Cape Coral High School has high hopes for its International Baccalaureate program, which issued 56 diplomas last year, an increase of 19 over the previous year.

“That was pretty exciting to see,” Principal Matthew Mederios said about the number of students who received an IB diploma.

Students who receive an IB diploma are eligible for a maximum of 45 college credits at a university in Florida, along with automatically being qualified for the Bright Futures Scholarship.

He said the interest of the program is growing. Last year 247 students were enrolled in the program compared to 278 students enrolled this year.

“We had more students enroll during the first week of school,” he said.

IB art and business are the two main programs offered for students at Cape Coral High School.

Although the number of seniors enrolled in the IB program has decreased slightly from last year, Mederios said the freshman, sophomore and junior classes are growing.

There is always an ongoing discussion between students, teachers and administrators to find ways to expand the IB program at the school. He said the discussions are held to answer questions of how they can best meet the needs of the students, along with finding out what type of courses they are looking for.

Mederios said they modified some of what they offered this year and are looking to expand what they offer next year.

“We are hoping to see a pretty significant increase in our numbers for next year,” he said.

The program was first introduced to students in 2005 at Cape Coral High School.

“I believe strongly that any student who is looking to prepare themselves for college is going to get their best preparation in being enrolled in the IB program,” he said.

Although it is a rigorous course of study, Mederios said students benefit from the tremendous preparation it provides for college. He said the nice thing about the program is that is still provides students with time to become involved in extra curricular activities.

He said since the IB program requires community service activities, it also provides a great opportunity for the students to get out there and make connections and obtain experience in a diverse array of things.