Students take IB-designed courses in regular subjects like English and biology, but also more specialized areas like global politics, math applications and interpretations, and “theory of knowledge.” That last one is about putting knowledge into perspective while navigating ambiguous issues with multiple plausible answers, to help make sense of the world.
“We are extraordinary lucky to have a program here in Springfield that allows our students to see how their work can compete on a worldwide scale,” said IB program coordinator Beth Biester.
The number of Springfield students who participate in the program varies each year because students can participate as a “course student” and take one or more select IB courses, or as a full diploma candidate and take all IB classes.
Last year, the school had seven full diploma students and 54 course students sit for their final senior exams.
Senior Kayla Miller said she likes the program because it focuses on international topics and develops life skills.
“It gives you skills you can use in your real life, like critical thinking skills. It allows you to have an open mindset,” she said. “I chose to participate because I knew I wanted a rigorous course load, and when I saw the balance between STEM subjects and the arts, I knew it would cater to me and my interests.”
Biester said students consistently return after graduation to tell her how much the IB program helped them in college, including how to manage their time, think critically and independently, how all the different disciplines they study overlap conceptually, the trust and friendship they feel with other IB students and valuing the relationships they make with their teachers.
Biester said one recent graduate who now attends Columbia University had a freshman year roommate from Albania who also graduated from the IB program in his country. The two were able to share stories about what they did for their IB internal assessments and were able to discuss the Albanian novel that the Springfield High School student read in his IB English course. “You just don’t get that with any other program,” she said.
“I see the impact every day in my own classroom: students connecting something they studied in IB Global Politics to something we’re reading in English, or seeing a kid realize the impact of one individual through the completion of their Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) project,” she said. “IB has thoughtfully designed their program to develop the whole student, which is another characteristic that makes it unique.”
Last spring, two 2024 Springfield graduates earned perfect scores on IB exams.
Hannah Mattison was the first Springfield student to score two perfect 7s on IB end-of-course exams in global politics (higher level) and math applications and interpretations (standard level).
“Although Hannah’s 7s are not the first for SHS, she is the first student to receive two perfect scores in different courses,” said district communications specialist Jenna Leinasars.
Max Arimany also received a perfect 7 on the IB math applications and interpretations standard level exam, “making his score the ninth perfect score in school history.”
These scores put the two in an elite group of only 5.6% of students worldwide who earned 7s in Global Politics HL and 4.1% of students worldwide in IB Math Applications and Interpretation SL in 2024, according to Leinasars.
Biester said 20 years ago, both North and South high schools made separate but collaborative applications and both were approved for the IB program in 2005 under superintendent Scott Spears and then Edna Jean Harper.
“Becoming an IB school is a rigorous, year-long process that involves a very detailed application and a multi-day site visit,” she said.
IB’s mission is listed as “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.”
There are 17 high schools in Ohio who offer the IB Diploma Program, including Kettering Fairmont, two in Cincinnati and five in the Columbus area.
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