2 SCHOOLS WANT ELITE ACCREDITING : PROGRAM OFFERS TOP-LEVEL CLASSES.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Antelope Valley Union High School District students could skip their college freshman year if they complete a rigorous academic program that could start next fall.

The International Baccalaureate diploma program proposed for Highland and Quartz Hill high schools has a course of study described as being on par with top-rank, top-dollar private schools like Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City and Cate School in Carpinteria.

``It's the best of private education at the end of a yellow school bus ride,'' said Glen Horst, an English teacher and coordinator of the proposed program at Highland High School. ``It's an 11th- and 12th-grade program and culminates in a series of tests in six subject areas. If the student achieves a certain level of performance, he or she can enter a university on a sophomore level.''

Antelope Valley Union High School District must first apply to become an approved and accredited International Baccalaureate school, a process that takes two years.

But school officials want to start next fall preparing ninth-graders to enter the program in their junior year.

Program organizers plan to send out letters this spring to the families of eighth-graders around the Antelope Valley, telling them about the program and how to apply for it.

The goal is to have between 30 and 60 students every year, Horst said. The students could come from all around the valley, not just from the attendance areas of the two high schools.

``It's an application process with standards,'' Horst said. ``There will be a writing exam. We will use a standardized test and teacher recommendations.''

Worldwide last year, of the 7,000 students who took the tests, about 5,600 received the baccalaureate diploma, Horst said. More than 50 colleges and universities in California recognize the program as well as Ivy League institutions, such as Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

The program has been under consideration in the district for the last few years, and Highland and Quartz Hill officials this year said they wanted to begin the program.

The Antelope Valley Union High School District board at last week's meeting approved the concept of the program and set aside $300,000 in start-up funds, the estimated amount needed to develop the program over the next four years.

Board member Sue Stokka was the lone dissenter in the 4-1 vote. She said she was not against the program itself but wanted more detailed information before giving it her stamp of approval.

``I had questions I wanted answered before proceeding,'' Stokka said. ``I wanted to see more information on sample curriculum and more details on standards. I felt uncomfortable diving into something without more information.''

Trustee Kevin Carney said he thought it was an exciting program that sets high standards in core subjects, such as English, math, the sciences, history and languages.

``The diploma basically satisfies the first-year of college requirements,'' Carney said. ``It's a typical core curriculum but at the Advanced Placement level and above. It's college-level. This is what I like about it the most, the striving for excellence.''

The board will receive a breakdown on what the $300,000 will be spent on at its Jan. 15 meeting. Horst said the money will spent on upgrading school libraries, staff development and training, computers, and instructional materials.

The district, if accepted, will join 34 other schools in California that offer the diploma program.

Birmingham High School in Van Nuys will become an accredited International Baccalaureate school next fall with 200 students enrolled, officials there said. Its first graduates of the program are now 10th-graders who will get their special diplomas in 1999.

``I've been around public schools for a long time. Standards are getting low, and we are seeing fewer motivated students,'' said Dani Williams, Birmingham's International Baccalaureate coordinator. ``I really wanted to do something to inject life at our school. It is working. It's attracted really good students.''

Based in Switzerland, the International Baccalaureate program was developed 25 years ago after diplomats expressed a desire that their children maintain a certain level of education as they moved from country to country, Horst said.

The tests that students take at the end of the program are $600, a cost they must bear, but Horst said it's a worthwhile investment. As he put it, it's $600 vs. $15,000 in first-year tuition.

``I think the community, not only in the Antelope Valley but in the United States, expects standards in schools,'' Horst said. ``They want to raise standards and see students step up to those standards. This is the highest tree that we can hang our own standards on.''