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The IB Diploma Programme follows an international curriculum that prepares students for colleges success worldwide. IB courses are interconnected, writing intensive, and International in perspective. Final scores are based on many assessments. AP offers single, demanding courses in individual subjects designed for students with strengths in those areas. AP courses do not emphasize writing skills and are not based upon an international curriculum. AP grades are based upon a single test. On average, an IB student is twice as likely to receive college credit than an AP student.

Students are required to pay for their IB exams, which total approximately $850, in their senior year. Some IB students take selected exams after completing the class at the end of their junior year. (AP exams cost approximately $85 each.)

Yes, especially during the 9th and 10th grade IB years. However, most students will be honor students and other IB students. During the 11th and 12th grade IB program years, the majority of students in each class will be IB diploma candidates.

Students are required to pay $119 (as of 2023) for each IB exam. Late fees are applied after registration deadlines.

Currently there is no bus transportation. DCHS IB and IBPO are working on it.

No, IB classes are currently only offered at Douglas County and ThunderRidge High School, which is the representative IB school for all Douglas County School District high schools at the present time.

No, once a student has been invited to participate in the IB program at Douglas County High School, DCHS becomes his/her "home" school.

The MYP (Middle Years Program = sixth through tenth grade) IB coursework is designed to refine students' study skills and build an academic foundation to prepare them for success in the IB Diploma program.

Students gain admission into the program by submitting a completed application to the IB office at DCHS or on-line. Applicants who are hard-working, have at least a B average, and are seeking an academic challenge will be considered for the program. Students attending any of the District's other six high schools may open-enroll at Douglas County High School to participate in the IB program.

We want all of our IB students to be successful, and sometimes worrying about being able to afford exams can be stressful, so if there comes a time when you feel that the IB program would cost too much to participate in, please call me and we can talk about the situation, come up with a plan, and help.

If you are in a financial situation, as many people are these days, please don't hesitate to complete the Family Economic Data Survey. Once this application has been accepted, your student along with free or reduced lunches, will be eligible to receive funds towards their AP and/or IB Exams.

Confidentiality is very high on our list at Douglas County High School, so once I have been notified by you regarding eligibility and acceptance, no one else will have access to your information. Names of eligible students are not sent to CDE for the ESCAPE Grant. The only information is what tests are being given, how many students will be taking the tests, and how many low income students are signed up to take the tests. Nor does the IBPO receive names of students who require scholarships for workshops they sponsor.

Nutrition Services

Free and Reduced Lunches

What You Need to Know About Free and Reduced Price Meals

• The National School Lunch Program, as administered by Douglas County Schools Nutrition Service department, provides free and reduced price meals for students who fall within the eligibility guidelines. 

• The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires the use of one application per family. To apply for free or reduced price meals, an application must be filled out and returned to the school or the district Nutrition Service office. If you have children in more than one school, complete and submit only one application.

• Free and Reduced Price lunch applications are available at all schools in the main office. Applications can no longer be printed from the website. Only original applications will be accepted for processing.

• Important: A new application must be filled out at the beginning of each school year in order for meal benefits to continue.

For those of you who do not participate in the Free and Reduced Lunches program, There are ESCAPE forms that will need to be completed to receive scholarship funds from CDE. Please contact me in the IB Office to receive these forms.

Students successfully completing the IB program will receive two diplomas: one from the IB and one from Douglas County High School.

The Colorado legislature recently passed HB1108. The bill is a measure guaranteeing a minimum of 24 semester hours of credit for all IB Diploma graduates who elect to attend a state college/university in Colorado and do not have a score of less than 4 on an IB exam. The schools in Colorado want to keep the IB students in sthe state because they are top quality candidates. This is a huge incentive for attending college in state.

The IB Association of Rocky Mountain Schools (IB ARMS) is the group responsible for initiating this bill. It is one of the largest sub-regional IB groups in the United States. The IB coordinators from Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming who presently make up the IB ARMS group, work together on initiatives such as the one that just passed. Obtaining recognition for the level and quality of work that IB students do is a major goal of the group.

Recognition of IB diploma for admission to universities and colleges (www.ibo.org)

United States

There is no national ministry or centralized bureaucracy in the United States that controls university admission or placement. Instead, each college or university is responsible for setting its own policies.

For a quick overview, there is a search engine that outlines how universities around the world recognize the IB diploma. 

A student interested in post-secondary study in the USA must make direct contact with the college or university he or she would like to attend. One good way to begin is to use this web site. As you examine the IB recognition policies of American colleges and universities, make special note of those institutions that interest you. Using the links available in each policy, explore the college's web site to find information on exactly what the college requires. It is your responsibility to meet all the requirements and deadlines of the specific college or university.

In general terms, American colleges and universities require you to submit a written application for admission. You will be required to provide atranscript with your secondary school grades.

In addition, you will need to have taken either the Scholastic Aptitude Test or the American College Test. Students whose first language is other than English are often required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Advanced Placement and IB exams, while not mandatory, will increase a students chance for securing admission to selective universities.

Other web sites may be helpful in answering general and specific questions about the college admissions process in the U.S.A. Consult The National Association of College Admissions Counseling; The College Board and the Higher Education Directory and the Higher Education Resource Center of the web site for the Council of International Schools. For information on financial aid, a good place to begin is FastWeb.

Click here to view class weights.

Click here to view a PDF. Note that this was updated in 2015.