About Ephesus Academy

Ephesus Academy is a Seventh-day Adventist school in Birmingham, Alabama. It began in 1897 and has been at 829 McMillon Ave SW since 1975.

Ephesus Academy exists to give every student in the community a Christ-centered learning experience. It pairs academic excellence with care for each child's individual needs, and it prepares students for eternal life while training them for service in a culturally diverse community.

1. 1897 Jim Pearson and Elder M.C. Sturdivant organized a church and school in a rented building on First Street South. Clara Myers was the first teacher and principal.
2. 1902 A new school building opened at Walker Street and Graymont Avenue.
3. 1919 and 1929 Growing enrollment moved the school to Avenue F and 13th Street South, then to 6th Avenue and 2nd Street North.
4. 1947 Elder D.B. Reid led construction of a new church. The school, then teaching grades 1 to 10, moved into the church basement. Grades 9 and 10 were dropped in 1971 for lack of space.
5. 1972 Three Ephesus students applied to nearby Brakeworth Academy, the first attempt to integrate Adventist schools in Birmingham. They were accepted, and eight students attended the next year.
6. 1975 Under Dr. Murray E. Joiner, the church and school board bought the Brakeworth campus on McMillon Avenue. It had six classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, a gymnasium and about two and a half acres of playground. Enrollment doubled.
7. 1988 to 1990 The campus added eight classrooms, a library and a science lab. The Child Development Center opened in fall 1990.

Recent principals include Dr. William Lusain (2014 to 2017) and Nikkia Hampton Gibbs (2017 to 2023). Shantel Joseph is the current principal.