Bend High has received the official go-ahead from the International Baccalaureate Organization to run its IB program at the high school beginning this fall, and school officials report that hundreds of students have already signed up for the new classes.

Pandie Anderson, the coordinator of the IB program, said Bend High already has 114 students slated to take the IB prep class next year as sophomores, and there will be 38 students in the first group of IB diploma candidates. Usually, Anderson said, schools have a first cohort consisting of around 25 students. In addition, another 600 slots of IB classes have been filled by juniors and seniors for the 2010-11 school year.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for students, and I’m glad it’s available districtwide,” Anderson said.

The official certification is the culmination of a two-year application process. The school now will be able to offer its students IB certificates and diplomas, distinctions recognized at colleges and universities around the world. The organization sent representatives for a two-day visit in September to make sure Bend High was prepared to get the program under way.

The International Baccalaureate program is recognized worldwide as a special, highly rigorous global curriculum.

Any student can take IB classes, which include both required and elective courses, and students interested in earning an IB diploma must study at least six IB subjects and complete a variety of additional requirements, including a long-form essay and community service.

This fall, the high school began offering eight classes as part of a pilot program for students interested in the IB program. The classes are: English, French, Spanish, 20th-century history, biology, chemistry, music and a required IB course called theory of knowledge.

Anderson said the IB classes being offered at the school will expand this fall to include various math courses, psychology, art, physics, another history class, and a class called Environmental Systems and Societies.

At least 20 teachers have already taken the required IB training, and more training will take place over the summer.

“There’s also a wait list of teachers that are excited to be trained,” Anderson said.

One of the few tasks remaining, Anderson said, is to figure out a calendar that ensures testing and assessments aren’t piled up into the same days and weeks, to prevent an overload of student tests.

According to Chief Academic Officer Vicki Van Buren, there’s not much left to do because of the intense application process.

“The application is so thorough that really we have done all the necessary teacher-training, we’ve been purchasing instructional materials for the courses,” she said. “I don’t anticipate any major issues as far as supporting the program.”

Currently, the Redmond School District operates an IB charter school, International School of the Cascades. Bend High will be the second high school east of the Cascades to offer the program.