In March of 1995 at the behest of the community members a " School Committee" was formed for the purpose of looking into establishing a year round school that would operate under Islamic principles. As work progressed, the Islamic Education Board (IEB) was formed, chaired by a Resident Scholar. The community’s vision and dream came to fruition when Al-Hadi School of Accelerative learning was established.
On January 9th, 1996, the school opened its doors with a center-based environment prepared for 3-6 year olds. By August of that year, the school was ready to accept students in PreK-Grade5 in a regular educational program. In 2001, the school embarked on an extensive renovations project. That year, the school added middle and high school classrooms, two science labs, a computer lab, a cafeteria and an auditorium. At the other end of the spectrum, the preschool added the Toddler classroom for children as young as 18 months in 2002. The preschool playground was modified to accommodate the needs of these youngest students. Further, the school continued to add grades each year until Al-Hadi School graduated its first class of Seniors in 2004.
Over the years, the school continued to add to the facility and programs. The ESL program was introduced to cater to LEP (Limited English Proficiency) students. The Physical Education department added a basketball court, a small soccer field and elementary playground equipment, to provide increased opportunities for outdoor activity for students. In 1999, the hot lunch program was introduced to ensure healthy and nutritious meals were served to the students.
In the area of extracurricular activities, the school began to compete in the annual SIM City Competition (part of the National Engineers Week program). In 1999, the AHS team advanced to the National Competition and represented the school, in Washington, DC. Since then the school continues to participate in the contest. Al-Hadi has also competed yearly, in academic contests through the Private Schools Interscholastic Association (PSIA) since 2003, and has been placed 1st in both elementary and middle school divisions within its district over the last two years.
Al-Hadi School passed a major milestone in 2001 when it was awarded accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (www.sacscasi.org). Six years later, in May 2007, the school was recognized as an “Exemplary School” based on the periodic Quality Review required by the association. Al-Hadi continues to maintain its accredited status.
Today, Al-Hadi School maintains an average enrollment of 350+ students coming from diverse backgrounds. It offers accelerated and Advance Placement courses and has significant student achievements in IOWA, STAAR, PSAT, SAT and ACT standarized exams.
Above all, the support of the community has not diminished but has continued to grow and become stronger. The high expectations have helped the school move to new levels with each passing year.