> It depends on which catchment zone you live in, and even the schools that offer AP don't offer the same AP courses.
I grew up in Calgary. It was possible to apply to special programs outside of your catchment area, with a choice of multiple schools for some programs. Being admitted into a public IB program comes with the expense of a monthly bus pass, not the equivalent of several years of university tuition. I would be surprised if Vancouver is any different since out-of-area students are often the means of maintaining high enough enrolment to offer special programs ranging from academics to the trades.
Something that may have been a quirk of my home city: catchment area was not a hard-and-fast rule for middle school either. There were special programs one could apply to and, failing that, approaching the school's administration directly. Granted, for something like that the family must care enough to take the initiative. That may be in short supply in some areas, but it is by no means a measure of affluence.
> My point and rant about these is that it'll be a matter of time before all of these opportunities are also taken away. If they stay, I'll be pleasantly surprised and gladly admit I'm wrong.
There is also the possibility that you'll see the opportunities taken away, then be pleasantly surprised to see them return. The education system seems to go in cycles, based upon whatever the pedagogical fashions of the day are. Then again, I doubt that we will ever see the extreme of everything being taken away. People seem to like talking about things in extremes that don't truly exist.
The IB public programs are called "district programs," which give everyone in the district the ability to apply to the programs. So you're correct about that being open to those within Vancouver.
For one program it seems that there is a roughly $1,000 cost for each level, so it's a little over $2,000 to complete the entire IB program. The other IB program seems to cost $1,000. I don't know if either of those schools waive the fees or not, but looking at other districts they say the fees are for writing the IB exams.
I can't determine if AP courses are district programs or not.
I grew up in Calgary. It was possible to apply to special programs outside of your catchment area, with a choice of multiple schools for some programs. Being admitted into a public IB program comes with the expense of a monthly bus pass, not the equivalent of several years of university tuition. I would be surprised if Vancouver is any different since out-of-area students are often the means of maintaining high enough enrolment to offer special programs ranging from academics to the trades.
Something that may have been a quirk of my home city: catchment area was not a hard-and-fast rule for middle school either. There were special programs one could apply to and, failing that, approaching the school's administration directly. Granted, for something like that the family must care enough to take the initiative. That may be in short supply in some areas, but it is by no means a measure of affluence.
> My point and rant about these is that it'll be a matter of time before all of these opportunities are also taken away. If they stay, I'll be pleasantly surprised and gladly admit I'm wrong.
There is also the possibility that you'll see the opportunities taken away, then be pleasantly surprised to see them return. The education system seems to go in cycles, based upon whatever the pedagogical fashions of the day are. Then again, I doubt that we will ever see the extreme of everything being taken away. People seem to like talking about things in extremes that don't truly exist.