Our School

  • The Washington Post names JCIB #1 High School in Alabama

    # 20 in the National Rankings 2019

     

    School Population:
    Suburban, residential Jefferson County, Alabama

    School Description:

    • Gifted magnet program established in 1973
    • International Baccalaureate World School since 1991
    • Accredited by AdvancEd and the State of Alabama
    • JCIB is a school within a school. It is part of the Shades Valley
      High School Campus and students take some elective courses at SVHS.
    • There are approximately 1300 students at Shades Valley/JCIB
    • 346 students enrolled in the IB school program
    • High school grades 9-12
    • Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) Program (11-12)
    • All juniors and seniors are pursuing the IB diploma
    • 72 seniors
    • 4 National Merit Finalists
      52 AP Scholars, 22 AP Scholars with Honor, 32 AP Scholars with
      Distinction and 3 AP National Scholars

    Curriculum: International Baccalaureate/Advanced Placement
    All academic classes are taught on an accelerated level.

    AP Courses: US and European History, US Government,
    Macroeconomics, Human Geography, Psychology, English Language
    and English Literature, Biology, Chemistry, Physics 1 & Physics 2,
    Environmental Science, French, German, Spanish, Statistics, Calculus
    AB and BC, and Computer Science Principles

    IB Courses: Theory of Knowledge, Mathematics and Mathematic
    Studies, History, Literature/English, Art, French, German, Spanish,
    Psychology, Philosophy, Geography, Chemistry, Biology, and
    Environmental Systems

    Faculty:
    20 teachers; 19 master’s degrees; 1 specialist; 2 doctorates

    Average experience–14 years; 75% with 5+ years’ experience

    Professional Memberships- The College Board, NASSP, NCSS, ASCD,
    NCTE, CSTA, AATF, AWLA, NSTA, NABT, NCTM, AFTG, AATSP, AFFC,
    FTE, ACSS, CATE, Center for Civic Education, NMSI, ACTM, NAEA

    5 teachers are Nationally Board Certified; 1 Presidential Award for
    Excellence in Mathematics & Science Teachers, 1 Fulbright Recipient

    100% of IB students accepted to four-year colleges.

    Grading System:
    A 100-90 = 4 points B 80-89 = 3 points
    C 70-79 = 2 points D 60 – 69 = 1 point
    AP Courses and IB Courses receive + 1 point; Pre-AP/IB + .5 point

     GPA = Semester grade points divided by number of courses taken
    with all subjects included.

    Requirements for graduation: 30 credits are required for Advanced
    Academic Diploma: 4 credits of English, 4 Social Science, 4 Math; 4
    Science, 2 Foreign Language, ½ Health, 1 Computer Science, 1 LIFE
    PE, and 8.5 electives. Two or more courses must be AP.

    Test Results: SAT Results* – Average Critical Reading: 686
    Average Mathematics: 658 Average Composite: 1344

    ACT Results* - Composite Mean: 28.27

    IB Results* – 68% of graduating class earned the IB Diploma
    Average exam score was a 4.64 for diploma earners
    Average diploma score was a 30

    * Data based on 2018-2019 information

     

    JCIB Head of School: Mrs. Lori Lightsey
    SVHS Principal:Mr. Taki Sarhaan
    IB Diploma Coordinator/College Counselor:
    Dr. April Lufkin Miller

     

    Students apply for admission to the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate. Students may have attended any accredited home school, private or public school prior to entrance to JCIB; approximately 2/3 of the students come from within the Jefferson County school district and 1/3 come from other districts. The schedule at JCIB is an alternating block, with classes meeting every other day for the entire year. As juniors and seniors, students participate in the Work-Study program in which students are dismissed from school on Wednesdays after their morning classes. Students arrange to volunteer for at least a semester in a field of interest to them, e.g. university lab, local hospital, law office, veterinarian clinics, public library, middle school, etc. to further explore college and career options.

    JCIB students compete on the athletic teams at Shades Valley High School including baseball, basketball (boys & girls), bowling (boys & girls), cheer, colorguard, cross-country (boys & girls), football, golf (boys & girls), soccer (boys & girls), softball, swimming, tennis (boys & girls), track (boys & girls), Volleyball, and wrestling at the 6A level.

    Sports are not the only competitive teams available to JCIB students. Academic teams include Debate, Science Olympiad, Math Team, Scholars Bowl, Mu Alpha Theta, and Model UN.

    There are a variety of extracurricular clubs and service organizations led/comprised of JCIB students: Best Robotics, Diamond Dolls, Future Business Leaders of America, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, First Priority, French Club, German Club, Spanish Club, National Beta Club.

    Students who meet the necessary requirements may be inducted into JCIB chapters of national honor societies for several fields or areas of study: National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, National French Honor Society, National German Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Rho Kappa, Tri-M Music Honor Society, International Thespian Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, National Science Honor Society.