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Students study locally, succeed globally

30 Hickory scholars get certificates for completing rigorous courses

Robert C. Reed | Hickory Daily Record

Hickory High School graduates who completed an International Baccalaureate program are getting their belated certificates. Here, William McAlpine (left) receives his certificate from Principal Dr. Kim Mattox.

By Ragan Robinson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: December 20, 2009

Hickory - Hickory High School graduates got their International Baccalaureate certificates Sunday. Their rewards for completing the rigorous courses came earlier.

William McAlpine left Hickory High for Clemson University with 46 credit hours. He was a second semester sophomore thanks to the college credit he got from scoring high on International Baccalaureate exams.

It not only gave him flexibility and a little wiggle room in choosing his classes — he'll take meditation and shag dancing next semester — but the international program also prepared him for university-level work.

McAlpine told parents, teachers and students he earned an A in the most often failed calculus class at Clemson.

The International Baccalaureate courses and set-up gave N.C. State freshman Heather Brown an early taste of the responsibility required for college. Students in the program schedule their high school classes much like those in a university. They can take online courses. They have "off" periods during which there isn't a class.

"There were times I wouldn't have class but I would still need to work, so I had to manage that time a lot better," Brown said. "That's how college is."

For Kelly Boyd, a senior taking the program's courses, the more advanced study offers more than a typical lecture. She participates in more discussion and sees more students participate in the class conversations.

"You actually learn it," she said. "You actually think about it, I'd say, instead of just memorizing it."

The International Baccalaureate Program is a course of study offered in qualifying schools in 138 countries. Demanding classes aim to develop intellectual, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a globalizing world.

International examiners score the tests students take at the end of the program. That means students can look at their work against a worldwide standard, said Hickory High School Principal Dr. Kim Mattox.

Hickory High School's average test scores in English, French, history, math, music and art were higher than the average worldwide scores from all 2,796 schools, said Mercia Barringer, a counselor and coordinator for the baccalaureate program.

Thirty members of Hickory High's 2009 graduating class received International Baccalaureate certificates. Some 36 students from this year's graduating class are signed on to take the tests. The Hickory High junior class has 54 International Baccalaureate students.

Students have to pay a $135 registration fee and $92 per exam, but Barringer said the school does have money to help families cover the cost.