Advent Episcopal School in Birmingham, Alabama, was founded in 1950. Since then, this independent, equal-opportunity institution has built a reputation for academic excellence, featuring an advanced curriculum for boys and girls in four-year-old Kindergarten through Grade 8. The School's location enables students to take advantage of such resources as the Alabama Civil Rights Institute, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Children's Theater, and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. They also attend and participate in concerts in the park, parades, and festivals.

The Advent's credo declares a dedication to Sharing the ADVENTure of education, while its mission promises to offer a superior, advanced, and enriched education in a Christian environment. At a time of unsettling events and circumstances, the School draws on its Christian heritage to help provide a safe, stable, wholesome, and caring atmosphere in which students can experience the total learning process with a sense of enthusiasm. In the belief that education is a continuing adventure to be shared with students and family, the faculty develops learning concepts from day to day, emphasizing basic skills and exploring the relationships among the various disciplines.

The Advent, a nonprofit institution, was the first elementary school in Birmingham and Jefferson County to be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the first independent school to integrate. It holds membership in the National Association of Independent Schools, among other organizations. School policies are established by a 13-member Board of Trustees comprised of individuals from throughout the community.

THE CAMPUS. The School is set among the modern commercial towers of Birmingham, Alabama's largest city and a major medical, educational, business, and industrial center of the American South. The campus features shaded gardens, new and period buildings, a model outdoor playground, a gymnasium, and a newly constructed rooftop recreational facility. The music classroom/auditorium, constructed six years ago, has been nationally recognized for its excellent acoustical properties.

The School is adjacent to the historic Cathedral Church of the Advent where many school assemblies and special programs take place. The main, three-story building, with bright, airy rooms and art-filled halls, houses fully equipped Lower and Upper School science labs, a computer lab, a 15,000-volume library, classrooms, administrative offices, and an art room equipped with a printing press, a pottery wheel, a kiln, and a darkroom. A technology center is located in the McPhillips Library. Neal Gymnasium contains basketball and volleyball courts, while the paneled refectory offers a warm atmosphere for student dining.

THE FACULTY. Una Battles, appointed Headmistress in 1969, is a graduate of the University of Alabama (B.S., M.A.). Her previous experience includes service as a teacher in Alabama public schools. Mrs. Battles and her husband, Craig, have one son.

The 29 full-time faculty members hold baccalaureates, 20 master's degrees, and 2 doctorates representing study at Auburn, Birmingham-Southern, Emory, Furman, Gonzaga, Houston Baptist, Huntingdon, Judson, Louisiana State, Millsaps, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Samford, Spring Hill, Troy State, Tulane, Vanderbilt, and the Universities of Alabama, Mississippi, and Montevallo.

Six part-time instructors teach art; Lower School science, music, French, physical education, and literature/composition. A Red Cross-certified individual staffs the Health Room on a full-time basis. Faculty benefits include long-term disability insurance, leaves of absence, cancer insurance, medical and life insurance, and a retirement plan.

STUDENT BODY. In 2007 - 08, the School enrolled a diverse group of 333 students from 50 zip codes located throughout the Birmingham Metropolitan area.

ACADEMIC PROGRAM. The Advent is organized into three components: Kindergarten, Lower School (Grades 1-4), and Upper School (Grades 5-8). Academics begin in four-year-old Kindergarten, and grades are departmentalized from Grade 5 upward. All children entering the Kindergartens and Grade 1 must meet the September 1 birthdate deadline. All children attend weekly chapel services.

Kindergartners have four hours of classroom instruction and play daily. Instruction consists of reading (with emphasis on phonics), mathematics, science, social studies, penmanship, art, music, French, and computer.

The schedule for Grades 1-8 is divided into 30-minute modules to accommodate approximately four morning and four afternoon class periods of different lengths.

The basic curriculum for Grades 1-6 includes reading (with emphasis on phonics in Grades 1-3), language arts (vocabulary, composition, literature, critical thinking, and writing), penmanship (Grades 1-3), computer, French, social studies, mathematics, and science. Grades 1-4 have library periods with instruction in library skills. Social studies in Kindergarten-Grade 3 is designed to give students an awareness of the social and physical world around them. Grade 4 studies Alabama History; Grade 5, U.S. History; and Grade 6, Ancient World History. Literature and composition, emphasizing study of the novel, short story, drama, and poetry, are added in Grade 5, as are religion and the introduction of laboratory techniques in science. Special themes explored include migration (Grades 1 - 2), the dynamic earth (Grades 3 - 4), and oceans (Grade 5). Grade 6 studies earth and space science.

