Brookhaven Innovation Academy in Norcross

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	8/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Georgia Milestones End-of-Course (EOC) Assessment data from Georgia Governor's Office of Student Achievement, and using 2025 Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade (EOG) Assessment data from Georgia Governor's Office of Student Achievement.
Student Growth	9/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Student growth data from Georgia Governor's Office of Student Achievement.

Posted: February 5, 2026

absolutely terrible, they made kids play in the parking lot and some girl busted her nose on the bad playground

Posted: January 6, 2026

My child has been at BIA going on his 7th year, and his growth here has been incredible to witness. He has truly thrived academically, socially, and emotionally. Hes made wonderful friends and has built meaningful, lasting relationships with several teachers who have shown him genuine care, support, and encouragement. For our family, this school has been a real blessing.

One of the things we love most is the small, intimate community feel. No school is ever going to be perfect, and there will always be pros and cons, but overall, our experience here has far outweighed the challenges.

There are a few areas where I hope to see continued improvement. I would love to see more diversity within the student body, as the school is currently majority African descent. I also wish there were stronger sports programs for middle schoolersespecially those hoping to transition into competitive high school athletics. Weve had to outsource training, which has been difficult and, honestly, one of the biggest drawbacks for us.

There have also been moments where discipline, bullying concerns, or communication from administration could have been handled more effectively. In past years, turnover in leadership and staffing contributed to some inconsistency, but the new Head of School has made noticeable progress in bringing stability, structure, and clarity.

All in all, despite a few challenges, our familys experience has been positive. My child has flourished here, and for that reason, we would recommend the school. Its a nurturing environment with a lot of heart, and were grateful for the years weve spent as part of this community.

Posted: October 20, 2025

My son attended BIA his sixth grade year. He was bullied the entire year by students and teachers. The bullying got so bad that I actually went to the school to discuss an incident with the principal. The principal pulled the incident up on camera, but then told me that not of the children involved would be disciplined. One of the children involved the principal noted was one of the smartest kids in the school (which meant he was exempt from discipline) The head of the upper school assured me that the counselor would reach out to my son after the incident which never happened.

During the time at the school I had to email both the principal and the head of the upper school just to have a teacher meet with my about my child. The math teacher for 6th and 7th grade at the time was only interested in the children that were already excelling in his class. Any of the students that needed additional help he berated and belittled. The teachers only teach to the milestone testing, my son's science teacher informed them that they whatever their grade was after the test would remain because she didn't feel like grading any new assignments. My son was failing two classes that the previous semester he had a B average in neither teacher contacted me. I reached out to them and that is when they noticed that my son's grade had dropped so drastically.

I thought that I was helping my child by sending him here. Sending him to this school was the worse decision I could have made for him. I took him out and let him attend his zone school. He is thriving, he is back on honor roll and no issues with bullying. Do not send your children here it is not the pillar of education that they are proclaiming themselves to be.

Posted: October 6, 2025

If I were you, I would never send my child here. I am a current student at BIA in upper school, and so far my school year is absolutely miserable. Teachers are mean and it almost feels like they dont care about your feelings. You get dojo points taken off for reasons that I wouldnt even think was serious. And the fact that they my upper school principal had said What if I locked her phone so she couldnt get in it teachers last year took your phones or iPads and kept it over the weekend, sometimes you wouldnt get your phone back for days. This school is not for the weak, it may feel like teachers and staff are bringing you down. They even flat out embarrass you sometimes. This school is probably the worse schools to send your child to. They do have a gifted program here, and gifted kids are able to go on field trips, the education system is unfair and not equal. If I were you, Id look at different options before even trying to put my childs name in the lottery, but if you cant find any other schools. Then I guess its okay to settle this one. Just please dont send your child here. (Coming from a student who has gone here since 2019 to 2025.)

Posted: September 22, 2024

We pulled our child out of this school for the 2024-2025 school year. There were some safety concerns with a childs behavior in our childs class that left our child and other children feeling unsafe. Overall, not impressed with this school or how the administration handles parents concerns.

