• Entering freshman confused about AC vs. international program
• AC vs. IB choices for entering freshman
• See also: Parents' Reviews for: Academic Choice (AC) and Berkeley International High School (BIHS)
• More Advice about BHS Small Schools

Entering freshman confused about AC vs. international program

My son will begin BHS in the fall and choices regarding small school selection and classes are confusing. He likes the academic choice program because it allows more class choice. I have heard the international program has taken many of the good teachers away from AC and that it is now a better program. I don't know the validity of this.

Also, what about the choices for science and geometry for a freshman. Is there something I should know about these choices? He could test into Honors Geometry, but I hear there are problems with it being too hard and the A students are struggling.

Any suggestions would be helpful, from those who have been through it! Thx

How it compares to Academic Choice in terms of the teaching staff is something I can't speak to but I know that Academic Choice as a whole is a very strong program as well so either of these schools will serve your son well.

I have also heard that Honors Geometry is tough and as I understand it unless your son absolutely LOVES math and has a high aptitude for it any of the Honors level courses are going to be challenging. If your son has an interest in entering a science or math related field later on it might be worth going for Honors Geometry, and then if he needs help he can get tutoring for free at Berkeley High or seek the help from one of the many talented tutors in the area. If he doesn't take Honors Geometry, Ms. Albrecht is an excellent Geometry teacher if he happens to get into her class.

As far as science my daughter took Advanced Bio her Freshman year and although much of the material was a repeat from her middle school (she went to private school) she enjoyed it.

Hope this helps. BIHS Parent

The Berkeley International High School program is also coming along well though it is more restrictive because there is an extra required course. Poor teachers are found in every part of BHS. Luckily they are outweighed by the ok and good ones.

I would say you can't go wrong with either AC or BIHS.

If a student signs up in time, and they do not request a small school, then BHS is not allowed to place them in one against their will. There are kids who prefer BIHS and others who prefer AC. BIHS has some great teachers and AC gives a student more choice in electives. Both are decent. Each year, getting good teachers is luck of the draw.

The best thing BHS could do is put in some strong teacher performance review and get rid of some of the dead wood. The kids know who they are. ''Oh, they can't get rid of him he has seniority.'' And there are some great teachers. ---please sign me as parent of a junior who is glad to be in AC

I've found alot of the information on BHS small schools in this newsletter is based upon individual ''bad'' experiences or from those that strongly prefer the more known educational philosphies at AC and BIHS. AC and BIHS are fine choices but so are small schools (just realize that different small schools have different philosophies about having alot of course choice or taking classes outside of the small school, about whether AP classes or city college classses or differentiated ''regular'' classes should be promoted, and about the value of internships), so families really need to do their homework and not rely upon ''common'' wisdom. Too many rumors/urban myths are generated at BHS - about the small schools but about the other academic programs as well - both good and bad. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!

Next year with the BHS redesign and a leadership grant designed to assist some of the younger small schools, there will be more homogeneity in the academic experience in the various small schools (which will address some of the concerns that have been chronicled here - and yes there HAVE been growing pains). Also the redesign will provide AC and BIHS with more ability to develop further (by bringing in Science and Math as well as the current History/English teachers into these programs as well as into the small schools that do not currently have their own Science/Math teachers) and will provide more personalization and support for students. Karen H.

Editor Note: At this point, the discussion veered away from the original question of AC vs. BIHS and took up the questions of BHS Small Schools and Math and

AC vs. IB choices for entering freshman

Would like to have feedback on Academic Choice vs. International Bacculaureat as we are about to enter BHS next fall. It looks like AC with 3 electives is a better choice, especially since our child will be wanting math and science. IB looked good and we like the option of studying overseas but I am not sure that 2 electives (except Jr. year) is enough for the courses my child wants to take. Would like to know how rigorous they really are, how is the english and writing programs? are students engaged and challenged? Is one program more challenging than the other? If so, in what ways? Any and all input would be appreciated. in a daze

One of the really great things about the IB program is the integration of the curriculum among history,english,economics and comparative values, and the fact that many of the teachers follow the students through their high school career so they really know each child. This occurs in the core classes. For other classes, including Math, Science and Foreign Language, the AC and IB students share many of the same teachers.

The IB classes are at least as rigorous as the AC classes, and the students have the option of working towards the IB Diploma, which is highly respected at colleges around the world as well as in the US. Some colleges accept the IB diploma as a student's Freshman year requirements (Stanford is one example.)

Students in the IB program can take AP classes (my daughter is taking AP Chemistry as a sophomore this year), although they generally would not take AP classes for the core IB curriculum, which largely focuses on the Humanities. Instead, they take IB Standard Level and Higher Level classes that are approximately equivalent to AP classes.

The IB program includes requirements that the students take a class in the Theory of Knowledge and develop a thesis paper in senior year that is judged by an international panel. I understand the AC program is adopting the thesis requirement as well. IB students who want to qualify for the diploma also perform 150 hours in the areas of creativity, action, and service.

The AC program is probably easier to understand at this point, because it has been around longer, but I believe the academics in both are similar and they both provide great options for our kids.

In short, we are very happy with the IB program and look forward to the next two years.

Please email me if you would like additional information. sandra

The freshman English class is definitely not challenging. Believe it or not, there is no assigned reading--the kids are just supposed to read anything they choose 45 minutes a night. (A book was assigned for reading over last summer, but apparently most kids didn't read it and the teacher has yet to mention it.) So the only literature they discuss is what they read together in class. They've had only a couple of short writing assignments all year, including a ''group essay'' where students were assigned to a small group and each kid wrote one paragraph or so. (The first semester final was a group project, too.) Global Studies has also moved pretty slowly, I think--not much work, though some interesting topics have been discussed.

Also take a look at the junior year offerings in IB--no AP English or history class is offered. BHS parent

Percent of students ''proficient and above'' in English
language arts:
All of BHS     50.9%
AHA            40.3%
CAS            41.7%
CPA            27.7%
SSJE           36.1%
IB             64.0%
AC             67.0%
Percent of students ''proficient and above'' in math:
All of BHS     24.2%
AHA            12.0%
CAS             4.8%
CPA             3.6%
SSJE            7.1%
IB             39.2%
AC             36.3%

Here are some numbers I prefer: The class of 2007 had slightly more than 700 students, at least 10% speaking a primary language other than English and 30% qualifying for free or reduced lunch yet 92% of the class planned to attend college after graduation. 474 students from the class of 2007 took at least one SAT and 138 took the ACT. Average BHS SAT scores (553 Critcal Reading, 561 Math, 550 Writing) were higher than both the national (502, 515, 494) and the state average (499, 516, 498). 869 students took AP exams in May 2007. 125 were AP Scholars scoring 3 or higher on 3+ exams. Next year we will start to offer the first IB exams and we expect to have the same impressive results. Janet