Southeast Asian refugees began sending their children to Stuart. Immigration increased over the next two decades, with families arriving from Central America, the Middle East and Asia—many of whose children lacked literacy and numeracy skills in their native language.
“The quality assurance system that IB has developed is outstanding. That’s one of several reasons Fairfax County Public Schools decided to pilot the IB Diploma Programme: to pull up the standards and improve Stuart’s image as a school with more impressive academic credentials. Based on the success of our IB students and teachers over the years, we now know the county’s decision was right on the money. ”
David Roylance
IB coordinator
J.E.B. Stuart High School
These shifting demographics began to impact the perception of the school’s academic quality and hard data supported that perception. The school’s average SAT scores were sagging, drop-out rates were rising and fewer kids were heading off to college each year. Two school board members who were familiar with the IB were pivotal in advocating for its implementation. As a result, in 1994, the IB Diploma Programme was launched.
Initially, some parents were concerned that IB was only for “disadvantaged” schools. Once they realized how rigorous the program was, they began to be concerned for the “students in the middle.” To ease those fears, Stuart emphasized the full IB Diploma Programme, while also making IB Certificates available to students who did not want to pursue the full IB Diploma.
Another important decision was to make the IB an open enrollment program to improve the academic experience and, over time, the overall quality of the school. Most of the formal requirements for entry to the diploma were stripped away and, in their place, Stuart provided students with a clear delineation of what was needed before going into each IB course.
From the graduation of its first diploma class in 1996 through the most recent exam session of May 2008, Stuart has maintained a diploma pass rate of 85 percent (higher than the international average of around 80 percent). Moreover, the average IB exam marks of 4 and above on all exams taken over these years (by both diploma and certificate candidates at Stuart) is a very impressive 80 percent. For additional enrichment of the IB environment, Stuart began implementing the MYP in the 2000-2001 school year.
The J.E.B. Stuart Story
In 2008-2009, 14 percent of the senior class, 48 students, will be full IB Diploma candidates. Presently, approximately 50 percent of all eligible Grade 11 and Grade 12 students are enrolled in at least one IB course. If college is an important indication of the success of an IB education, then J.E.B. Stuart has it in droves. In the class of 2007, 87 percent of graduating seniors attended either four- or two-year colleges. This from a school where 67 percent of the students speak a language other than English as their primary language, and where over 50 percent of the students qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program.
