West’s IB Program

Aleks Andonov, Reporter

West Anchorage High School is the only high school in the Anchorage School District that is labeled an official IB (International Baccalaureate) school. But what exactly is an IB school?

Even though other schools have AP or any other advanced classes, none of them have the official IB program.  Accoridng to ibo.org, “IB is a non-profit educational foundation offering four highly respected programmes of international education that develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills needed to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.”

The IB program is known to be one of the most challenging programs to ever take in high school. Taking IB classes is said to be twice as hard as taking general education classes. Some students love the challenge the IB gives them but some students hate it. Some students are put into IB because of their parents and others choose to be in it for the hard work.

Brie Dresnek, 17, has been in the IB program ever since her junior year. Dresnek has actually been taking honors class ever since her freshman year of high school. She takes these classes to help her be more prepared for college. “I have been taking these classes to make me a better learner in life,” said Dresnek.

Ever since joining the IB program she has felt like she can accomplish a lot of things in school and life. “Taking IB made me feel like I’m a faster thinker and also make smarter decisions,” said Dresnek.

IB classes do take up more time than other classes due to the amount of homework they get. She would go to Kaladi Brother’s sometimes to go and do homework. It helps her be focused and not bothered when she is there. Dresnek puts in a lot of work in school to accomplish her goals in life. After this school year, Dresnek will be attending Northern Arizona University for her first year in college.

Sebastian Ulz, 17, has been in the IB program since his junior year. Ulz was not planning on taking the IB program, but his parents recommended he take it. Ulz has enjoyed it so far. “It’s pretty challenging and stressful if you don’t pay attention or don’t even know what’s going on,” he said.

Ulz expects to finish his classes with good grades. He isn’t sure if he would want to take IB his senior year. It takes a lot of time from you and makes everything very stressful. He doesn’t ever have time to hang out friends or family because he would never have time to do his work. Ulz takes about four classes that are labeled as IB; the last two are dance classes that he enjoys doing when he doesn’t have to worry about homework. After high school, Ulz expects to go college here in Anchorage. He still has a lot of time to think about it. For now, he is working hard and trying his best to finish with good grades this semester.