The Nashville International Academy was founded in 1995 under the leadership of the Islamic Center of Nashville (ICN)
The school re-charted as an independent, college preparatory, Islamic School. While the school is a separate, nonprofit education entity, it is still affiliated with the Islamic Center of Nashville (ICN), and the property is owned and operated by them.
The leadership of ICN and former principal, Dr. Amiri Al-Hadid worked together to raise funds and built a new school building which consisted of 10 classrooms, resource and conference rooms, computer and science labs, and a cafeteria. Several of the existing portables were remodeled to use as prayer halls and a library. A new playground, soccer field and basketball court were also added for recreational activities.
Through the summer of 2012 and the 2012-2013 school year, the school community, under the leadership of Berthena Nabaa-McKinney, went through an overhaul of its entire academic program and the accreditation process, and was granted accreditation from AdvancED in the spring of 2013.
NIA embarked on a new journey to transform Islamic schools in America by developing the Islamic Whole Child framework.
Under leadership of Principal Ibrahim Yousef NIA received dual accreditation from AdvancEd and CISNA (Council of Islamic Schools of North America).
As a result of success in running a highly successful elementary school, NIA expanded to open high school starting with 9th grade. To provide the best academic education the high school curriculum was based on Pre-AP and AP.
