Parents Ask RBUSD to Reconsider IB

Dozens of parents and students in Redondo Beach showed up at Tuesday night's Board of Education to emphasize their support for the International Baccalaureate program.

In early April, the to apply for the program, which encourages research, writing, an international perspective and the theory of knowledge. The decision came several weeks after about showed up at a Board of Education meeting to protest the plan, citing the cost of the program.

Nevertheless, parents in support of IB are not giving up the fight. On Tuesday, Stephen and Blythe Peelor presented the school board with two petitions asking the district to reconsider bringing the IB program to .

"[We want to] get the IB program back on track," Stephen Peelor said.

According to Blythe Peelor, the petitions had a combined total of 114 signatures, 75 of which represent 121 students.

The signatories would consider sending their children to another high school if Redondo Union doesn't implement an IB program, she said.

"Redondo Union's a very good high school, but there's room for improvement," Stephen Peelor said, noting that the enrollment of 17 additional students would cover the program's estimated cost of $100,000.

In the 2009-2010 school year, Redondo Union's enrollment shrank by 50 students, according to prior estimates from district officials. The high school loses about 225 students from north Redondo to Mira Costa.

The IB program would be offered in tandem with Advanced Placement courses already available. Nevertheless, would not just be open to honors students—one parent said students with grade-point averages as low as 2.0 would be able to apply.

During the open comment section of the meeting, one parent pointed out that the district has already spent thousands of dollars to bring the program to Redondo Union.

Peelor's daughter, Allegra Peelor, also spoke on behalf of the IB program.

"I believe that the IB program is very important for students at Redondo Union High School, especially me and other high-achievers," said Allegra, an eighth-grade student at . "The IB program will … help us get into better colleges."

She also said she thought the program would better prepare students for college coursework "because the IB program is very rigorous and difficult and challenging."

Another Parras Middle School eighth-grade student, Allie Tsuji, said she would appreciate having the choice between the IB program and Advanced Placement courses.

"Originally, I planned to take the AP route through high school," she said, noting that having multiple choices was important to her.

"Otherwise, I'm stuck with only one," she said.

Her mother, Donies Yee-Tsuji, said the IB program would bring "international awareness" and that while "AP programs get you to college," IB prepares students for college.

"Our future needs to understand concepts and not just memorize facts," she said, later adding, "My hope is that the IB program becomes a part of Redondo Union High School so we can use it as a tool so we might coexist with our global partners."

Additionally, the parents want a say in the high school's programs, Redondo Beach resident Vicky Gallion said after the meeting.

Anita Stoddard, a teacher at Redondo Union, was the only person at the meeting to speak out against the program; however, 81 of the high school's teachers signed a petition against IB in January.

The school has 102 teachers, according to its online staff directory.

According to an IB consultant's report, she said, Redondo Union was not ready for the program, which she emphasized would cost a lot of money during a time when budgets are stretched thin.

The "money needs to be front-loaded," she said, adding that "any funds derived from an increase in student numbers would not be fully realized immediately…

"What will be lost in order to pay for this program?" she asked.

No decision about the program was made Tuesday night.