DAPHNE, Ala. — A committee from the International Baccalaureate Program visited Daphne High School Thursday and Friday in the final steps for its application to become an IBP school.

The committee — from the North American office based in New York City — will file a report of their findings with the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The International Baccalaureate Organization will then notify DHS if it has become an official IBP school in the spring, DHS Principal Don Blanchard said.

The IB diploma program consists of a two-year curriculum of liberal arts courses geared toward advanced students.

“The IBP is a rigorous junior- and senior-year curriculum,” IB Coordinator Joseph Roh said.

“The IBP diploma will allow our students to compete worldwide,” DHS Principal Don Blanchard said.

Teachers involved in the IBP participated in training for the program, Roh said.

Each teacher wrote the curriculum for their course, the syllabus and the grading scale based on the IBP structure — but also to fit Alabama Board of Education guidelines, Roh said of the application process.

“The IBO looks at this and knows that we are going to be doing it (the program) how they want it to be done,” Roh said.

The committee interviewed everyone at DHS involved in the IBP, according to Roh.

“They are looking to see that we are prepared to implement the program,” Blanchard said, adding DHS, if approved, would implement IB curricula next fall.

Students enrolled in the program would benefit from its courses, according to Roh.

“The IBP diploma is designated as the most prestigious diploma in the world,” he said.

“It raises the bar overall because the teachers bring the knowledge and training to their other (non-IBP) classes,” Roh — who taught at an IB school in Georgia — added.

An IB student focuses on six subjects: math, science, history, foreign language, English and art,Roh said.

IB students also take a “Theory on Knowledge” class and write a 4,000-word essay that is sent to the IBO, according to Roh.

Each student also completes 150 CAS —Creative, Action and Service — hours, he said.

The hours could include athletic participation, other school activities and volunteering for community events or service, according to Roh.

“This is why the IBP diploma is so prestigious; it’s turning out students that exceed in so many courses and is well-rounded,” Roh said of the IBP global standards.

At the end of their senior year, students take a standardized test where they score on a scale of 1 to 7, Roh said.

Participating students will receive two diplomas: an Alabama high school diploma and the IBP diploma, Roh said.

“Getting that diploma opens up a lot of opportunities,” Roh said. Colleges may offer priority acceptance, scholarships, housing and even college credits that put students at sophomore levels, he said.

Currently, DHS has 80 freshman and sophomore students taking preparatory classes for the IBP, Roh said.

The classes are similar to honor classes and are taught by teachers involved with the IBP, according to Roh.

For example, a biology teacher in the IBP knows the curriculum in the junior and senior years and can prepare students, Roh said.

The class of 2010 would be the first with graduating IB students.

DHS will begin accepting the next round of applications in late December or the first of January.

Daphne, Spanish Fort and Baldwin County High School students may apply for DHS’s program.

Fairhope High School also has applied for the IB program.

If the school is approved, students on the south end of the county will be eligible to apply for IB courses at FHS, Roh said.