Keeping the faith

As a university IB coordinator, Rick Arrington has helped more than 125 schools become better involved with IB. He tells Sam Upton how he gets teachers, students and universities to work together

For most IB teachers, their work teaching the IB programmes is much more than just a job. Their passion and belief in the system gives them a strong vitality, and the knowledge that their work is changing lives forever. But for Rick Arrington, IB Diploma Programme coordinator at the University of Tulsa (TU)   in the United States, teaching the IB Diploma Programme and working with IB students isn’t just a fulfilling vocation, it’s a way of life.

“I call myself an IB True Believer,” he says. “For 25 years now, I’ve been a keen follower of the Diploma Programme. I’ve taught IB history and economics, and now I travel the world talking about – and listening to others talk about – the IB, so it’s become a real passion.”

Rick’s ‘True Believer’ status finds him visiting an astonishing number of IB World Schools. At the last count, he’s appeared at more than 125, including institutions as far apart as Ireland and Vietnam, spreading the word while also improving his own understanding of how the Diploma Programme is taught.

“I get to see IB students at work in all kinds of different settings,” he explains. “Brand-new IB World Schools that are just starting the programme, established programmes, large programmes, small programmes, inner-city programmes and suburban programmes. It’s been really exciting to discover how all those different schools teach IB.”

Rick has been involved with the Diploma Programme for more than 25 years, ever since he was a key player in its introduction to Tulsa’s Booker T Washington High School. Back then, he taught social studies at the school, but was attracted by the IB economics course and its different teaching methods. After a short time in the role, the post of IB Diploma Programme coordinator came up and Rick successfully applied.

“Professionally, being the DP coordinator was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” he says. “I went from being a narrow social studies teacher to trying to put together a programme for the entire school. Helping the other teachers, ordering the right books, completing the admin – it was very exciting, but hugely challenging.”

Now 59, Rick’s energy and enthusiasm haven’t waned one bit, with his current role using every ounce of his extensive IB experience and expertise. At the University of Tulsa, he’s responsible for encouraging IB students to come to TU and continue their studies by first putting together the various brochures and posters for the university admissions team to distribute, and then visiting IB schools in person, talking directly
to students and parents about the Diploma Programme and the benefits of coming to TU.

“It’s great to be in schools: they like to have somebody come in who can offer an added dimension,” explains Rick. “The students will have already heard their principal, their DP coordinator and their counsellor talk about college. What they want is to hear somebody else talk, someone who already has college experience working with IB students. They really seem to respond to that.”

Knowing the calibre of IB students, TU offers them a host of exclusive benefits. It doesn’t charge an application fee and offers a $3,000-a-year scholarship that can be awarded on top of other scholarships TU students are eligible for. The university also offers up to 36 hours of college credit for the full diploma, which can effectively make students sophomores before they even take their first lesson.

“We have one of the most exemplary IB recognition policies in the USA,” says Rick. “We know IB students and we know the kind of work they’ve done. Our professors know them, our administrators know them, the president of our university and provost both had children in the IB programme, so we feel like we’re a very IB-friendly university.”

Fortunately, this enlightened attitude to IB students isn’t just limited to Tulsa. Colleges across the USA recognize the value of the diploma, and the extra skills an IB student possesses. Where once a significant number of universities refused to give any credit to IB students, several US state legislators have recently passed IB recognition policies that have required their state universities to increase the credit given for IB work.

“As the IB has grown, more universities have received IB students,” explains Rick. “Once a university gets an IB student, we know they’re going to be impressed by the work they’ve done.”

As for the future of the Diploma Programme, Rick sees no other way but up, with the programme continuing to set high expectations for students and providing the framework for them to accomplish more. “I’ve been an educator for a lot of years now and I’m still idealistic,” he says. “To educate our students so they can go out and solve our problems and do it in a humane fashion – that’s what I think the IB gives.”