Walden International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, 1996-97. The First Year of Consideration on the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme and School Reform.

In early 1996, the Atlanta school board approved a plan to reconstitute Walden Middle School, opening it to students across the city and substantially changing the composition of the faculty. This report for 1996-97 recounts the first year of the reform effort, during which all positions were declared vacant and a new staff and faculty were assembled. The middle-school curriculum was redesigned and teacher qualifications were raised to obtain authorization for implementation of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program. The program will be implemented as a single, continuous curriculum for grades 6-10, and formal teacher training will begin in 1997-98. The report describes student and teacher characteristics, professional-preparation activities, the development of partnerships, parent and community involvement, and the Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC) Pilot Project. Controversial issues included the criteria and process for selecting a particular school for reconstitution, and the scope and span of local decision making. Other issues included the need for planning time, the criteria and recruitment procedures for faculty hiring, the expectation to achieve at the 90th percentile, the communication of restructuring goals to the community, and accommodations for students from outside of the school community. Seven tables are included. Appendices contain the Atlanta school board recommendation to reconstitute Walden Middle School, information on the CCC pilot project, responses to the 1997 parent and student satisfaction surveys, and teacher and student opinions about the CCC project. (LMI)