We had two children attend IAS during their K – 3 years and we were absolutely delighted with the education they received, which we felt offered a more diverse and rich experience than other options. Both kids had phenomenal teachers who demonstrated great care and commitment to our kids’ educational and personal growth. I served as a substitute teacher at IAS for three years and hold those memories close to my heart due to the people, parents and students I had the privilege to know.
My child LOVED IAS from the teachers to the students. International Academy Of Smyrna provides a warm and family environment. My child built a bond with a teacher that still check in with him years later. The teachers at IAS integrates compassion into their teaching standards, emphasizes the importance of values, and builds leaders through each of their classes and lessons. Teachers at IAS are passionate about seeing their students succeed. They are so great about sharing moments of pride they see within your child – their good behaviors and achievements; and they know the importance of getting the parents involved should an issue arise, and do it in a very respectful, approachable manner. My child is now a soaring scholar at Fulton Leadership Academy, where he is a member of the band and chorus.
IAS was an answered prayer for my family. My family was a part of the IAS family from 2006 to 2016. My sons had a safe and nurturing environment with an amazing staff and developed long lasting friendships. My oldest son went on to graduate from Clark Atlanta, Cum Laude with a degree in Computer Science. My middle son is an entrepreneur with a Home Inspection business and the youngest graduated from Campbell HS in 2022.
My son started at the International Academy of Smyrna in kindergarten and through all his years at IAS he had great teachers that cared about his learning and growth. What made our experience special was the ability to connect with other parents through volunteering and extra curricular activities. We truly had a village while attending IAS and to this day I believe the best parents are involved with the school. My son made close friends that he still keeps in touch with and I’ve always been satisfied that we chose well when we chose IAS.
As a parent, we want the best academic environment for our children. IAS was that environment for my daughters. IAS was a safe space filled with caring, watchful, village-minded educators and staff members who would guide my girls into becoming the strong, competitive young women they are today. IAS was our safe space. I could not have asked for a better environment for them to grow in. It was the soil needed for my flowers to bloom. We couldn’t have done it without them.
I am writing today to attest to my experience while my 3 children attended IASmyrna. We started in our own city of Mableton with IAMableton then transitioned over to Smyrna. Our experience has been a wonderful one, not only on the Academics side with amazing teachers but also on the Administration side with an even more amazing staff. I felt like it was a village where everybody was involved and worked together to ensure that literally,No Child was Left Behind. I never had to worry about their well-being and whenever I needed help, I had volunteers who would lend a hand. I would be remissed if I did not name Mrs Toni Lewis, who had a huge impact on my kids education, both academically and socially. She is not the only one but she was the IT factor for not only me but numerous other families. The school faculty and staff was always willing to surround the students with love and support. It was a sad time when my youngest left and transitioned to Public school because the way they were cared for was very different; made us appreciate IA Smyrna and miss it even more. Thank you IA Smyrna for setting a very solid foundation for my children! We appreciate each and every single person my children and myself came in contact with. Continued success!!!
Excellence is at the core of everything that happens at IAS! They focus on importance of building confidence in each individual child, something that creates a love of learning. As a parent, you look for a school that understands that need for education and compassion. IAS is that school.
