These parents love i3 Academy—apply by Jan. 15, 2024

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Imagine, investigate, innovate. Those are the three “i”s in i3 Academy’s name, and they’re at the root of everything this new Birmingham-based tuition-free public charter school network does. We talked to four parents to see what they’d say to others who are considering applying. Lottery applications for grades K-9 are due by 11:59PM on January 15, 2024.

What is i3 Academy?

I3 Elementary, Middle + High Schools (i3 Academy + Jacob Blankeship / Bham Now)

i3 Academy is a network of three tuition-free public charter schools:

• K-5: Elementary School in Woodlawn, which opened in 2020, is both STEM- and Cognia-Accredited.
• 6-8: Middle School in East Lake, which opened in 2021, is Cognia-Accredited.
• 9: High School on Jeff State’s Jefferson Campus near Center Point, will open in 2024; the high school will add one grade a year until it includes grades 9-12.

Dr. Martin Nalls is Head of School for all of i3, and each school has its own principal. The school itself is one piece of a larger vision, and all Alabama rising K-9 students are eligible to apply.

The school’s mission is to empower learners to become agents of change who solve problems they see in their world. Its vision is a world in which all learners excel in a global society.

Sign up today for a virtual or in-person meeting where you can learn about all three schools. The in-person meeting includes a tour of the elementary school.

Meet the parents

• Patrice Reese lives in Bessemer. Her daughter is in 7th grade and her son is in 3rd grade. She chose i3 because she felt like it would be a good fit for her children.
• Eva Virciglio Holmes lives in Southside. Her daughter is in 8th grade and her son is in 3rd grade. When she was looking for a new school for her children, she learned about i3 from neighbors and liked what she saw.
• Mauri Robinson lives in Roebuck, and his daughter is in 1st grade. He has been involved with the school from the beginning with the goal of providing a great educational opportunity for his children and others.
• Kaamilya Madhi lives in East Lake, and her sons are in the 8th and 2nd grades. Her children needed a different learning environment, and she loves that her children are getting the education they need at i3.
• Kathryn Sesser-Dorné lives in Crestwood and has one son in 5th grade. They were excited about the prospect of more challenging STEAM-based learning.

Bham Now: can you describe your experience at i3?

• Patrice Reese: “My son had some trouble adjusting, and the counselor brought us in, which I really liked. The school has afforded my daughter a lot of opportunities she had not had previously, including basketball.”
• Eva Virciglio Holmes: “We love it. The elementary school was great. When we learned there was going to be a middle school, we were excited to know it was going to be close by. I’m glad to hear now that they’re continuing on with a high school at Jeff State.”
• Mauri Robinson: “Our family is extremely satisfied with the learning environment, teacher quality and extensive curriculum options at i3.”
• Kaamilya Madhi: “It’s a family and my children are their children. I am happy that my sons have a school system that will know them from the grade they started to graduation and really know how to help them succeed on a path that they will love.”
• Kathryn Sesser-Dorné: “My son knows he’s safe and taken care of and he can learn there. i3 has given him the opportunity to grow socially, especially after the pandemic.”

Bham Now: what do your children think?

• Patrice Reese: “My children enjoy going; they can tell that their teachers actually care about them and they don’t want to miss it.”
• Eva Virciglio Holmes: “My kids love it. They like their friends. They like the teachers. Their classes. They like how the grading system is.”
• Mauri Robinson: “My daughter absolutely loves it. She’s excited every morning to go to school, and we’ve seen leaps and bounds in her development over the 1.5 years since she first started kindergarten.”
• Kaamilya Madhi: “My kids are advancing—their light is shining in things that I didn’t even know that they were capable of doing. For example, my son came home the other day saying he wants to work in a medical lab.”
• Kathryn Sesser-Dorné: “We’ve had a great experience at i3, especially with the gifted program. My son likes his classes, his friends, his teachers.”

Bham Now: what are your children’s favorite things about i3?

• Patrice Reese: “My son loves math. For the past three weeks, he’s been taking swimming lessons at the Levite Jewish Community Center through school and he loves it—it’s all he talks about. The opportunity to do this through the school has changed him in a positive way. My daughter’s favorite thing is JUNA—Junior United Nations. She started talking about it for this year the day after the conference ended last year.”
• Eva Virciglio Holmes: “My son loves the gifted program, plus the extra classes like Spanish, makerspace or wellness. My daughter has a couple of favorite teachers she talks about.”
• Mauri Robinson: “Our daughter is extremely creative and enjoys her time in makerspace and art class.”
• Kaamilya Madhi: “One of my sons surprised me by saying he had applied to be an i3 Ambassador and had gotten it. I didn’t even know he was going to do that.”
• Kathryn Sesser-Dorné: “He likes being able to do makerspace, art and music.”

Bham Now: what would you say to parents who are thinking of applying for the lottery?

• Patrice Reese: “The school does a really, really good job of giving students the space to grow and be themselves.”
• Eva Virciglio Holmes: “Check it out—it’s different, and it might be great for your family.”
• Mauri Robinson: “You do not want to have regret by not applying. You owe your child the best option for a quality education—go apply!”
• Kaamilya Madhi:  “If you feel like your child isn’t advancing the way you feel like they are capable of advancing, then try i3.”
• Kathryn Sesser-Dorné: “Definitely apply for the lottery. We count it as a blessing to go to such a good school, in a clean building, with a lot of kids who want to learn.”

Applications for the 2024-2025 lottery are open now through January 15 for rising K-9 graders. 

Apply today, and email info@i3Academy.org with any questions. Follow i3 Academy on Instagram + Facebook, too. 

Inspired by the work i3 Academy is doing to serve and educate students in Birmingham? Support their work now.

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