Experiential Learning

The Miree Center helps Altamont students develop the knowledge and skills of effective community leadership. Although focused primarily on long-term, student-led community initiatives and internships, the Center guides unique and transformational learning experiences for all students. Learn More!

Every fall, Altamont students embark on faculty-led trips that reinforce curriculum, build community, and develop life skills through immersive and interactive experiences. The students range over the entire nation, engaging in transformative ways with our shared history, culture and natural environment. Learn More!

Every grade at the Altamont School partners with a Birmingham-area nonprofit organization. Students learn about the mission of the organization, actively participate in its work, and begin thinking about how they can maintain meaningful involvement in their community. As Upper School students, they may choose to develop internships with these partners or apply what they have learned to lead their own long-term initiatives.

Altamont's LEAD program introduces Middle School students to the many ways they can make a positive difference for their world. Through community-building retreats, group initiatives and interaction with Upper School Miree Center students, LEAD participants take a giant step toward leadership in the school and beyond. Recent work includes:

Participation in the national Letters for Rose initiative.

Planning a facilities fundraiser for Birmingham Zoo.

Supporting the Knight’s Fighting Hunger Miree Center initiative.

Collecting books for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Leading campus tours for Altamont's open house events.

Creating posters in support school athletic teams

Writing letters of encouragement for patients of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship

 

International travel opportunities, Junior United Nations Assembly, intercultural opportunities and language programs in French, Spanish, Latin and Mandarin equip Altamont students to confidently engage the world around them through appreciation for a wide variety of languages, cultures and perspectives. In addition to the development of core language competencies, Altamont ensures that students:

• Understand and appreciate global cultures in their historical and natural contexts.
• Behave in a culturally appropriate manner, avoiding major social mistakes in other cultural contexts. 
• Analyze the importance of products of the target culture, related to government, education, religion and the arts. 
• Respect differences and make comparisons without passing judgment on others.  

• Encounter a variety of perspectives through texts and media. 
• Make connections to other disciplines and contexts through their study of the language.

The Altamont School hosts guest speakers throughout each year to help connecting students to the Birmingham-area community. From Pulitzer Prize winners and public officials to artists and innovators in business, education and nonprofit work, Altamont students engage with the leaders who are shaping their future.

All of this work is guided by a set of Global Competencies, developed by Altamont with the Global Educator Benchmarking Group to give validity to what our community is already doing, establish a common language for discussion, and provide educators with a guide for extending their classrooms.

Our mission is to encourage students to view themselves as integral contributors to society who actively seek to effect social, cultural, and global change in an ethical manner. Through experiential learning and action, we emphasize the development of collaborative and responsible leadership skills in a complex and diverse world. 

Social Responsibility and Global Citizenship 

• Students understand and respect the varied customs and beliefs of individuals in a world community. 

• Students seek to improve society for people and planet through civic engagement and ongoing partnerships.

Personal Growth and Self-Awareness 

• Students have the courage to take risks and embrace mistakes with humility, grace and a willingness to learn. 

• Students are mindful of their own identity and understand how their worldview, motives and emotions influence their interactions with others. 

 Communication and Collaboration  

• Students communicate effectively using strategies such as constructive dialogue, active listening, and compromise. 

• Students collaborate with individuals of diverse perspectives, applying an understanding of intercultural differences to work effectively in complex environments.