School Profile

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 2012-2013

 

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                      429

Senior Class                          102

Teaching Faculty                     45

Faculty w/Graduate Degrees    70%

Average Class Size                 17

Student/Faculty Ratio              10:1

Calendar                                 Semester; most courses full year

College Bound                         98%; 80% 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 2013                                  GPA Decile Bands Class of 2013

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

 

                                                        Middle 50%                   Mean                     1st   3.96 – 4.16                  6th    2.93-3.20

Critical Reading                                  500-640                        576                       2nd   3.79 - 3.91                    7th   2.72-2.92

Math                                                 480-600                        542                       3rd   3.59 – 3.75                   8th   2.44 – 2.66

Writing                                              490-610                        556                       4th   3.34 - 3.57                   9th   1.91 – 2.31

Total (SAT Summary 2400)              1490-1810                      1674                     5th   3.21 – 3.33                  10th 1.54 – 1.84

                                                                                                                             

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 2013

 

HL – Higher Level     SL – Standard Level

90 – 100  (A)

80-89  (B)

70-79  (C)

60-69  (D)

0-59  (F)

IB English HL1

12

33

10

3

0

IB English SL1

11

17

13

4

0

IB History HL1

17

24

10

3

0

IB History SL1

6

31

8

2

0

IB Biology HL1

5

13

13

5

0

IB Biology SL1

0

13

2

0

0

IB Environmental Science SL1

11

7

8

6

0

IB Physics HSL1, HL1

9

8

1

0

0

IB Chemistry SL1

4

3

3

0

0

IB Math HL1

5

8

3

1

0

IB Math SL1

12

23

13

1

0

IB Math Studies 1

2

25

12

1

0

IB French HL1 SL2

2

4

0

0

0

IB French SL1

4

3

9

3

0

IB Latin HL1 SL2

4

7

3

1

0

IB Latin SL1

8

5

8

3

0

IB Spanish HL1 SL2

10

13

2

0

0

IB Spanish SL1

7

7

9

3

0

IB Theory of Knowledge 1

24

50

4

0

0

IB Psychology SL

1

4

4

1

0

IB Business SL

6

11

1

0

0

IB ITGS HL1 SL1

2

1

1

0

0

IB Art HL1

8

14

2

0

0

IB Art SL1

3

4

1

0

0

IB Music HL1 SL1

2

4

0

1

0

IB Theater HL1 SL1

17

4

1

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 2002-2012 Have Been Accepted

 

Allegheny College

Franklin & Marshall

NYU Abu Dhabi

Union College

American University

Franklin Pierce University

Oberlin College

University of Michigan

Amherst College

George Washington Univ.

Occidental College

University of New England

Bard College

Georgia Institute of Tech.

Pace University

University of Rochester

Bates College

Gettysburg College

Pomona College

University of Virginia

Bennington College

Goucher College

Pratt Institute

US Coast Guard Academy

Bentley College

Guilford College

Providence College

USMA, West Point

Berklee College of Music

Hamilton College

Quinnipiac University

USNA, Annapolis

Boston College

Hampshire College

Reed College

Vassar College

Brandeis University

Hartwick College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst

Virginia Military Institute

Brown University

Haverford College

Rochester Institute of Tech.

Washington & Lee University

Bucknell University

Ithaca College

Roger Williams University

Wellesley College

Cape Cod Community College

James Madison University

Rollins College

Wentworth Institute of Tech.

Carleton College

Johns Hopkins University

Salve Regina University

Wesleyan University

Carnegie Mellon University

Lafayette College

Sarah Lawrence College

Western New England Univ.

Case Western Reserve U.

LeMoyne College

Savannah College of Art

Wheaton College

Champlain College

Lewis & Clark College

Siena College

Wheelock College

Clark University

Loyola Univ., New Orleans

Simmons College

Worcester Polytechnic Inst.

Colby College

Macalester College

Skidmore College

State University Systems

College of Charleston

Manhattan College

Smith College

     California

College of the Atlantic

Marist College

St. John’s College, MD

     Connecticut

Connecticut College

Marlboro College

St. Lawrence University

     Florida

Cornell University

McDaniel College

St. Michael’s College

     Maine

Dartmouth College

McGill University

Stanford University

     Massachusetts

Denison University

Merrimack College

Stonehill College

     New Hampshire

Drexel University

Mount Holyoke College

Suffolk University

     New Jersey

Earlham College

New York University

Swarthmore College

     New York

Emerson College

Northeastern University

Tufts University

     Rhode Island

Emmanuel College

Norwich University

Tulane University

     Vermont

Fordham University

Notre Dame University

UNC, Chapel Hill

     Wyoming

 

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.