The Altamont school
Encyclopedia
The Altamont School, located in Birmingham
, Alabama
atop Red Mountain, is a college preparatory day school
with coeducation
al enrollment of grades 5
-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.
Following the merger Edna Earle Mullins of Brooke Hill became headmistress of the new school and Bill Haver of B.U.S. became assistant headmaster. One year later, Edna Mullins retired and Bill Haver became headmaster. Prominent roles were also played by Margaret Gage of Brooke Hill and Martin Hames of B.U.S.
In November 2007, long time Altamont teacher Sarah Whiteside took over as headmistress.
.
From 2003 through 2006 Coach Barry Bearden led the Knights boys basketball to place first in the state for their class (at the time 2A) for over year.
The boys' tennis team won the State Title in 2010. It was their first State Title in tennis, having a previous best of runner-up.
Both the boys' and girls' soccer teams have had great success. The girls soccer team have won State Titles in 2004, 2006, and 2007. The boys team won in 2003 and 2008. Both continue to compete at the top of their division (class 1A-4A).
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
atop Red Mountain, is a college preparatory day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
with coeducation
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al enrollment of grades 5
Fifth grade
Fifth grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The fifth grade is the fifth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 10 – 11 years old, and are preteens...
-12
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
. 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.
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, a boys' school founded in 1922 by Basil M. Parks.Following the merger Edna Earle Mullins of Brooke Hill became headmistress of the new school and Bill Haver of B.U.S. became assistant headmaster. One year later, Edna Mullins retired and Bill Haver became headmaster. Prominent roles were also played by Margaret Gage of Brooke Hill and Martin Hames of B.U.S.
In November 2007, long time Altamont teacher Sarah Whiteside took over as headmistress.
Campus
Altamont's main campus is located on 28 acres (113,312.1 m²) 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. An audio-visual recording studio was recently added to the fine arts suite. 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 2008 were named National Merit semifinalists, the highest percentage of a school in the state. The faculty consists of 54 teachers, of whom nearly three quarters hold masters degrees or higher. Altamont is governed by a Board of Trustees. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and SchoolsSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
.
Athletics
Under the leadership of head coach Jim Palmer and former Olympian Phil Mulkey the girls track and cross country teams have won the state title each of the last 14 years. Altamont boys track won the outdoor title in 2006 and the indoor in 2004 and 2005. Also, girls track won the outdoor title and boys track came in third place in 2008. This is also the final year Jim Palmer coached cross country and track. He is still a teacher there, but has retired from being a coach.From 2003 through 2006 Coach Barry Bearden led the Knights boys basketball to place first in the state for their class (at the time 2A) for over year.
The boys' tennis team won the State Title in 2010. It was their first State Title in tennis, having a previous best of runner-up.
Both the boys' and girls' soccer teams have had great success. The girls soccer team have won State Titles in 2004, 2006, and 2007. The boys team won in 2003 and 2008. Both continue to compete at the top of their division (class 1A-4A).
Notable alumni
- William J. CabanissWilliam J. CabanissWilliam J. "Bill" Cabaniss, Jr. was United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2004 to 2006. He is a businessman from Birmingham, Alabama....
, former ambassador to the Czech Republic - Joseph M. Farley, Commercial nuclear power pioneer, attorney, and former president of Alabama Power
- Rebecca GilmanRebecca GilmanRebecca Gilman is an American playwright. She attended Middlebury College, graduated from Birmingham-Southern College, and earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop at the University of Iowa...
, Evening Standard Award winning playwright and Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
finalist - Kate JacksonKate JacksonKate Jackson is an American actress, director, and producer, perhaps best known for her role as Sabrina Duncan in the popular 1970s television series Charlie's Angels...
, actress - Diane McWhorterDiane McWhorterRebecca Diane McWhorter is an American journalist, commentator and author who has written extensively about race and the history of civil rights. Her book, Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution , was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General...
, Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning author - Walker PercyWalker PercyWalker Percy was an American Southern author whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is best known for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans, Louisiana, the first of which, The Moviegoer, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1962...
, National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
-winning author - Wayne RogersWayne RogersWilliam Wayne McMillan Rogers III is an American film and television actor, best known for playing the role of 'Trapper John' McIntyre in the U.S...
, actor - Warren St. JohnWarren St. JohnWarren St. John is an American author and journalist.St. John is the author of the National Bestseller Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania. The book explores the phenomenon of sports fandom and chronicles the Alabama Crimson Tide's 1999 season by following the team...
, reporter for The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, author of Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer - Margaret TutwilerMargaret D. TutwilerMargaret DeBardeleben Tutwiler is a former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the US State Department, serving from December 16, 2003 to June 30, 2004. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 9, 2003 to replace outgoing Under Secretary Charlotte Beers...
, former ambassador to Morocco and former undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. State Department - Daniel WallaceDaniel Wallace (author)Daniel Wallace is an American author, best known for his 1998 novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions, the basis for the Tim Burton film Big Fish. His other books include Ray in Reverse and The Watermelon King...
, author of Big FishBig FishBig Fish is a 2003 American fantasy adventure film based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film was directed by Tim Burton and stars Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Marion Cotillard. Finney plays Edward Bloom, a former traveling salesman from...