Elementary Schools in i3 Academy

i3 Academy is home to a single elementary school, i3 Academy Phase 1, serving grades K-5 with 411 students in Birmingham, Alabama. This school serves a predominantly low-income population, with 74.21% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and currently holds a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger, ranking 496th out of 686 Alabama elementary schools.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that i3 Academy Phase 1 shows a clear pattern: English proficiency consistently outpaces math proficiency across all grade levels. In 2025-2026, 5th grade English reached 52% proficiency, while 5th grade math lagged far behind at just 18.67% — a 33-point gap. The school's biggest bright spot is 4th grade, where math proficiency (41.18%) nearly matched the state average (42.07%), and English (48.53%) showed the smallest gap to state performance. However, 5th grade math remains a critical weakness, sitting 20 points below the state average. On a positive note, 5th grade math improved dramatically from 10.96% to 18.67% year-over-year, suggesting interventions are starting to work. Chronic absenteeism matches the state average at 12.0%, which is encouraging given the high poverty rate.

The school's ranking improved from the 18th to 28th percentile between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, moving up 59 positions, though it remains in the bottom third of Alabama schools. Science performance in 4th grade more than doubled from 18.06% to 38.24%, but still trails the state by nearly 12 points. Since this is the only school in the district, its performance directly reflects the entire i3 Academy district, which ranks 112th out of 139 districts. While the school faces significant challenges, particularly in math, the upward trajectory and pockets of strong performance in 4th grade suggest genuine progress is being made.