Posted: July 3, 2024

I had 2 children to go through BIA: 3rd - 8th grade for one and 5tb - 8th grade. My oldest daughter just graduated from high school with an IB Diploma and had 26 college acceptances. She earned over $600K in total scholarships! BIA thoroughly prepared her for the rigors of IB.

My youngest is a rising Jr. in a rigorous magnet program and also plans to pursue an IB Diploma.
She has taken the hardest level courses in 9th / 10th grade and was inducted into the National Honor Society.

There is a clear difference in how my girls performed in school academically, especially as it relates to writing and working on projects.

They both started at the school in its 1st yearnod operation. They were academically challenged, nurtured, safe and they still remain friends with many of their former classmates. The school has only gotten better with each passing year and my family was blessed tremendously by BIA!

Posted: July 3, 2024

My Kindergartner was physically injured and bullied here and the school never followed up with me or did anything about it. I pulled him out immediately. Very disappointing.

Posted: February 27, 2024

My kids have been there since kindergarten and have fit into the school nicely. The teachers are great, the school is awesome, and the after-school programs are great too. My kids have been there for 5 years, and they are super happy. The teachers, parents, and kids feel very involved in the school and participation is high. I'm very glad we enrolled. I would highly recommend this school to anyone who wants a great school experience for their kids.

Posted: August 8, 2023

This school has improved a lot over the past year since the principles changed. A lot of issues I had with the school before are being resolved, and the culture of the school seems to be changing. Parents are welcomed to be involved again now after Covid and there appears to be more control over what's happening in the building.

Posted: April 3, 2023

I only recommend education in this school up to the 5th grade, otherwise the teachers let the children act the way they want, there is a high level of bullying and the teaching and management staff do nothing to stop this situation.

Solamente hasta el 5to grado recomiendo la educación en esta escuela, de resto los profesores dejan a los niños que actúen de la forma que quieran, existe un elevado nivel de acoso escolar y el personal docente y directivo no hace nada para detener esta situación.

Posted: September 10, 2021

Wow. I dont even know how to start. This place is toxic once you get beyond the surface. I dont know how the administration and some of the teachers even hold certification when they are so clueless to the requirements of a public school. They do not encourage parent and student rights to a free and appropriate education. They do not provide accurate grades or data collection and get very defensive when asked about it. They stress about money and test scores and anything tied to that. During standardized testing teachers do not even follow the rules mandated by the state and are not held accountable. Rules dont apply to certain staff members at this school. The worst part is the games they are playing are leaving students with grades and scores that make them think they achieving things they are not. 4 s here (their highest grade given) translated to 60s in my childs local public school when he transferred. All they while at BIA my children were pushed along because addressing learning needs and issues and grading work accurately would require time and effort, and reflect the poor teaching. They literally close their eyes to this and gaslight anyone who brings it to light. Likely why there is such a high turnover with staff and students.

Posted: September 2, 2021

High turnover of teachers and staff which makes you wonder what is really going on...
The kids only get PE once every 3 weeks and same with coding. Class sizes are promised to be small but are actually bigger than most public schools.
Communication is absolutely terrible and you literally have to beg teachers and school for basic information.

Posted: September 2, 2021

Posted: August 22, 2021

I had so much hope for this place. They sell you on a mission statement that they're not even close to being able to deliver. The school has very high staff turnover even before the pandemic. They are also not trying to improve. The board does absolutely nothing to oversee the school itself the administrators are running rampant unchecked when they're not doing what they're supposed to. Even physically attacking students! They violate many educational laws on a regular basis also. When the well meaning teachers that are there try to speak up of things that are not working there, they give them a choice to resign or be fired. I had multiple people who left get in touch with me about how my child's rights were being violated right under my nose. They have the wildest grading scale that doesn't mesh with anybody else's so when these kids leave to go to high school they're going to end up with transcripts that nobody can decipher. If your kid can hang in that long. So disappointing.

