Concerns for our IB Program at Cedar Ridge High School

[Crystal Medlin]

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Good morning Board of County Commissioners,

My name is Crystal Medlin and I am the Orange County Schools International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Coordinator based at Cedar Ridge High School. We are an IB World School, and

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part of an international organization committed to personal and academic achievement.

I have been the IB

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program coordinator for 6 years, an IB educator for 8 years, an Orange County Schools educator for 12 years, and a NC public school teacher for 15 years.  Eight

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years ago my teaching

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completely transformed when I became part of the IB organization.  This program, the only one of its kind in all of Orange County, not only prepares our student

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s for college and university studies, but it also helps teach our young adults how to think critically about global problems, consider a variety of multicultural perspectives, and communicate effectively.  In short, they become GLOBAL life-long learners, excelling in their academic studies AND personal development.

The IB program has a distinct history at Cedar Ridge High School, and since graduating it's first students in 2005, our program graduated 398 IB Diploma and Certificate students.  We are

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xpecting nearly 200 students

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at Cedar Ridge in the 2017-18 school year who have committed to

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the OCS IB Diploma Program.

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For the duration of their high school careers, these IB Diploma candidates and

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certificate

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students will be volunteering nearly 30,000 collective hours in our community.  These young

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people will serve in campus leadership positions, as well as acting as representatives for Orange County Schools in programs like the Model UN

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and Robotics Club.  Our candidates

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have made plans to receive an

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international education from highly-trained, dedicated, and skilled IB educators.  These students

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are going to

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make a difference

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and it would be a

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true injustice to take this opportunity away from them.

You may remember one of our alumnus - Mateo Carvalho - who spoke to the Orange County Commissioners last May.  His emotional speech regarding teacher pay and supplement increases is just one example of the value of an IB education and its aim to to produce strong leaders, critical thinkers, and knowledgeable problem-solvers.

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On Friday, our staff learned that the IB Diploma Program could be in jeopardy.  I

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appreciate the incredibly difficult task our Board of Education and Superintendent have ahead of them.  The need

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to make decisions about cutting parts of our educational system, where there is simply no room to make cuts.

I

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am

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writing you on behalf of the parents, students, teachers, and other stakeholders of the IB Diploma Program.  In the coming weeks, the Board of County Commissioners will have a very important decision to make regarding the increased per pupil spending requested by our Board

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of Education.  This $257 total increase per pupil

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is

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a must.  It will help our dedicated and trained educators continue to provide one of the very best college & career preparatory educational programs available to high school students.  This program is locally, nationally, and internationally recognized.  This increased investment in our students is money well spent by our county.  With it,

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we can ensure

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the Orange County Schools International Baccalaureate program can continue to produce students who excel intellectually, emotionally, and socially.

I appreciate your time and continued support of Orange County Schools.

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Crystal B. Medlin

NBCT in Adolescence/Young Adulthood Science
OCS IB Coordinator
IB Chemistry, Honors Chemistry