Bay Shore updates IB Diploma performance, advances application for IB Career-related Programme

Bay Shore Union Free School District staff reported Wednesday that the district’s International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme continues to perform at or above global averages and detailed progress toward authorization of an IB Career-related Programme (CP) that would begin with business and STEM pathways.

District IB staff said the diploma cohort earned an 83% pass rate for last year’s May session, compared with a global pass rate staff cited as 80%. Staff also reported that certificate-course students averaged scores of 4 or higher on IB assessments about 82% of the time, which staff said aligns with world averages.

The CP is a two-year program intended for juniors and seniors that pairs a career-related study with two or more IB course offerings, a personal and professional skills course, a reflective project, language development and service-learning. Kathleen Peterson, who identified herself as the IB Career-related Programme coordinator, told the board the district is a candidate school for the CP and outlined next steps toward authorization. "As of Halloween we were officially granted candidate status," Peterson said. She said the district’s consultation visit is scheduled between March and May and that the hope is to be authorized by February so a first cohort could start in September 2026.

Peterson described the CP as distinct from the IB Diploma: students may choose either the Diploma or the CP, not both. Under the CP model she described, students would select a pathway such as business or STEM and take at least one accredited course each year (examples included AP, college-level or other externally accredited offerings). She described a required personal and professional skills (PPS) course — analogous to the Diploma Programme’s Theory of Knowledge — that would run every other day across junior and senior years. "They would have to research an ethical dilemma related to their career pathway," Peterson said of the reflective project component.

Peterson said the district will begin recruitment by targeting current business and STEM students and 8th–9th graders; she said meetings with parent-teacher groups and guidance-targeted outreach are planned. She demonstrated prototype student schedules that paired existing IB courses with accredited career-related coursework (examples included Farmingdale State–accredited architecture/construction and Suffolk County credit-bearing college statistics) and noted the district intends to add further pathways over time provided accredited partner courses are available.

District staff and board members discussed program scale and scheduling. One board member asked what would happen if only a small number of students chose a pathway; Peterson replied the PPS class would be cohort-based and could have a small enrollment initially, and district staff said they expect to market the program to increase uptake. Staff noted that the PPS course might later be offered more broadly if demand warrants and that counselors will be trained to advise students about CP pathways.

Peterson and IB staff also emphasized outreach to higher-education and industry partners; they said Northwell Health and local college partnerships were logical fits for future pathways such as medical careers and that virtual enterprise and Microsoft certification were examples of accredited options already under consideration.

District staff said recruitment will include meetings with PFAs (parent organizations), guidance counselors and targeted classroom outreach, and that one district counselor is scheduled to attend CP training this year.

The presentation included multiple student remarks describing hands-on learning, language development and career skills. District staff asked the board for feedback on pathways and on the proposed 10-business-day notification window the district plans for related personnel or policy steps as it readies program implementation.

If authorized by IB, the program would permit additional, locally tailored pathways so long as the district secures required external accreditations and completes IB paperwork, Peterson said. The board did not take formal action on the CP; staff said a second reading and further approvals will follow as authorization proceeds.