Posted: August 22, 2021

Posted: August 10, 2021

So many layers to the issues with this school. Leadership has less interest in educating students in the community and is more interested in appearance, numbers and staying alive. They seek to meet the needs students that meet the image and numbers they seek, while changing policies, demeaning parents, and even violating students educational rights of those that they would rather not deal with. Eventually, they push away students and parents who dont fit the mold and create a divisive climate among the staff and teachers who thought they were supposed to be ethical and care about all students. Children and staff filter in and out. If students actually stayed the schools test scores would be more reflective of their lack of teaching rather than profiting off the decent scores new students come in with. My children had a hard time keeping up with the different expectations and rules that varied from class to class. They described project based learning as being put in groups and told to figure it out with no teaching . I listened personally during virtual instruction as teachers nagged kids about why they didnt ask for help, why they asked questions when they should already know, and why they couldnt figure it out. Yet I never saw a lesson being taught. It goes beyond Covid, it is the same issue in person as well. I would say ask questions before enrolling however you likely wont be told the truth. The elementary grades have not had a coding specific teacher for over a year, and coding is mixed with the library special which happens every few weeks. No more focused than any other school, in fact less focused than our local public school. Personalized learning is having students work on computers with minimal guidance. If students keep putting wrong answers on the computer or waste time, or are confused and need help, nothing is done. It is more of a time filler than personalized instruction. They dont have the staff to personalize it any further than that, let alone properly address learning needs or IEPs . Lastly, as another reflection of their pipe dream of a school, its original name Brookhaven Innovation Academy is misleading, as due to lack or foresight, planning and funds, they are permanently located in Norcross, because it was cheap. But in their minds they are a private school in Brookhaven that continues to struggle with reality and their duty as a public school to provide ALL students that walk in their doors with FAPE.

Posted: August 10, 2021

Run as fast as you can away from Brookhaven Innovation Academy if you have children that have any kind of disability. The Head Of The School should have been terminated for purposely breaking numerous Department of Education Legislations. Teachers are afraid to come forward and challenge this woman Julie Tolbert. This school does not provide adequate services to kids with Special Needs and Teachers present as incompetent puppets unable to do the right thing.

Posted: August 10, 2021

Posted: August 1, 2021

Administration lacks true leadership ability. Perhaps thats why the good teachers keep leaving and everything is so inconsistent. Their are more cliques among staff and passive aggressive behavior than their is among the students. When there is a mask policy only certain teachers follow it. Only certain teachers follow homework and recess policies. Only certain teachers follow IEPs. Unfortunately the ones that communicate to parents and seem to follow procedures are the ones pushed out and end up leaving. Its a grab bag of mixed experiences. Children and schools thrive on solid leadership, transparency, communication, and consistency . BIA lacks all of these.

Posted: August 1, 2021

Posted: July 26, 2021

Staff turnover is high, which is difficult when your child gets attached to their teachers and support staff. Teachers do not always agree with each other or the administration, which can be hard to follow as a student and a parent. Teachers and administration will argue over school policy during meetings. Not all children are educated equally. A lot of things seem to be made up as they go, including how to organize and operate a school. Lots of potential is here, if they learn how to comply with the public school requirements they are held to as a charter school, and become willing to accept and address their flaws. Coming here is a risk, as what you will get depends on how "easy" your child is at the time and if they have consistent staff for your child's grade/needs.

Posted: July 26, 2021

#	Name	Type	City	State	Overall Rating	Distance
1	Garden Hills	Condominium/Townhouse	Atlanta	GA		11.8 mi
2	Heritage Farms	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Marietta	GA		17.6 mi

Base	Distance
Dobbins ARB	17 mi.
Fort Gillem	22.7 mi.
Camp Frank D Merrill	47.9 mi.

Brookhaven Innovation Academy

Norcross, GA 30071

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Brookhaven Innovation Academy

Norcross, GA 30071

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