Maynard H. Jackson High School Authorized as International Baccalaureate World School!

On May 28, 2013, Maynard Jackson High School became a newly authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) World School! Maynard Jackson is the second high school in Atlanta Public Schools (APS) to offer an IB Programme, and the first IB courses will be offered to rising juniors and seniors this fall.

Maynard Jackson began the rigorous authorization process in 2011, and received IB status within two years of the average five-year process! The authorization process has a number of phases, each of which has distinctive objectives and related time frames, and these guidelines are intended to support schools during the process of authorization.

The IB Diploma Programme (DP) is an academically challenging and balanced programme of education with final examinations that prepares students aged 16-19 for success at university and life beyond. It has been designed to address the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical well being of students. The programme has gained recognition and respect from the world’s leading universities, and prepares students for effective participation in a rapidly evolving and increasingly global society.

Students enrolled in the IB Diploma Programme will benefit from the following:

Develop physically, intellectually, emotionally, and ethically
Acquire breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding, studying courses from six subject groups
Develop skills and a positive attitude towards learning that will prepare them for higher education
Study at least two languages and increase understanding of cultures, including their own
Make connections across traditional academic disciplines and explore the nature of knowledge through the programme’s unique Theory of Knowledge (T.O.K.) course
Undertake in-depth research into an area of interest through the lens of one or more academic disciplines in the Extended Essay (E.E.)
Enhance their personal and interpersonal development through Creativity, Action, and Service (CAS)

Students will be able to apply for the two-year IB Diploma Programme, which consists of the 11^th and 12^th grade years. Colleges and universities offer course credit for student success and achievement on the IB Examinations administered at the end of students’ senior year of high school. Additionally, the IB Diploma Programme is internationally benchmarked and in alignment with the new Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS). Through the new College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI), the school can earn additional points for the number of students that successfully complete one or more IB Diploma Programme courses.

Maynard Jackson credits their success to the tremendous amount of support from the parents and community, as well as internal and external partners who were instrumental during this process.

“This achievement demonstrates what can happen when a community, school, and all stakeholders work collaboratively,” says Sharonda F. Murrell, Ed.S. Academy Leader for IB Planning and Implementation. “This is the foundation of many great and extraordinary things to come, and is living up to the expectation of the schools name – Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School.”