Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School  Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School (JCIB) is a public International Baccalaureate school located on the campus of Shades Valley High School in Irondale, Alabama. The school enrolls 372 students in grades 9-12 and is a part of the Jefferson County School System. It is consistently recognized as one of the best high schools in the country:  JCIB students are diverse: 56% are white, 32% are African-American, 6% are Asian-American, 4% are Hispanic, and 2% are multiracial. Twenty percent of students qualified for free or reduced price lunch.  100% of JCIB students graduate and go on to attend four-year colleges and universities. The 2016 graduating class earned approximately $12 million in college scholarships, an average of almost $160,000 per student. JCIB students have an average ACT score of 29, and the average SAT score is 1,831. The most recent graduating class includes three National Merit & Achievement Finalists, 64 AP Scholars, 35 AP Scholars with Honor, 21 AP Scholars with Distinction, and two AP National Scholars. Students must apply to JCIB during the spring prior to the year of anticipated enrollment. The application requires students to submit a transcript and test scores from their current schools, recommendations from both a mathematics and language arts instructor, and an application essay. Students are also strongly encouraged to attend an open house and/or shadow a student prior to applying. Students must also pay tuition if they live outside the school district. Students from other counties and even students from the same county that live in an area that falls within another school district must pay over $2200 at registration in tuition alone or they cannot attend even if they have been accepted. All academic courses at JCIB are taught at an accelerated pace. Many courses prepare students for Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Exams. Students choose from among the following AP and IB courses: While all students are required to take a rigorous curriculum that includes both AP and IB coursework, students may choose whether to work toward earning an IB diploma. Approximately 64% of the 2015 graduating class received an IB diploma. Beginning in 11th grade, JCIB's students participate in a work-study program every Wednesday afternoon. Students choose whether to take on an unpaid internship in a career area of interest, volunteer for a nonprofit organization, or perform some other community service. These hours contribute to the 150 CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) hours that are required in order to receive the IB diploma.