Introduction to BIS High School Graduation Program

by BIS / 2022.04.01 Friday / Published in NEWS, news & event

Last year, BIS adopted a new high school graduation program as part of its ongoing development. Students who successfully complete the Boston International School four-year High School program are awarded a High School diploma. As is common with most high school graduation programs, students build up academic credits based on passing scores earned in classes across Grades 9-12. BIS offers a growing and exciting array of classes across the secondary school and many of our high school classes also lead to additional, internationally recognized qualifications such as the Advanced Placement (AP) and the IB Diploma.

For the graduating class of 2025 and beyond, BIS has devised an innovative and inclusive four year high-school program. It is a program which recognizes the diversity and needs of each of our students and pushes them all to reach their own potential. The key features of the BIS High School Graduation Program are as follows:

Students are able to choose a selection of core and elective classes as they build up credits. These include US-aligned High School classes, AP classes and IB Diploma classes.

We offer two levels of High School Graduation at BIS: Foundation High School Graduation and High School Graduation with Honors. The final level awarded is dependent upon class scores (GPA) achieved across Grades 9-12.

All students (Foundation or Honors) are eligible to earn an endorsement as part of their High School graduation diploma. The endorsements available are: Arts & Humanities, Languages and STEM. Endorsement awards are based on student academic interest, subject choices and scores achieved. The endorsement choices for each student are guided by academic staff.

In addition to subject based credit requirements, there are also credit requirements that are non-subject based. These include: MYP Personal Project (an honors requirement), the Grade 12 Extended Essay and Creativity, Action and Service (CAS).

Students are supported and guided through their journey by Advisory Classes that focus on academic and social skills development as well as a comprehensive and internationally focused college counseling program.

This exciting and new High School graduation program was developed by a team of experienced teachers at BIS, who researched and utilized aspects of best practice approaches from around the world and built upon the quality curriculum already in place at BIS.

One of the teachers involved on the development committee was Ms. Gina Smith, Individuals & Societies Coordinator and MYP/DP I&S, History and TOK teacher. She says, “At BIS, we tailor our graduation requirements to ensure that there is no ceiling of learning. Our endorsements in STEM, Arts & Humanities, and Languages are designed to highlight the various strengths of each student so that they are recognised by universities around the world. These endorsements not only enhance the high school transcripts for tertiary education, but also help students narrow down and articulate their future majors and eventual careers.”

The High School Coordinator, Mr. Matthew Kirk, was involved in all stages of the development of this program, from setting the vision to working with the teacher development committee. He comments, “I was delighted that our new high school graduation program was approved by the Senior Executive Team and the BIS Board of Directors. I believe that any high school student that graduates from BIS will have received a world class high school education that will have allowed them to reach their potential and be prepared for the next chapter of their lives after high school. I am so excited to see students beginning on this four-year program this academic year.”

Introduction to BIS High School Graduation Program

Introduction to BIS High School Graduation Program

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