STURGIS CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL

East Campus

427 Main Street, Hyannis, MA 02601

                                                                                    Phone: 508-778-1782     Fax: 508-771-6785                           

www.sturgischarterschool.org

 

        

Eric Hieser, Executive Director   Paul Marble, Associate Director

 

Guidance Counselors

 

                                           Beverly Fogg                                       Carol Vari                                       Sue Whalley

bfogg@sturgischarterschool.org           cvari@sturgischarterschool.org       swhalley@sturgischarterschool.org

 

Profile 2011-2012

 

International Baccalaureate Programme for All

 

Founded in 1998, Sturgis Charter Public School is a tuition-free, college preparatory high school.  Basic to the school’s charter is membership in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Organization, a worldwide consortium of schools that offers students the opportunity to earn the IB Diploma by meeting the organization’s high standards for academic excellence, creativity and service to school and community.  We adhere to the principle that the best school is not the school that selects the best students: the best school is the school that inspires the best performance in the students who select it.  Thus, the concept of “IB for All” makes Sturgis unique because students are not pre-selected for admission into IB classes.  Our unique approach to learning has received recognition on Jay Matthew’s High School Challenge Index featured in the Washington Post:  the 2011 Challenge Index ranks Sturgis 42nd in the nation, 1st in Massachusetts. For information about the IB Diploma Programme visit www.ibo.org. 

 

Quick Facts   Total Enrollment                      418 Senior Class                            96 Teaching Faculty                     45 Faculty w/Graduate Degrees    70% Average Class Size                 16 Student/Faculty Ratio              9:1 Calendar                                 Semester; most courses full year College Bound                         98%; 86% 4 yr; 12% 2 yr Course Schedule                     7 rotating periods; 6 periods per day  Maximum Course Load            7 courses per semester CEEB Code                            221082

Graduation Requirements   4 credits of English 4 credits of Mathematics 4 credits of Science 4 credits of History 6 credits of Foreign Language * 1 credit of Music Appreciation 1 credit of Art Appreciation 2 credits of Electives 26 Credits Total   *4 credits in one language and    a minimum of 2 credits of Latin

 

Grading System

 

All grade nine and ten classes are designed as preparation for entering the rigorous International Baccalaureate curriculum in grade eleven.  As a result, ALL grade nine and ten courses represent what other schools may reasonably call Honors in the first two years of high school.  Grades in the IB curriculum reflect the attainment of knowledge relative to established standards that are equally applied.  Grade point average is not weighted, is calculated on a 4 point scale, and is computed at the end of each school year.  Due to its commitment to individual achievement, Sturgis does not rank students. Decile bands and a distribution chart of junior year grades for the class of 2012 are provided for comparison purposes.

 

SAT Reasoning Test Scores Class of 2012                                  GPA Decile Bands Class of 2012

Based upon current seniors who tested end of junior year (84% of class)         Computed at the completion of junior year

 

                                                        Middle 50%                   Mean                     1st   3.84 – 4.23                  6th    2.81 – 2.90

Critical Reading                                  510-630                        580                       2nd   3.58 – 3.81                  7th   2.53 – 2.80

Math                                                 470-620                        542                       3rd   3.29 – 3.53                   8th   2.28 – 2.51

Writing                                              500-610                        558                       4th   3.10 – 3.25                   9th   1.74 – 2.25

Total (SAT Summary 2400)              1540-1840                      1680                      5th   2.92 – 3.09                  10th 1.05 – 1.73

                                                                                                                             

International Baccalaureate Test Results

 

Having gained acceptance into the prestigious International Baccalaureate Organization in 2004, Sturgis implemented the IB program in the 2004-2005 school year.  An average of 5.9 exams per senior were taken by the class of 2011.  A substantial 91% of those results met the standard for earning an IB certificate. Every senior earned at least one certificate, and 34 students in the class of 2011 were successful in attaining the full IB diploma.  The class of 2012 is the seventh graduating class eligible to earn the IB Diploma.

 

Junior Year Grade Distribution for the Class of 2012

 

HL – Higher Level     SL – Standard Level	90 – 100  (A)	80-89  (B)	70-79  (C)	60-69  (D)	0-59  (F)
IB English HL1	17	32	17	4	0
IB English SL1	3	8	9	6	1
IB History HL1	14	20	6	4	1
IB History SL1	8	18	13	13	1
IB Biology HL1	4	15	5	0	0
IB Biology SL1	6	0	9	4	1
IB Environmental Science SL1	5	4	8	3	0
IB Physics HSL1, HL1	5	11	8	3	1
IB Chemistry SL1	5	8	0	1	0
IB Math HL1	5	4	4	0	0
IB Math SL1	12	20	10	0	0
IB Math Studies 1	5	15	17	5	0
IB French HL1 SL2	4	5	2	3	0
IB French SL1	0	4	11	1	0
IB Latin HL1 SL2	2	4	0	0	0
IB Latin SL1	1	4	4	3	0
IB Spanish HL1 SL2	8	9	2	2	0
IB Spanish SL1	2	8	3	2	0
IB Theory of Knowledge 1	19	26	14	4	0
IB Psychology SL	3	5	1	1	0
IB Business SL	2	2	0	0	0
IB ITGS HL1 SL1	2	2	0	0	0
IB Art HL1	16	14	10	0	0
IB Art SL1	2	3	3	0	1
IB Music HL1 SL1	4	4	3	1	0
IB Theater HL1 SL1	3	1	4	2	0

 

Please visit our web site at www.sturgischarterschool.org for course descriptions.

