The International Baccalaureate program is a rigorous pre-university course of study that meets the needs of the highly motivated secondary school student. Designed as a comprehensive curriculum that allows its graduates to fulfill requirements of the various national systems of education, the IB program is based on the pattern of no single country. It provides students of different linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds with the intellectual, social, and critical perspectives necessary for the adult world that lies ahead of them. 

The education of the "whole person" takes on a special significance in the twenty-first century when knowledge continues to expand dramatically; when advanced technologies and global economies have tied together vastly different cultures; when the world is bound too closely for provincial ideologies to guide political thought; when to exist in a world community requires appreciation and understanding of cultural diversity; and when cooperation alone will solve global problems. It is essential therefore that academic training provide students with the values and opportunities that will enable them to succeed in the competitive modern world. 

All IB Diploma candidates are required to engage in the study of Languages, Sciences, Mathematics, and Humanities in the final two years of their secondary schooling. 

The high standards implicit in the IB examinations assume high levels of achievement and preparation at the middle school and Florida’s Pre-IB levels. This program is a deliberate compromise between the preference for specialization in some countries and the emphasis on breadth often preferred in others. The intent is that students should learn how to learn, how to analyze, and how to reach considered conclusions about people, their languages and literature, their ways in society, and the scientific forces of the environment. 

Since the International Baccalaureate Office was established in Geneva, Switzerland in 1965, the IB Program has grown to almost 5,000 schools in 150 countries. Working in three official languages (English, French, and Spanish), IB enjoys the respect and support of many governments, colleges, and universities. 

Students are often accorded advanced standing in college based on their IB work. Significant numbers of IB Diploma holders both from within and outside North America have gained admission to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Stanford, MIT, the University of Chicago, and other prominent institutions. 

Parents and guardians:

Welcome back to the 2024-2025 school year!  We all look forward to another successful year and welcome your cooperation and participation as we strive to continue and build upon the achievements of our IB Program.

Our entire IB Administrative Team is back this year, and our offices are still in the main administration building.

See contact information.

Congratulations to our seven 2024-2025 National Merit Semifinalists:

Sukeerth Goly, Viswambhar Janapati, Shravan Kambham, Vaneesha Sinha, Bhargava Tatineni, Haasini Yelugoti, and Olivia Zeng!  Out of approximately 1.3 million high school juniors who took the PSAT/NMSQT Exam in October of 2023, these seven Rickards IB students scored among the top 16,000 students.  This year, there are more National Merit Semifinalists at Rickards than at any other Tallahassee High School.  We are very proud of these amazing young scholars for this prestigious academic accomplishment and wish them the best of luck in the scholarship competition.

Parents of IB Seniors: Our annual IB Senior College Application Day will take place at Rickards in the Cafeteria on Tuesday, October 1st.  Please make sure that your senior attends school that day. Students will spend the entire day in the Rickards cafeteria working on any aspect of their college applications.  Representatives from the Admissions and Financial Aid Offices at FAMU, FSU, and TSC will be present to answer students’ questions and explain the many opportunities available to students at these outstanding institutions of higher learning.  Students will have the opportunity to work on their applications to any college or university and any aspect of their applications, whether through Common App, Coalition App, or applications available on university websites. Students may also receive feedback on application essays, resumes, completing the FFAA, SSR, or SSAR, or any other materials that students want to submit with their applications.

Parents of IB Juniors: Our annual IB Junior CAS Assembly will take place Thursday, September 19th, from 1st through 4th periods in the Rickards Auditorium.  IB juniors will learn about their CAS (Creativity, Activity, and Service) requirements and will log in to ManageBac, the online interface students will use to document their progress toward completing their CAS, EE (Extended Essay), and TOK (Theory of Knowledge) assessment requirements this year and next year.

May 2024 IB Exam Session Highlights: Our 2023-2024 IB seniors and juniors did well this past year in their overall IB Exam results.  31 out of 53 (58%) of our IB Diploma Candidates (Class of 2024 IB Diploma Program Seniors) earned an IB Diploma.  Our overall IB Exam pass rate (4 or higher out of a possible 7) for all 113 students who took IB Exams was even better, at 69%.  The average points earned by those passing the diploma was 29 out of a possible 45 points (24 is the minimum passing score), and the average grade obtained by candidates who passed the diploma was 4.57 points out of a possible 7. The highest point total earned was 38.

Class of 2024 IB Diplomas and Transcripts:

The Class of 2024 IB Diplomas and Transcripts have arrived from Cardiff, Wales, UK.  2024 IB graduates or their parents can pick them up from Dr. Williams in the front office. Please email or call ahead so Dr. Williams can leave your IB Diploma and/or IB Transcript at the front office, in case he is not available when you come to campus.

IB Senior College Application Day, October 1^st, 2024:

IB seniors will have the entire day in the Rickards cafeteria with Dr. Williams, Mrs. Williams, and representatives from the Admissions and Financial Aid Offices at FAMU, FSU, and TSC, who will be available to answer students’ questions about the college admissions process, no matter which schools they intend on applying to.  IB Seniors can work on any aspect of their college applications, including completing the FFAA (the application for the Bright Futures Scholarship and for any other form of financial aid for college offered by the state of Florida), working on their Common App profiles, or working on drafts of their personal statements or other college essays.