Dear 10th-Grade Students & Families,
We want to let you know about a great opportunity available to all rising 11th-grade students in Albemarle County. Community Lab School (formerly Murray High School) is the only school in the region to offer the prestigious International Baccalaureate (IB) program. IB is a rigorous, college-preparatory program of studies focused on developing critical thinking, independent research skills, student self-management, and conceptual understanding. Completion of IB courses or the full IB Diploma is highly valued by top colleges and universities.
What is IB? The IB program fills a role similar to Advanced Placement (AP) or Dual Enrollment courses at other high schools; IB courses give students the opportunity to access college-level material and potentially get college credit while in high school. While AP and Dual Enrollment courses tend to focus on covering a great deal of material in a one-size-fits-all manner, IB courses give students the opportunity to delve more deeply into topics and pursue, with teacher assistance, independent research into their areas of interest.
What are IB courses like? IB courses emphasize student inquiry and research, reflection and communication, open-ended questions and student self-management. IB courses are ideal for students who want to know more about the topics that interest them and who want to learn the skills required to research those topics for themselves. IB courses emphasize depth of understanding over rote memorization.
What IB courses are offered at Community Lab School? Community Lab School offers IB courses across the curriculum—English, World Languages, History and Social Studies, Science, Math, and the Arts.
What IB options are there? Students can choose to take individual IB courses that interest them, or they can pursue the full IB Diploma, a combined program involving six core IB courses plus IB Theory of Knowledge (a philosophy-oriented course in which students reflect on their acquisition of knowledge in the various knowledge domains) and an academic essay on a topic of their choice.
For more information about our IB program, please visit our International Baccalaureate web page.
If you’d like to learn more about Community Lab School, we invite you to attend a virtual information session on Tuesday, January 18, from 10 to 11 a.m. We are also hosting an IB-specific virtual information session on Thursday, January 20, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. If you are interested in joining one or both sessions, please click here to register.
Admission to Community Lab School is lottery-based and open to all students residing in Albemarle County. Interested students and families should complete our General Information Form by Friday, January 28, 2022.
We are excited to share more about this wonderful opportunity with you, and we look forward to meeting our next group of IB students soon!
Sincerely,
Chad S. Ratliff, Principal
Community Lab School