 

College Admissions

 

Selected Colleges and Universities Where Graduates From the Classes of 2002-2011 Have Been Accepted

 

American University	Fordham University	Norwich University	Tufts University
Amherst College	Franklin & Marshall	Notre Dame University	UNC, Chapel Hill
Bard College	Franklin Pierce University	NYU Abu Dhabi	Union College
Bates College	George Washington Univ.	Oberlin College	University of British Columbia
Bennington College	Gettysburg College	Occidental College	University of Michigan
Bentley College	Goucher College	Pace University	University of New England
Berklee College of Music	Guilford College	Pomona College	University of Rochester
Boston College	Hamilton College	Pratt Institute	University of Virginia
Brandeis University	Hampshire College	Providence College	US Coast Guard Academy
Brown University	Hartwick College	Quinnipiac University	USMA, West Point
Bucknell University	Haverford College	Reed College	USNA, Annapolis
Cape Cod Community College	Ithaca College	Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst	Virginia Military Institute
Carleton College	James Madison University	Rhodes College	Wellesley College
Carnegie Mellon University	Johns Hopkins University	Rochester Institute of Tech.	Wentworth Institute of Tech.
Case Western Reserve U.	Lafayette College	Roger Williams University	Wesleyan University
Centenary College	LeMoyne College	Rollins College	Western New England
Champlain College	Lewis & Clark College	Salve Regina University	Wheaton College
Clark University	Loyola Marymount University	Sarah Lawrence College	Wheelock College
Colby College	Loyola Univ., New Orleans	Savannah College of Art	Winthrop University
College of Charleston	Macalester College	Siena College	Worcester Polytechnic Inst.
College of the Atlantic	Maine College of Art	Simmons College	State University Systems:
Connecticut College	Manhattan College	Skidmore College	Connecticut
Cornell University	Marist College	Smith College	Florida
Dartmouth College	Marlboro College	St. John’s College, MD	Maine
Denison University	McDaniel College	St. Lawrence University	Massachusetts
Drexel University	McGill University	St. Michael’s College	New Hampshire
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.	Merrimack College	Stonehill College	New Jersey
Emerson College	Mount Holyoke College	Suffolk University	New York
Emmanuel College	New York University	Susquehanna University	Rhode Island
Florida Institute of Tech.	Northeastern University	Swarthmore College	Vermont

 

Sturgis Charter Public School

An International Baccalaureate Diploma School

www.sturgischarterschool.org

 

 

Ensuring College Readiness

International Baccalaureate For All

High Standards + High Expectations = High Achievement

 

The formula is not so simple, but not nearly as complicated as some may believe.  Sturgis Charter Public School begins preparing students in grade nine to build arguments, defend points of view, make sense of data, write persuasively, and think critically.  It pushes students to develop empathy, raise social awareness, build tolerance, and take on personal responsibility.  Sturgis’ curriculum focuses on developing higher order thinking skills as a means for preparing students for a rigorous grade 11-12 program designed to ensure success at university.  Similarly, the Sturgis community works toward building positive and productive habits, attitudes, and values in its students in order to optimally prepare them for multi-faceted lives.

 

A Massachusetts charter school, Sturgis accepts all applicants equally.  Within its student body, 10% are on Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s), 4% are on Section 504 plans, and 7% are declared eligible for free or reduced lunch.  Students travel up to one hour each way to access a diverse faculty with experience teaching in international and overseas American schools, district public high schools, and independent institutions. 

 

Current standards for the statewide assessments in Massachusetts high schools are designed to ensure students reach a minimal competency standard in order to graduate from high school. For many students, these assessments do not guarantee exposure to – or engagement in – a challenging, rigorous, standard-based curriculum throughout high school.  This is evidenced by the absence of any assessment accountability for grades eleven and twelve.  Charter schools are charged with the expectation of being innovators in education, and Sturgis Charter Public School does exactly that with its unique mission of requiring all grade eleven and twelve students to take all their coursework in the rigorous, highly respected International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme. 

 

Graduation requirements at Sturgis are significant.  They include four years each of math, science, English and history, as well as six credits of foreign language and two credits in the arts.  All courses in grades nine and ten are IB prep and heterogeneous.  In grades eleven and twelve students choose to 1) engage in the full IB Diploma Programme, 2) sit course exams and assessments for IB certificates, or 3) complete coursework and assessments for Sturgis credit. However, due in part to having no alternative to IB classes for upperclassmen, 85 of 87 members of the class of 2011 attempted at least three IB certificates with an average of 5.9 IB certificates per student, a pass rate of 91%, and 34 students earning the full IB Diploma.  More than 65% of the Class of 2012 are currently pursuing the full IB Diploma. Achieving high marks on these external assessments is a goal, but Sturgis sees as critical the many students, determined to achieve at high levels, who would never have the access or self-confidence to attempt these exams in other settings.   Students are striving, of their own volition, to realize their personal best and measure themselves against students nationally and globally. 

 

Sturgis Charter Public School is a model of rigorous secondary education for all students.  In this regard, it strives to improve foundation-level knowledge and skills through peer tutoring, study groups, and support from teachers and administrators both during and beyond regular school hours.  Sturgis also supports students academically and socially through an advisory program that involves each teacher in the school working twice-weekly with a small group of students.  The IB Programme affords students opportunities for academic achievement, increased intellectual confidence, and personal growth. With its small class size, advisory, community service involvement and focus on supportive relationships, Sturgis provides both a physically and intellectually safe environment.  This structure encourages each student to take risks to reach his or her potential and maximize future opportunities.

 

Sturgis Charter Public School is dedicated to an “International Baccalaureate (IB) for All” philosophy, preparing high school students for higher education in a supportive learning environment.  Sturgis provides each student a rigorous world-class educational program, encouraging academic achievement, intellectual confidence, and personal growth.