Original Research by School Decision on Ami Kids Tampa
AMI Kids Tampa is a small alternative school serving middle and high school grades in Tampa's Hillsborough County, operating under the Hillsborough district's umbrella. Its enrollment is very small, which shapes nearly everything about how the school functions as a place.
The student body is made up predominantly of Black and Hispanic students, with a small share of white students. Free and reduced-price lunch data were not available in the data provided, nor were figures on students with IEPs or English learners. The school sits at a Maritime Boulevard address in the 33605 zip code, a part of Tampa east of downtown and near the Ybor City corridor.
Because AMI Kids Tampa is an alternative school, standard state testing data and proficiency comparisons do not appear in this data. That absence almost certainly reflects the school's nature and population rather than a reporting failure. Alternative schools of this type typically serve students who have encountered barriers in traditional settings, and publicly reported information about AMI Kids as an organization describes a model oriented toward youth who have had contact with the juvenile justice system or who face significant behavioral or social challenges. Graduation rate data were also not available. A parent or guardian trying to understand outcomes here should ask the school directly about completion pathways, transition supports, and what students typically move on to after leaving.
No program offerings were available in the data, and course access information was absent. For a school of this kind and size, the academic pathway and programming are best understood through direct conversation with staff.
The zip code's housing market context: home values are notably below both the Florida state average and national average, and rents sit at a moderate level relative to income, though they have edged upward recently. This places the school in one of Tampa's more affordably priced residential areas.
Tampa itself is a large, economically diverse city. Downtown is anchored by finance, law, healthcare, and defense, with MacDill Air Force Base and large hospital systems among the area's major employers. The city is in an active development phase, particularly around the Water Street Tampa project and the Gasworx district linking Ybor City to downtown and Channelside. Walkability ranges sharply by neighborhood; the part of Tampa where this school sits is closer to the urban core than the outlying suburban areas of the county.
At the Hillsborough district level, two changes matter for families. Voters approved a property tax referendum in late 2024 that runs through mid-2029, generating revenue specifically to raise teacher and support staff pay. This is a direct, ongoing cost for homeowners in the county. Separately, the district carried out a major boundary rezoning for the 2024-2025 school year, affecting a large number of schools and potentially shifting many students to different assignments. For a family whose child attends AMI Kids Tampa, the rezoning's practical effect on this specific school is unclear from the data, and that is worth confirming with the school or district directly.
AMI Kids Tampa serves a very specific population. The school's small size, alternative designation, and mission mean that conventional metrics like proficiency scores and graduation rates are either unavailable or less directly applicable than at a traditional campus. Families considering this school are most likely doing so because a young person needs a different structure, support system, or re-entry pathway than a conventional school provides. The right questions to bring to the school are about the daily model, the adult-to-student ratio that the small enrollment implies, what individual supports exist, and how the school bridges students toward either a diploma or the next step.
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