Over the past three years a school in Brunswick County that emphasizes environmental education curriculum and areas of study like horticulture and robotics has taken shape, but you’ll have to take a passenger ferry to get there.

Located on Bald Head Island three miles off the coast of Southport, the Bald Head Island Academy (BHIA), founded in 2022, is a private, K-8 school established by a group of island parents and residents looking for more innovative options.

“Bald Head Island Academy was founded with a bold and urgent mission to reimagine what education could and should look like for students, families and educators,” said BHIA co-founder Sheree Vaickus.

Ongoing declines in student test scores as well as the seismic impact of the pandemic on education and learning were among the factors, said Vaickus.

“These aren’t just statistics,” she said. “They’re real children falling behind … We could sit there complaining about everything going wrong with education or opt in and try to do something.”

The academy – inspired by its natural, beachy surroundings – employs a child-centered eco-education curriculum with a broad range of subject areas.

According to the BHIA website, annual tuition for the 2024-25 school year is $17,500, and financial aid is available. School eligibility requires students to live on the island or have parents employed on the island. Off-island students must be sponsored by a Bald Head Island family.

“BHIA is open to all students because our philosophy is excellence without exceptions, regardless of income,” said Vaickus. “We are committed to ensuring that financial means never become a barrier to opportunity.”

With areas of study ranging from computer programming and culinary arts to biology and entomology, Vaickus said one of the main goals of the academy is to “cultivate freedom of thought, entrepreneurial spirit, ethical leadership and planetary stewardship.”

Supported by a 501(c)3 foundation and governed by a board of directors, the academy is state and federally credentialed, with a combination of North Carolin-licensed teachers and volunteers who are subject-matter experts in their respective fields. BHIA does not release student enrollment figures as a matter of safety, Vaickus said.

Located at 2 Maritime Way, the academy has two classrooms, one for elementary schoolers and the other for middle schoolers. Vaickus said plans are underway for a 9,000-square-foot school building with multiple classrooms, an auditorium, a library area, kitchen facilities and a more.