The American International School of Jeddah (AISJ) is the newest IB candidate school in Saudi Arabia.
In January, AISJ received the official notification that their request to offer the IB Diploma Program (DP) was accepted. Their staff is now undergoing training to become certified to teach this curriculum.
This is an important step in deepening the school’s commitment to providing its students with the best possible education. Robert Jackson, AISJ superintendent, said he is thrilled with the school reaching this milestone. “The IB program will complement the stellar components already present in our secondary program allowing for students to have greater choice in their career pathways.”
AISJ is planning on offering the IB DP classes for the 2022-23 school year. In addition to offering the IB DP, AISJ will continue to offer the full suite of pre-AP (Advanced Placement) and AP courses to their high school students. The AP program gives students the chance to take college-level courses, and earn college credit starting as early as grade 9.
While other schools in Jeddah offer the AP and IB programs, AISJ will be the only school to offer both to their high school students.
“Over the past three years, we have seen our AP Capstone diploma grow by 325 percent. We are projecting that this number will increase in the coming years and felt it was necessary to give students more opportunities at advanced coursework,” Rick VandenBoom, the high school principal said. “IB is a great fit because it will allow our students to pursue the IB diploma, the AP Capstone diploma or students can enhance their university transcript by experiencing a mix of both programs.”
Students at AISJ graduate and move on to attend top universities around the world, including Johns Hopkins, Harvard, King’s College, and McGill.
