By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Future students at Ingraham High School may a new option in their curriculum. Ingraham, located at 1819 N. 135th St. in the Haller Lake neighborhood, will submit an application in May to become part of the International Baccalaureate Program.

The International Baccalaureate Program, known as IB, started in the 1960s. According to Rosyln Cooper, IB coordinator at Ingraham, it was originally conceived as a way to provide the children of diplomats and military personnel with a standardized curriculum, even if they moved around.

Since then, the popularity of the program has snowballed. Currently, Cooper said, there are over 1,000 IB programs worldwide.

IB classes are offered to junior and senior students only, however pre-IB classes will be offered at Ingraham for ninth and 10th graders.

While Coopers says that Ingraham wants to encourage kids who want to reach for the stars, IB is not a high school curriculum for the faint of heart.

Students who want to earn the full diploma (which is separate from their high school diploma, and at some schools can translate into a substantial amount of college credit) must successfully complete challenging tests in six subject areas, two essays and 150 hours of extra-curricular activities.

"It's extremely rigorous," Cooper said.

Ingraham's application process to have the IB program is also tough. In fact, it will be a two-year undertaking. That's why, if all goes according to plan, the 2002-2003 freshman class will be the first group of students eligible to receive their IB diploma at Ingraham, though freshmen students entering this year may be able to take some classes.

Cooper says that Ingraham will also continue to offer Advanced Placment (AP) courses. Cooper said that school is hoping that the IB program will act as a magnet, pulling kids in who might otherwise have chosen Ballard High School for its new facility. While other schools around the Puget Sound offer the IB program now, Ingraham will be the only school in Seattle to do so.

For more information about the IB Program, contact Roslyn Cooper at 252-3970.