Groton — Groton may expand its International Baccalaureate program, which offers rigorous courses to students at Robert E. Fitch High School, to certificate programs in nursing, engineering, fine arts and business.

A decision on whether to expand the program could be made in April, Superintendent Michael Graner said last week. If approved, the career certificate programs could open to hundreds of students as early as next fall.

The Board of Education voted last April to support a feasibility study needed to apply for IB career certificate programs, which require a series of courses in a vocational field along with internships in the field. Students must also write a lengthy paper in the area of study. 

Fitch High School is assembling a steering committee of 12 teachers who will be trained in their fields and report back to the Board of Education in April. The district would also have to identify partners in the community to offer internships, Graner said.

After the committee presents its findings, the school board would vote on the plan. If approved, Groton could apply the same month to the International Baccalaureate program, and potentially enroll students in the programs as early as September.

"The opportunity to actually focus on a career goal and get a highly-respected certificate attached to your diploma, I think, would really put students at a competitive advantage in terms of engineering schools,(and) nursing schools," Graner said. "And frankly, most importantly, I think they would become deeply engaged in something for which they have a passion, and that's really going to promote their learning throughout their high school education." 

Fitch already offers the IB diploma program, recognized internationally by colleges. Students in the two-year diploma program take classes in six subject areas and meet other requirements like performing community service and writing a research essay. The program is open to junior and senior high school students.

This year, 130 of Fitch's 1,104 students are enrolled in IB classes, and 21 students are in the full IB diploma program. The high school offers 15 "career clusters" of classes, so an IB career certificate program could be blended into that structure, Principal Joseph Arcarese said. The career certificate program would be open to high school students all four years.

"We're hoping with this program, that 130 could grow to 200 (or) 300," he said. The exposure to IB classes would boost students' skills, Arcarese said.

"Rigor in a high school prepares kids for whatever they decide to do when they get out of high school, whether it's college or work," he said. "Rigor in general allows kids to think critically and creatively, and those are the things that are needed whether they go to college, or to work or into the armed services."

Craig Koehler, whose 17-year-old son is enrolled in the IB diploma program, said Friday he wasn't aware the school board might expand it, but he believes it would benefit students.

"The engineering to me is a no-brainer," he said. "I think that's a field of study where students are going to have the most job opportunities going forward. And nursing as well. Business, I'm a business major, and you can apply business to any field. And fine arts is a field that shouldn't be overlooked."

Koehler, co-chairman of the Groton Schools 2020 political action committee, said he took his son on 10 college tours and the IB program was well recognized.

The focus on IB education has also intensified with the upcoming school building referendum in Groton. The proposed school construction plan would build one middle school adjacent to Fitch High School to create a campus environment, and convert Groton's two existing middle schools into elementary schools.

One aspect of the campus environment is a possible IB program that reaches students in middle school. Community members have also pointed out the benefit of turning Fitch High into a future regional magnet school. 

"Where high schools are becoming schools of choice, you need to offer things to keep (students) in your own community. Otherwise, taxpayers are paying for kids to leave," said Kevin Trejo, chairman of Children First Groton and the Groton School Readiness Council. "If the state allowed (Fitch) to be a magnet school, people from other districts would come to Fitch, and then those districts would have to pay us finally, instead of us having to pay other people."

But the benefits extend beyond this, he said. The career tracks offer opportunities to students in fields where workers are in demand, Trejo said. "We could open this up to the whole region, which would be wonderful," he said.

d.straszheim@theday.com