About Us
About Iaomai Academy
We are a small microschool and learning center designed to support students with mild to moderate learning differences and twice-exceptional traits. Mild to moderate learning differences, such as ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia, contribute to feelings of discontent as children face greater difficulty with reading, writing, math, and information processing than neurotypical children. Students suffering from these conditions often feel unwelcome in a larger school environment and are more likely to experience chronic absenteeism from school. The Iaomai model enables students to attend our learning center 2 or 4 days a week to balance social interactions with personal and academic needs. Socialization can help students to get out of their own head and build friendships within a community that celebrate their differences. Our mission is to provide a personalized and supportive educational environment that is free from the stress and judgment found in larger schools.
Our core values are rooted in Iaomai (pronounced ee-ah'-om-ahee), a biblical concept of healing that seeks to restore and bring one back from the darkness. At Iaomai, we believe that every student deserves to be seen, heard, and accepted. Students are encouraged to view their learning differences as a strength rather than a weakness, and learn in the way that best supports how they process information. We are committed to restoring confidence and empowering our students to reach their full academic and personal potential.
Thank you for considering Iaomai Academy as a partner in your child's education.
​
About the Founder
My name is Shavonne, and I spent over seven years of experience working in K-12 independent day and boarding schools, as well as higher education, on the east and west coasts. In that time, I held multiple roles including registrar, academic adviser, and students with disabilities (SSD) coordinator. While employed at a boarding high school, I built strong relationships with students and quickly learned many of them suffered in silence with learning differences and mental health concerns due to the competitive academic environment. The rigorous setting took a toll on their overall confidence, making them feel inadequate compared to their peers. One such student was my advisee who showed signs of an undiagnosed learning differences and low self-esteem in our first one-on-one meeting because of high pressure to earn good grades. Through my partnership with her father and regular encouragement, including teaching her how to self-advocate with teachers, she blossomed into a more confident student and improved her grades by the end of junior year.
​
The interactions with students triggered my own experience with an undiagnosed learning difference and chronic health issues that led to chronic absenteeism as a public school student and overcompensation through school work and grades to make up for what I felt were personal deficiencies. Teachers and classmates believed I was a good student, but did not know that my quiet nature in the classroom covered up a disdain for school, feeling pressured to earn high marks, and being forced to sit at a desk all day. I earned a bachelor's and master's degree, as expected of me by my family, but quietly faced internal struggles and often procrastinated as coursework grew more difficult. An official diagnosis of inattentive ADHD in my early thirties provided much needed clarity and the ability to move forward with grace.
​
Students like my former advisee, the boarding school teens I counseled, and my younger self are the reason I founded Iaomai Academy. Microschools offer a nurturing environment in which to educate and socialize neurodiverse students as the small size enables educators to see them as individuals with varying needs to fulfill. I have always wanted to transition to teaching, but the hierarchy and bureaucracy found in larger schools deterred me for many years because I could not support students the way they deserved to be successful. I learned about microschools in 2022 through research on alternative education options and was overjoyed to be accepted into the KaiPod Catalyst program in 2023 to launch Iaomai Academy this fall. It is my mission to work with you to provide a place of acceptance, support, and hope to your children as they navigate academics and personal growth throughout their childhood and adolescent years.
​​
Thank you for considering Iaomai Academy and I look forward to learning more about your child's needs.