The Altamont School, located in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

atop Red Mountain, is a

college preparatory A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...

day school with coeducational enrollment of

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

5– 12. 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. Cecil F. Stodghill, Jr. was named Head of School in 2022.

Campus

Altamont's main campus is located on on the crest of Red Mountain just south of downtown Birmingham. The main school building houses forty 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, and 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 semi-finalists, the highest percentage of a school in the state. The faculty consists of 54 teachers, of whom nearly three-quarters hold master's degrees or higher. Altamont is governed by a board of trustees. The school is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

Athletics

As of 2005 the girls track and cross country teams had won the state title for 14 years straight. Altamont boys track won the outdoor title in 2006 and the indoor in 2004 and 2005. The girls soccer team have won State Titles in 2004, 2006, and 2007. The boys team won in 2003, 2008, and 2012.

Notable alumni

* William J. Cabaniss, former ambassador to the Czech Republic * Rebecca Gilman,

Evening Standard Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

winning playwright and

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

finalist *

Kate Jackson Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948), known professionally as Kate Jackson, is an American actress and television producer, known for her television roles as Sabrina Duncan in the series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1979) and Amanda King i ...

, actress * Diane McWhorter,

-winning author *

Wayne Rogers William Wayne McMillan Rogers III (April 7, 1933 – December 31, 2015) was an American actor, known for playing the role of Captain "Trapper" John McIntyre in the CBS television series '' M*A*S*H'' and as Dr. Charley Michaels on '' House Call ...

, actor * Warren St. John, reporter for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', author of "Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer" * Margaret Tutwiler, former ambassador to Morocco and former undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. State Department * Daniel Wallace, author of ''

Big Fish ''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy drama film directed by Tim Burton. It is based on the 1998 novel '' Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions'' by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange ...

'' * Harry Miree,

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-nominated musician

References

External links

* {{authority control 1975 establishments in Alabama Educational institutions established in 1975 1922 establishments in Alabama Educational institutions established in 1922 High schools in Birmingham, Alabama Schools in Jefferson County, Alabama Private high schools in Alabama Private middle schools in Alabama Preparatory schools in Alabama