Alumni seek to save Miles Mac’s International Baccalaureate membership

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This article was published 15/05/2023 (885 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

International Baccalaureate alumni want to create an endowment fund to keep the prestigious academic program alive in a Munroe West high school, after the local board of trustees upheld a decision to cancel it to find cost savings.

“If it truly is just a monetary issue, is there another mechanism that we can develop that is feasible, that can withstand financial and legal rigour to help fund the program outside the school division budget?” said Rick Singh, a member of Miles Macdonell Collegiate’s Class of 1994.

Singh and one of his old classmates, Rob Harder — both of whom are vocal supporters of IB’s holistic approach to education — have been “spitballing” ways to preserve it for their children and future generations, said Singh, who lives in East St. Paul.

On Friday, they banded together with an IB teacher representative to send a letter to request the River East Transcona School Division collaborate with them to find a solution.

The group proposed the board begin collecting registration fees and support the creation of an endowment fund to assist students who have financial need.

“Please give us a number and timeline, and we will obtain commitments from the community of IB alumni,” the trio wrote.

Every member high school across the globe paid US$11,650 to be an official IB site in 2022-23, according to the international organization’s website. Every exam, each of which is mailed to and marked at a global hub, is an additional US$119.

Last month, RETSD revealed plans to phase out IB and offer advanced placement courses in lieu of the diploma program that has earned an international reputation of distinction.

The division has not released the annual cost of running the international stream out of Miles Mac.

The decision affects students currently enrolled in preparatory courses, among aspiring IB graduates. It was announced publicly several weeks after board members approved a 2023-24 budget that was described as “the leanest it can be without causing deep cuts” in an RETSD news release.

Students collected more than 500 signatures to petition leaders to continue offering the program known for its heavy Grade 11 and 12 course loads that prepare youth for university. Alumni and other supporters attended a May meeting to call on officials to pause their decision and explore alternative sources of funding.

The RETSD board reaffirmed its decision via May 11 letter to retiree Harold Winters, one of the individuals who spoke in support of the program’s benefits at that spring meeting.

In the division’s response, secretary-treasurer Elise Downey noted funding challenges and indicated Miles Mac is “reaching capacity.”

The high school is home to numerous programs, including English, French immersion for early and late immersion students, and divisional English as an additional language programming, Downey wrote.

“We’re not going to give up. We’re in it to win it. This is about kids,” said Winters, who has joined forces with Singh and Harder.

The retired teacher was instrumental in getting the enrichment program off the ground at Miles Mac in the 1980s. Winters attributes the building’s “rebirth” as a sought-after school to the local launch of IB.

The trio of aspiring fundraisers indicated they are confident community members would get behind an initiative to raise money so students can enrol in the program indefinitely.

“There’s a great level of pride in not only your academic achievement in the program, but all of my classmates have gone on to bigger and brighter things in all sorts of spheres,” Singh said. ““Some have become professors. Some have become lawyers. Some — myself included — have become physicians.”

Superintendent Sandra Herbst said RETSD does not charge tuition fees, aside from non-resident residual fees, summer school fees or fees for resident students who are older than 21 and no longer eligible for financial support from Manitoba Education.

“RETSD does not charge, nor accept funding for, costs related to, for example, staffing, professional learning or student assessment,” Herbst said in a statement.

“Public education is to be inclusive and accessible to all students — no matter where they live, their background or their individual circumstances. Public education provides everyone with equitable opportunities, while emphasizing the common and greater good.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie