Bob Jones High School
Bob Jones High School is a public high school in Madison, Alabama, United States. The school is a part of Madison City Schools. Despite its name, it is not affiliated with Bob Jones University of Greenville, South Carolina; rather, it is named after Robert E. Jones, Jr., who served the area in the United States House of Representatives from 1947 until 1977.
In 2007, Bob Jones High School was ranked by Newsweek in the top 5% of American High Schools.[2] The school was ranked 1044 among the top 1200 high schools in the nation based on the number of Advanced Placement, Cambridge tests, and/or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school and then dividing by the number of graduating seniors.[3] These students are nationally known for their scholastic aptitude, with eleven students having been selected as Presidential Scholars Program candidates in the last three years alone.[4]
History[edit]
The school was named for former Alabama congressman Robert E. "Bob" Jones. (Originally the school was to be named for James Record, the former Alabama State Senator and Madison County Commission Chairman who suggested Jones for the honor instead.) The current principal is Sylvia Lambert, and the school is in Region 4 of class 7A in the AHSAA.
Bob Jones High School opened in 1974 at 1304 Hughes Road as a part of the Madison County School system. It remained a part of this system until 1998, when the Madison City Schools system was created.[5]
In 1996, BJHS moved to a newly constructed building at 650 Hughes Road, leaving the previous building for Discovery Middle School. The school plans underestimated the rate at which Madison was growing, and a few years after moving to the new location, the 9th grade, traditionally part of the high school, had to be put into the middle schools to make room at the new building. A new wing has since been added to alleviate further growth problems.
In 2005, Robby Parker became the principal of Bob Jones.[6]
When a second high school, James Clemens High School, was opened in 2012, the 9th grade was then moved back to the high schools.[7]
In 2015, the district promoted Parker to be the assistant superintendent.[6] Sylvia Lambert became the new principal of the high school that year.[8]
Scheduling[edit]
Bob Jones High School operates on a four-block semestrial schedule, and offers options such as dual enrollment and cooperative education (co-op) programs for those who qualify. School hours run from 8:15 a.m. to 3:27 p.m., Monday through Friday. Each class is 96 minutes long, with a 7-minute class change period. Between 1st and 2nd block, there is a "break" that is 10 minutes. Every Wednesday, the school offers a 55-minute class period called "Patriot Path," where students are free to participate in a unique activity they are interested in; classes ranging from student-led clubs, to knitting, to hearing a guest speaker are offered, and activities are always being added.
Faculty[edit]
The high school has a staff that includes many National Board certified teachers.
Fine arts[edit]
Marching band[edit]
The Bob Jones Marching Patriot Band, competed in the Outback Bowl Marching Open Class Competition, and won 3rd place out of 18 participating high schools from all around the nation. The marching band received 1st in class, as well as Grand Champion in the Parade Competition of the Outback Bowl Band Festival held in Tampa, Florida. The Bob Jones Marching Patriot Band also competed in Field Show USA held in Washington, D.C. and claimed the Field Show USA Champions in October 2011.[10] The Bob Jones High School Marching Patriot Band returned to the Outback Bowl Band Festival in Tampa once again in 2013 with their competition field show entitled, 007: The 50th Anniversary and won Best in Class and Grand Champions once again.[11]
Wind Ensemble[edit]
In the summer of 2016, Bob Jones Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the state music educators conference. Educators from over the state of Alabama attended this conference. January 20, 2017, was the first time students at Bob Jones attended the conference to perform, and the second year in a school in the Madison City district was selected. Band director, Leigh Thomas, plans to do more with the band after this event.
Indoor Drumline[edit]
Directed by Assistant Director of bands, Kevin Smart, the Indoor Drumline at Bob Jones, competing in Scholastic Marching Open class, has been one of the top indoor percussion ensembles for the state of Alabama since 2001. Directed formerly by Keith Anderson, the drumline has won several competitions at the local and regional level, as well as having placed in competitions at the national level. In April 2008 the drumline competed in the Winter Guard International Championships for the first time in Dayton, Ohio. The drumline reached the finals in their class on their first try and placed 8th in the nation in the Scholastic Marching Open class. The drumline reached finals again in 2010 with their show, Center, placing in 7th with a score of 90.163.
Theater department[edit]
Bob Jones' theater department has won recognition and numerous awards at the Walter S. Trumbauer Theater Festival in recent years, in both group and individual events. Furthermore, the group has been a regular representative for the state of Alabama at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in the last decade, most recently in 2015 when the group's original play The Standard Deviation received 1st place. They were led by former seniors Kayla Peel (BYU), Chance Novalis (UAB), Emeline Earman (Alabama), and Christopher Gunner (Alabama). The former head of the Drama Department at Bob Jones, B. Dwayne Craft, is well known throughout the state for his excellence in both the acting and technical aspects of theatre. He is notable for being the only director to ever win the South Eastern Theater Conferences' high award, Best in Show, three times. The school also puts on a semi- annual Spring Musical, directed by Mary Davis, and draws in large audiences with each showing. All shows performed at Bob Jones are built and run by the students.
Air Force JROTC[edit]
Bob Jones High School has an AFJROTC unit (AL-20021), also known as the 'Blue Knights', that has been awarded the Air Force's Distinguished Unit Award for school years 2006-2007, 2007–2008, 2008–2009, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018.[12] The corps includes over 100 cadets who serve both the school and community, as well as over 11 different teams that participate in local/ national level competitions. One of these teams is their Blue Knights Drill Team, which competed in the 2019 JROTC Open Drill Nationals in Dayton, Ohio, and took 5th place in the unarmed flight regulation drill sequence.