Commack Schools Launch First-of-its-Kind IB Career Path Program

The Commack Union Free School District is excited to announce that it has been
authorized as the first school district on Long Island to offer the IBCP program for students. The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Career-related Programme (CP) is designed for students in grades 11 and 12 interested in pursuing an education that provides them opportunities to engage in unique learning experiences relevant to their chosen field of study. This brand new program will align with others at Commack High School offering college and career preparatory programs implementing more robust and targeted pathways that allow students to choose specific, high-level course work geared to their interests in a future career pathway.

The IB Career-related Programme will enhance the Commack School District’s current IB Diploma offering to engage more students in meaningful and innovative work. Within the framework of the IB approach to learning, students have the opportunities to build skills that will make them highly successful for what they choose to do after they graduate from Commack High School.

“This initiative will help guarantee that our high school students, instructors, and counselors can transform a unique, meaningful early college experience into sustained development in a field of study and career,” said Steven Hartman, President of the Board of Education. “Creating opportunities for our students to engage in challenging, stimulating, innovative programs like the IBCP are exemplary of what distinguishes the Commack School District and led to our high school being recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence this year, and what helps ensure our graduates continue to be represented at the finest colleges and universities across the country.”

As part of their IBCP core learning, students will extend their experiences far beyond the walls of the classroom. To create a sense of inquiry, students will work on a Reflective Project where they will seek to address an ethical issue related to their field of study. This project-based approach will be guided by a professional mentor who has experience with the chosen issue. To further develop the career readiness of the student, they will complete a Service Learning component which will make them open-minded, reflective and principled individuals. Through service, students will seek to impact their communities by engaging in projects that teach them the skills of the pathway, while also improving the world around them. Ranging from the restoration of a stream, creating websites for charitable organizations and creating public service campaigns advocating for current issues, students will lead meaningful experiences that simultaneously further their career education while making a lasting impact in their local and national communities.

Preparing students to enter the world of the 21st century is a key foundation of the IBCP, therefore, students will take a two-year course called Personal and Professional Skills which will foster their development of collaboration, problem-solving and ethical decision making. Additionally, students will study a second language for both years of the program as they extend their connections to the outside world.

“This first-of-its-kind IB Career-related Programme will allow students to explore potential careers and discover a passion or interest, complete high school courses that specifically relate with their planned post-secondary courses and programs, and develop skills to prepare them for the workforce,” said Dr. Jordan Cox, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Commack School District. “This program will give our students an edge when they are applying for colleges and universities – there is no other program like this offered by any other school district on Long Island.”

The seemingly endless benefits to an innovative program like the IBCP include student exposure to advanced career and technical education and earning valuable certifications, including both the NYS CTE in Business Administration and their IBCP Certificate simultaneously. Implementing a program like IBCP takes the standard education process to a new level by incorporating real-world experiential learning with the project-based approaches of IB coursework.

The IBCP program will offer two career pathways at launch: Business Administration and STEM. Students can obtain both the NYS CTE in Business Administration and their IBCP Certificate; and a STEM pathway for students interested in the sciences, engineering and pre-med fields. These courses will incorporate real-world experiential learning with the project-based approaches of IB coursework. The District fully expects to expand the number of career pathways available in the IBCP programme each year, reaching even more students and allowing them to “try on” college and career level learning while still enrolled in high school.

For more information about the Commack School District, please visit the District's website at https://www.commackschools.org. Happenings in the District can also be followed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/commackschooldistrict.