In Grade 7, language arts includes the study of English grammar, vocabulary, composition (including expository writing), and literature. Other subjects are French, world history and geography, modern mathematics (emphasizing geometry and the algebra of points and lines), basic life science, art, religion, and computer.

The eighth-grade curriculum consists of English grammar, composition, and literature as well as American History, French, civics, algebra, physical science, art, physical education, religion, and computer.

Regular art classes begin in Grade 3 and continue through Grade 8. All students participate in the music program, which aims toward musical literacy and appreciation as well as performance. The physical education program begins with directed play in Kindergarten and progresses to team games and dance activities for the older children. Sports included in the program are basketball, kickball, hockey, soccer, volleyball, and golf.

For students who require additional assistance, teachers are available to provide tutoring as needed for a charge.

Upon graduation from The Advent, most students elect to attend high school locally. Of these, the majority remain in independent schools. Others may choose boarding schools located throughout the eastern half of the United States.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES. The Student Council, made up of representatives from Grades 5-8 and elected by class, meets monthly with faculty advisers to discuss matters of student concern and to organize School-wide service projects for local charities. The Council also holds fund-raisers, sponsors the spring dance for Grades 7-8, and presents a leadership awardto a graduating eighth grader. A Christmas Service Project is organized by the Student Council as well as a party day. A-Day activities, which include skits, sack and relay races, and a student-faculty talent show, are also planned by the Student Council.

Field trips are scheduled for all grades. Kindergarten and Lower School students have visited a bakery, a dairy, a local fire station, and the zoo. Destinations for older students may incude Huntsville's Constitution Hall Village, the Birmingham-Southern planetarium, Oak Mountain State Park, McWane Science Center, City Hall, the county courthouse, and the Birmingham Museum of Art. In addition, Grades 4-8 take long trips each year to such places as the State Capitol in Montgomery, the Space Museum in Huntsville, the American Village in Montevallo, and Atlanta's CNN, World of Coke, and Aquarium. The fifth grade takes a five-day trip to Washington, D.C., while sixth graders participate in a three-day environmental program at Alabama's Camp McDowell. Seventh graders travel to Dauphin Island Sea Lab near Mobile for three days, and eighth graders visit the Museum of Natural History at the University of Alabama and the Warner-Westervelt Museum of Western American Art near Tuscaloosa.

Individual classes present plays and concerts periodically.

Traditional events for the school community are a parent/teacher Open House, parent/teacher Christmas luncheon, Grandparents' Day, Art Fair, Science Fair, Services of Lessons and Carols, and the May Festival.

Activities include basketball, volleyball, golf, French Club, Math Team, Chess Team, a student newspaper, choral ensemble, and Cross and Shield service organization.

ADMISSION AND COSTS. Advent Episcopal School admits students in all grades on the basis of a standardized, School-administered entrance examination, previous academic records, and recommendations from teachers and other adults. The School admits students without regard to race, creed, or national or ethnic origin. Students currently enrolled are given priority for registration until the first of February. At that time, new students are considered with the following priorities: siblings of current students, alumni children, members of the Cathedral Church of the Advent, and the earliest applicants. If vacancies exist, students may be enrolled at midyear. There is a $25 testing fee and a $275 registration fee.

In 2008-09, tuition is $4536 for Kindergarten and $7245 for Grades 1-8. There is a discount of $135 per year for kindergartners and $180 per year for Grades 1-8 for members of the Cathedral Church of the Advent. The cost of books and milk is included in the tuition; a Student Activities Fee, which is payable three times a year and varies with grade level, covers special events and materials such as novels, field trips, and seminars. The charge for before-school care is $15 per month or $1 per day; after-school care is $245 monthly or $10.25 per hour. A tuition insurance refund plan is offered.

Financial aid of approximately $90,000 is awarded annually on the basis of need and academic achievement.

Dean of Faculty: Mrs. Rosemary Ham.

Alumni Secretary: Mrs. Lady Anne Buchanan.

Director of Admissions: Mrs. Mary W. Hoffman.

Director of Development: Mr. Craig Battles.

Business Manager: Mr. Martin Johnson.

Director of Athletics: Mr. John Brown.

Director of Music: Mr. Richard Phillips.