| Sturgis Charter Public School | |
|---|---|
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"International Baccalaureate for All"
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| Location | |
| Sturgis East 427 Main Street Hyannis, MA 02601 Sturgis West (temporary) 434 Main Street Hyannis, MA 02601 Sturgis West (planned Fall 2012) 125 West Main Street Hyannis, MA 02601 |
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| Information | |
| Type | Charter high school |
| Established | 1998 as Sturgis Charter School |
| School district | Sturgis Charter Public School |
| Faculty | 36.8 (on FTE basis)[1] |
| Grades | 9 - 12 |
| Enrollment | 367[1] (2008-09) |
| Student to teacher ratio | 10.0[1] |
| Color(s) | Blue & White |
| Information | 508-778-1782 |
| Website | School website |
The Sturgis Charter Public School is a charter school located in the village of Hyannis, Massachusetts (Town of Barnstable, MA). The school received its charter in February 1998 and opened in September for the 1998-1999 academic year with 162 freshman, 15 faculty and staff, a newly renovated facility, and a $1.2 million budget. The school philosophy is International Baccalaureate for all students.
For its first six years, the school was known as Sturgis Charter School. In 2004, the Sturgis board changed the school's name to "Sturgis Charter Public School," in keeping with a public relations initiative of the Massachusetts Charter School Association. According to the enabling legislation for Massachusetts charter schools, a "charter" school is by statutory definition a public school. Sturgis determined that many people were unaware of this and thus added the term "Public" for clarity.
As of the 2008-09 school year, the school had an enrollment of 367 students and 36.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 10.0.[1]
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As a result of the success and popularity of the “International Baccalaureate for All” program, student admission waiting lists swelled to more than 400 students for the 2011-12 school year. The Sturgis Board plans to develop a second campus in Hyannis that would replicate the Sturgis mission of IB for All and the vibrant school culture.[2]
The second campus will be near by to the current school.
The proposed second campus at 125 West Main Street in Hyannis earned the new school the name Sturgis West. However, the new campus will require complete development of the land at 125 West Main. A temporary location for the Sturgis West campus has been secured for the 2011-12 school year at the former Artifacts Furniture building at 434 Main Street in Hyannis. Construction crews began work in April 2011 so that the facility would be ready in August 2011 for approximately 220 new freshman and sophomore students and approximately 30 staff members.[3] A significant majority of the faculty for the second campus will be recruited from outside of the school—only a few school leaders will come from current Sturgis faculty.[2]
The original campus at 427 Main Street has been designated Sturgis East by the administration.
The Sturgis Board of Trustees governs the school, and the Executive Director oversees the educational program. The same Board of Trustees and Executive Director that run Sturgis East will also do so for Sturgis West at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.
In 2010, Newsweek magazine ranked Sturgis 29th in the nation in their annual ranking of America's top public high schools. The magazine's ranking was based exclusively on the number of AP and IB tests taken divided by the number of graduating seniors but is currently based on "six components: graduation rate (25%), college matriculation rate (25%), AP tests taken per graduate (25%), average SAT/ACT scores (10%), average AP/IB/AICE scores (10%), and AP courses offered (5%)".[4][5]
| Year | Newsweek Ranking[6] |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 301 |
| 2010 | 29 |
| 2009 | 28 |
| 2008 | 43 |
| 2007 | 55 |
In 2004, the Sturgis Charter Public School became an International Baccalaureate World School, offering the Diploma Program (DP) to students in the 11th and 12th grades, along with an intensive "pre-IB" program in the 9th and 10th grades. Sturgis is one of six high schools in Massachusetts that offer the IB Diploma Program.[7]
The IB Diploma program of studies consists of courses taken in six groups (Language A, Language B, Individuals and Societies, Experimental Sciences, Mathematics, and the Arts). Courses are offered at the Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL), for the diploma, a student must complete at least three but no more than four courses at the higher level, with the remainder at the standard level. Diploma candidates also complete a thesis known as the extended essay, a course in philosophy called Theory of Knowledge, as well as participate in CAS (creativity, action, and service) activities. Students who fulfill all these requirements earn the I.B. Diploma, students who are unable to or decide not to complete the diploma earn IB certificates in the courses for which an exam was taken. The IB Diploma is earned by students who choose to pursue it, although all students Sturgis are required to take IB courses and exams during their junior and senior years.
In North America, many colleges and universities grant credit for higher level courses scored with a sufficient mark (usually a 6 or 7), a smaller number also grant credit for standard level courses. Some institutions, such as Amherst College, Harvard University, and some units of the State University of New York grant sophomore standing to any incoming student who has completed the full diploma. In the United Kingdom and continental Europe, an I.B. Diploma (or Advanced Placement exams in some cases) is one of the few ways in which a student from the United States can apply for direct entry after graduation. Due to differing national requirements, typically a student graduating from a U.S. high school is required to complete 30-60 semester hours or an Associate's Degree at a community college in the United States before transferring to a university in Europe.
In the last examination session, students completed the following exams: Biology HL, Biology SL, Bus.& Man. SL, Chemistry HL, Chemistry SL, English A1 HL, English A1 SL, Environmental Systems and Societies SL, French Ab. SL, French B HL, French B SL, History HL, History SL, Information Technology in Global Society HL, Information Technology in Global Society SL, Latin HL, Latin SL, Math.Studies SL, Mathematics HL, Mathematics SL, Music HL, Music SL, Physics HL, Physics SL, Portuguese A2 SL, Psychology SL, Spanish A2 SL, Spanish Ab. SL, Spanish B HL, Spanish B SL, Theatre HL, Theatre SL, Theory Knowl. TK, Visual Arts HL and Visual Arts SL.