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The International Academy, or '''IA''', is a - 09-24 ) The school is officially hosted by the Bloomfield Hills School District . It was founded at the initiative of Lambert Okma, now principal, who previously taught economics at Bloomfield Hills Lahser High School . RECOGNITION IA was recognized by - 09-24 ) Newsweek's standings were based upon the number of IB or AP tests that the school averages per graduating senior. The IA maintains a high standard with this criteria because each Senior is required to sit for the IB tests each May as a diploma candidate. Each Senior therefore takes at least 6 IB tests (in addition to the Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay requirements), giving the school a high average number of IB tests. CLASSES OFFERED All graduates of the International Academy are expected to complete the full International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme . While a few students each year graduate without the Diploma, this is not because they are not taking the full 6 subjects required by the IBO but more often because they fail one or more IB tests. All students are enrolled in at least six IB subjects in their junior and senior years. Some students take IBs in their freshman and sophomore years, usually due to an extensive knowledge of math or a foreign language that causes them to place out of all non-IB courses in those subjects. The only Group 1 subject offered is English . Students who are non-native speakers are still expected to take English as their Language A , so most have a near-native degree of fluency. For those who do not, IA offers an English As A Second Language course. French , German , and Spanish are all offered as Group 2 subjects. Students are also allowed to take an extra language Ab Initio in place of a Group 6 subject. In the early years of the school, the current English wing was occupied by the Japanese School Of Metropolitan Detroit , and so students could choose to take Japanese as an elective in their freshman and sophomore years. This, however, is no longer available as an option. All students are required to take IB History as their Group 3 subject. IB Economics is also offered as a replacement for a Group 6 subject. Because of the large of number of students considering careers in the sciences, as opposed to the arts or humanities, the International Academy offers almost all of the available Group 4 subjects. Students can elect to take Biology , Chemistry , Physics , or Environmental Systems, and students are free to take an extra Group 4 subject in place of a Group 6 subject. This is the option taken by the majority of IA students. Traditionally, Group 5 subjects offered at the International Academy included Mathematical Studies, and Mathematics HL and SL. IA students, upon entrance to the International Academy, are placed on a math tracking system based on a score on a Placement Test and math classes taken in Middle School . Students who have taken Algebra 1 only in middle school are offered the option of eventually studying Mathematical Studies or Mathematics SL, whereas students who have taken both Algebra 1 and Geometry are given the option of Mathematics HL as well. Due to a large number of students in the classes of 2009 and 2010 coming in with an unusually advanced knowledge of mathematics, the IA has now added an IB Further Mathematics course for very advanced students. The International Academy offers two s; two Jazz Band s; String , Full , and Chamber Orchestras ; and three Choirs , including an A Cappella ensemble. The International Academy Orchestra has received first division ratings at the State level from the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association in the past, and the International Academy Jazz Band I recently received a first division rating and an invitation to the Detroit International Jazz Festival. The IA also has an active Theatre department, but it operates as an after-school Club , and IB Theatre is not offered as a sixth IB course. It is not uncommon for IA students to take seven IB subjects, and there are a substantial number of students who choose this option every year. In the past, students have taken as many as eight IBs. Students also take non-IB courses as well. In addition to the academic and arts courses required in freshman and sophomore year in preparation for IB, juniors are required to take Government as required by the state of Michigan 's high school educational standards. Sophomores also are required to take a semester-long Physical Education course, called "Adventure Challenge," a non-traditional gym course that focuses more on teamwork than on competition and traditional Sports . As well as the school's numerous musical ensembles, the IA also offers a number of "product teams," usually student-directed classes that often focus on Community Service or Athletics , as well as school publications such as the Yearbook and Student Newspaper . While many of these non-IB classes require little work from the majority of students, and for most students are viewed as "blow-off classes" or study periods, a few of these classes, such as yearbook, can be as demanding as any other non-IB class at IA. STUDENT LIFE Students are selected by lottery among the applicants. In 2004, the school enrollment was 576.Shannon Flumerfelt and Eric Follo (November 2004), Remaking High School , ''American School Board Journal'', Vol. 191, No. 11. (Accessed 2006 - 09-24 ) International Academy has an extended school year (205 days) and an extended school day. It has an extra hour, when many students go home, but most stay to participate in after-school clubs, extra classes (jazz band or full orchestra), or meet with teachers for extra help. Students may participate in cocurricular activities at their home schools using this time at the end of the school day. The 2005-2006 Physics Club is notable for its second-place finish at the - 09-24 ) The FIRST Robotics team qualified for national competition, winning the 2006 Detroit Regional competition and earning a silver medal in the Great Lakes Regional. DELMIA Sponsors Winning FIRST Robotics Team , April 16 , 2006 . (Accessed 2006 - 09-24 ) The IA Science Olympiad Team placed 11th in the 2006 Michigan Competition, their first state-competition. An IA team won the Michigan region of the 2006 High School Fed Challenge. Recap of 2006 High School Fed Challenge . (Accessed 2006 - 09-24 ) IA has also won a number of musical awards, including students selected for the Michigan Youth Honors Band and Honors Orchestra for the Michigan Young Arts Festival in May of each year. In 2007, one student was selected for the band, three for the orchestra, and an ensemble was selected to play at the festival. The International Academy also had a student selected as one of the top young composers in Michigan by the Michigan Music Educators Association, for its 2007 conference in Grand Rapids. FACILITIES The International Academy is housed in the former site of Elizabeth Taylor Traub Elementary School . Though additions extending into the former playground have significantly increased its size, with over 550 students the building can seem overpopulated. Many teachers occupy several different rooms throughout the day to schedule sufficient classes. The building suffers from masonry issues, several leaks in the roof, heating and cooling issues, and a distinct shortage of hot water. IA has no school-sponsored sports. When the IA was founded in 1996, it agreed not to sponsor sports teams when sending districts voiced concern that they would lose some of their star athletes to the IA. Students who wish to participate in sports or marching band must do so through their sending district. The school does have a small, student-founded intramural sports activities, such as an annual Paintball tournament. In the past, students have started their own competitive teams, including Soccer teams called "IA Fire" and the "IA Gladiators" as well as an Ultimate Frisbee club called "UFIA" (Ultimate Frisbee International Academy). The latter name was chosen for its Acronym , which has another meaning popularized by the website Fark.com . The International Academy currently has a satellite campus, the International Academy West. A satellite campus had been considered as early as 2003. This school first held classes in August 2006, and its first graduating class will be the Class of 2010. IA West shares half of its campus with Lakeland High School of Huron Valley Schools in White Lake, Michigan . The sending districts include Huron Valley, Pontiac, Clarkston, South Lyon, Fenton, Holly, and Novi. Their experience is similar to that of students on the Eastern Campus, with the exception of fewer math (students will only be allowed to take Mathematical Studies and Mathematics SL in their junior and senior years, due to less advanced math curricula in western Oakland County middle schools) and foreign language ( Spanish and French only) options. Unlike the Eastern Campus, Lakeland's recent remodeling promises to prevent building problems similar to those of the Eastern Campus. Like at the Eastern Campus, students play sports through their sending districts. Fine arts classes, which include band, choir, and visual arts, are also facilitated through Lakeland High School (though IB Group 6 Subjects are likely to utilize teachers from the regular campus), as well as freshman-level Economics . With more press and acclaim awarded toward the IB program and the two International Academies, the IA West is meeting with considerable success, and Huron Valley Schools is opening up 10 spots for students in districts outside the International Academy consortium, including students living outside of Oakland County , beginning with the Class of 2011. NEWS In 2006, a group of IA students were caught - 09-24 ) SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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