In order to capture my entire experience at International Academy of Smyrna, I have to go back to February 2011. I was relocating from New York to Georgia with a newborn and a 4 year old. I searched and researched potential schools diligently for my son to begin Kindergarten. I applied to IAS and was so excited when I received the acceptance email while I was on the road heading to GA. From touring the school to physically enrolling my son, I felt a sense of family, togetherness and peace (I was very particular, you know how it is with your first born lol). Fast forward to the kindergarten welcome event and first day of school, I don’t know who was more excited, me or my son. He was welcomed as if the staff members were his aunt and uncles. There was never a day that he complained about going to school or staying in school. The bond he made with many of his kindergarten friends still exists today. Now it’s time for the first meeting of the school year starting with a general body PTA meeting. This is an important part of my testimony because this is where I was elected co-president of the PTA. I believe in being active in everything that my kids are involved in. Holding an officer position for the PTA of IAS totally changed my connection to the school, students and staff. I worked over nights and spend almost 2-3 days a week volunteering at IAS. I was there so much, the on-going joke was that I needed to be added to payroll (it eventually happened, I’ll tell you about it later). I can write a book about my love and connection my family and I have with IAS. Both of my sons are products of the school and now my nephews are blessed with the same experience. One of the many things that I enjoyed about the school was the parent involvement and partnership. I had so many volunteer house, we stopped counting! One of my favorite memories was the year of the ice/snow storm. Parents were so involved with one another, parents who were stuck was able to organize transportation with other parents. I remember making 4 trips myself and having almost 15 students at my house. We were the example of “it takes a village”. Shortly after, I became an employee. Something that started as a temporary position became permanent. I met and worked with so many amazing people, some of which I consider friends and “forever family”. I had the luxury of experiencing IAS as a parent, a volunteer and an employee. My awesome sons are products of IAS and we make sure it’s known. IAS will always be a place we call home. We appreciate everyone who were part of our IAS journey!
My son attended IAS for his K-4 years from 2014 through 2019. During this time, our family experienced many hardships in which IAS helped us get through. Academically, my son was struggling. His teacher noticed his struggles and helped me start his IEP. This IEP has helped him come from being 2 grade levels behind to on grade level within one school year. There are many opportunities to volunteer in the community. Overall, IAS was like one big family. My son is now in 8th grade at a different school and is doing well.
My son Dylan attended the International Academy of Smyrna from 2012 through 2019, his dad and did not really favor the idea of sending him to a traditional public school. We can say that we had a very rewarding experience and Dylan was happy while he was there. As a parent, I can say that his teachers were very engaging, and we felt very supported for the time that he was there. His first-grade teacher made us aware that he needed glasses. We will always appreciate her insight and care with him. Overall, we can say that we had a very rewarding experience at the school and would recommend it for parents who are looking to move away from the traditional public school experience. In my opinion it was like having an extended family for your child because of the care they provided.
As a parent of 5 children, I truly believe in the school of choice and that you should not be forced to attend the school in your neighborhood. My experience at IAS as a parent started in 2014-2015 with my 2nd oldest son starting in 4th grade. Then my youngest son started in 2015 in Kindergarten and my youngest child started in 2017 as a KK scholar. The education provided at IAS was great for the most part. Two of my three children had great experiences with all of their teachers. My youngest son’s experience was not as great due to changes in teachers during his KK, 2nd, and 4th grades. Nevertheless, I do not regret sending my children to IAS. I can say that when all of my children left IAS, they were either on level or ahead of their peers at the new school. What I love most about IAS is the family environment. The love from the staff and teachers is felt from the morning carpool to the classroom. The teachers and staff received my children like they were their own. I felt safe and my children felt safe at IAS. Each of them had teachers who cared about teaching, which showed how they interacted with the scholars. The teachers took the time to pour into my children. When my 2nd youngest was struggling in math, Ms. Robinson, had tutoring sessions and stayed in constant communication with me and his dad. She really cared about my son learning his math concepts. She was always encouraging. Another teacher, Mrs. C. Harris, provided multiple tutoring opportunities even though she taught Kindergarten. The love that the staff has for the students at IAS is real and that’s exactly what I needed while at IAS. The only challenge I had at IAS was the Spanish curriculum. I believe that my youngest two children should have been able to have a conversation or speak with more fluency since they had taken Spanish since kindergarten. I hope they will consider immersion to allow those students more opportunities when they leave IAS after taking Spanish for at least I am not one who is big on reviews because everyone has different expectations and experiences. Sometimes schools are more than what’s on paper and IAS is one of those schools. I would not exchange my experiences for anything.
We had two children attend IAS during their K – 3 years and we were absolutely delighted with the education they received, which we felt offered a more diverse and rich experience than other options. Both kids had phenomenal teachers who demonstrated great care and commitment to our kids’ educational and personal growth. I served as a substitute teacher at IAS for three years and hold those memories close to my heart due to the people, parents and students I had the privilege to know.