The International Baccalaureate program came to Richmond at the perfect time for Jamal Jones.

Six years ago, Jones, now a senior in the IB program at Thomas Jefferson High School, was having a hard time finding his niche at Thompson Middle School.

"My first year didn't go so well," he said. "I was looking for a way out."

He found that way at another Richmond middle school, Lucille Brown.

Jones was part of Richmond's first class of IB students. In June, he and 28 classmates will become Richmond's first class to graduate from the international program that promotes an academically strenuous curriculum.

There are hundreds of students in the city who would like to follow Jones, but only 50 will get the chance next fall.

While Richmond's IB program has become an increasingly popular option for students -- and parents -- with an eye on advanced academics, the program has yet to grow to meet the demand.

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There are 11 IB programs in the area, and the approach varies by school system. Henrico County, like Richmond, has one each for middle and high school students.

But Henrico has increased the size of its program aggressively and now has 990 students.

Richmond has taken a more deliberate approach and has 229 students spread across seven grades.

Although expansion on Henrico's level isn't likely in the near future, Richmond's elementary schools are producing enough qualified students to increase the program.

Students are invited to apply based on grades (at least a B average in the fourth grade) and SOL scores (450 or better in reading and math).

This year, 680 students in the city -- including home-schooled and private-school students -- were eligible, said Rodney Fout, the coordinator of gifted programs for the Richmond school system. Of those students, 317 applied.

"I think they're very interested in expanding the program," Fout said of the School Board.

A major problem is space.

Brown is full. To increase enrollment in the IB program, the system would have to rezone the school and send some non-IB students elsewhere.

Other city middle schools have space, but the program isn't portable. To add a site would mean going through the costly application process again with the IB's accrediting organization, based in Geneva.

School Board member Carol A.O. Wolf long has advocated a larger IB program and expansion into a second middle school.

"I think IB has allowed us to keep our high-achieving students," she said. "It's one piece of a big puzzle, but it's an important piece."

City Councilman Chris A. Hilbert has proposed setting aside money for the school system to expand the IB program, but that idea still is in the formative stage.

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The IB program is not the end-all of the city's attempt to improve its middle school curriculum. In recent years, it has made high school-level math and science classes available in all nine middle schools, and the city's foreign language program has expanded greatly.

"We have extremely qualified students," Fout said. "But I don't think there's any program out there that's right for all people."

He talked about the success of Community and Open high schools and Franklin Military Academy. The three city programs have approaches that range from extremely casual (at Open, everyone is on a first-name basis) to military rigid.

The important thing, he said, is finding a program that's right for a particular student.

"I think parents need to look at how their child learns," he said.

School Board Vice Chairwoman Lisa Dawson said she would like to see a growth of gifted programs in general, not just IB. Of particular interest to her is a middle school with a focus on math and science, which would feed into a high school with the same emphasis.

Wolf said expansion of all gifted programs is essential if the city is going to stem the yearslong decline in enrollment.

"The reason people move out of the city is they want what's best for their kids," she said. "If parents are confident there are high expectations, that's how you sell the system.

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Jones and fellow IB seniors Jessica David and Lamar Walker know all about those high expectations.

The program in which they're enrolled stresses achievement with an interdisciplinary approach that ties everything together.

"It has benefited me totally," said Jessica, who was accepted by at least seven colleges and is leaning toward attending Duke University. "It's going to be a smooth transition [to college]."

She credits the IB program with making her "more well-prepared, more cultured" than if she'd gone to her zone school.

"I think it's a really great program," said Lamar, who joined in the ninth grade after moving here from Fort Knox, Ky. "It gives you the worldly aspect you wouldn't get anywhere else."

Jamal said his grades might have been better at Thompson, but he has no regrets.

"[It's] had an impact on how I turned out," he said. "It forces you to reflect."
Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or zreid@timesdispatch.com.