Frequently Asked Questions

Yes the 7 period schedule will accommodate one elective period for band OR athletics or whatever other elective you want to participate in, besides the one period you will have for an IBA class. Approximately 85% of our students participate in another elective such as band, orchestra, choir, theatre or athletics, cheer or drill team. We encourage you to be a part of the various organizations at NSHS. 

No, it is not possible to be in three electives… like band, cheerleading and IBA. You will want to be active and make contributions in any organization you are a part of, so choose what you really like and do well in those activities. Your studies will take a lot more time in high school than you had to devote in middle school. As you get further in high school it will be impossible to schedule that many electives due to the “four cores all four years” requirement in the 7 period school day.

It is a plan that was voted on by the State of Texas Legislature for freshmen entering high school to take English, Math, Science and History all four years of high school. This plan really hasn’t affected the IBA students, as they have traditionally taken these courses all four years due to their college of choice entrance requirements. This plan has affected the elective options instead.

No, you will not be able to stay at Newman Smith if you drop the IBA.  You will return to your “zoned campus” if you drop the academy. It is always a good idea to make a commitment to stay with any program that you apply to and are accepted in to.  Since our freshmen class size is limited, less than 3% of all 8^th grade students apply to the Academy.  It is a select group of students and you will be taking a spot that another student would have liked to be accepted in to. Please choose wisely!

After you complete your sophomore year of high school and have turned 16 years old you may apply to Brookhaven College and begin taking dual credit courses.  In the IBA sophomore year we take a field trip over to Brookhaven to get you familiar with the campus, learn about the application process and meet the Admissions Counselor. You can gain college credit by taking AP courses and the AP exam, by scoring a 3 or better on the exam allows you to gain college credit.  You can gain 28+ dual credits by taking classes at Brookhaven and with your AP coursework. (Refer to the IBA course list for dual credit options).

The tuition is free of charge to CFBISD students; however you will pay for your textbooks. You will take these classes in the evening during the school year and/or in the summer there are a variety of times the courses are offered. You will need to provide your own transportation to and from the Brookhaven campus.

Yes, a minimum of 10 hours per year are required. You may count up to 5 hours per year for service that you might do in the summertime.  The remaining 5 hours will be completed during the school year.  We offer community service opportunities for the academy students throughout the school year.

Yes, it is required that you take 3 years of a foreign language. There are 5 verbal languages for you to choose from! If you take a foreign language in middle school, 7^th and 8^th grade, you count those two years as one year of high school language credit. So you will complete two years of a language in high school. Chinese, Japanese, French, German and Spanish courses are offered on our campus.

On the average, we take two trips per semester. However, if we have guest speakers and students miss some classes due to the speaker, we would have one field trip for that semester! It is a course requirement for your specific IBA class, so it is required that you attend all field trips.  It is important that the IBA student has good attendance due to academy field trip days out of class. You are always responsible for any class work that you miss in your other classes.

Yes, as an incoming freshman to the IBA program you will be given a shirt with the IBA insignia monogrammed on it; you will be expected to wear this shirt with khakis and nice dress shoes on all field trips and for most guest speaker engagements. An IBA jacket is required to be purchased in order to wear on field trips with the IBA; the cost is approximately $36.00.

It is required to maintain a passing grade in all course work by the end of each semester; the student will be placed on probation with the expectation of the grade to be brought up to passing at the end of the year. The director and principal will consider extenuating circumstances.  All IBA students must take at least one Pre-AP or AP course per year.

You will be required to purchase an IBA jacket $36.00 for field trip purposes. You will be expected to purchase a pair of khaki slacks that you will wear with your IBA shirts on the field trips. You will be expected to fundraise for the academy at least once each school year in order to help with the IBA student activity fund. The out of state or out of the country trip costs in future years is an individual choice to participate.

You will learn about business, all kinds of business!! You will learn how all companies rely on its employee’s business knowledge and skills to be successful. The academy will equip you with lots of knowledge about how companies do business in other countries, you will acquire leadership and teamwork skills, and you will learn the power of networking with your classmates and business professionals; you will take lots of field trips and have many travel opportunities. You are recognized as leaders on the NSHS campus; you receive personalized scheduling and advising thru out high school from Mrs. Long; you can receive college credit for some of the IBA courses that you will take and you will receive special graduation recognition; why wouldn’t you want to be in the Academy with all of these benefits!