ALTAMONT SCHOOL

The 'Altamont School', located in Birmingham, Alabama atop Red Mountain, is a college preparatory day school with coeducational enrollment of grades 5 through 12. In 2005-2006, The Altamont School enrolled 425 students, with 188 in the Lower School and 237 in the Upper School. Most of the students live in Birmingham and the surrounding communities.

Contents

History

Campus

Students, faculty and administration

Athletics

Notable alumni

External links

History

Altamont was established in 1975 as a merger between the 'Brooke Hill School', a college preparatory school for girls founded in 1940, and the 'Birmingham University School', founded in 1922 by Basil M. Parks. Following the merger Bill Haver of B.U.S. became headmaster of the new school, with former head of Brooke Hill, Edna Earle Mullins, serving as assistant headmistress. Prominent roles were also played by Margaret Gage of Brooke Hill and Martin Hames of B.U.S. The latter came to dominate the school's educational profile, first as dean of students and then, after the resignation of Bill Haver, as headmaster. Under Hames' leadership the school launched an extensive building campaign, renovating most of the campus and constructing new academic and athletic facilities.
Following Hames' death in 2002 Altamont hired Thomas Wheelock to head the school. Wheelock instituted several changes including a multi-track curriculum and a semester system. Following years of difficult relations with alumni and faculty members, and underwhelming enrollment numbers due to the schools declining reputation, Wheelock announced his resignation in 2007. In response, Altamont named Sarah Whiteside to the position of interim headmaster and began a national search for a permanent replacement to Wheelock.

Campus

Altamont's main campus is located on 28 acres on the crest of Red Mountain just south of downtown Birmingham. The main school building houses 40 classrooms, two science wings, a fine arts Center, a student center, an art gallery and sculpture garden, a computer lab, a 20,000-volume library, and special studios for chorus, art, photography, orchestra. The athletic facilities include two gymnasiums with two basketball courts, three volleyball courts and a weight room. The main campus offers six tennis courts, a soccer field and a track. A second campus provides another gymnasium as well as soccer, baseball, and softball fields.

Students, faculty and administration

Approximately 80% of Altamont graduates matriculate to out of state colleges and universities. A total of 14% of the students in the Class of 2006 were named National Merit semifinalists. The faculty consists of 54 teachers, of whom nearly three quarters hold Masters degrees or higher. Governing altamont is a Board of Trustees. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Athletics

Altamont competes in the Alabama High School Athletic Association in all sports except football. The team nickname is "Knights."

Notable alumni

★ Diane McWhorter, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

★ Daniel Wallace, author of ''Big Fish''

★ Warren St. John, reporter for ''The New York Times''

★ Walker Percy, National Book Award-winning author

★ William J. Cabaniss, ambassador to the Czech Republic

★ Margaret Tutwiler, former ambassador to Morocco and former undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. State Department

★ Kate Jackson, actress

External links

★ The Altamont School