Indian Springs School

Indian Springs School was founded in 1952, endowed by Birmingham businessman Harvey G. Woodward, an alumnus of MIT. He died in 1930 and, in his will bequeathed the funds and instructions for creating the school. Woodward wanted to make the school available to all classes of students. He stipulated that the school could admit only Christian, white, boys, at a time when racial segregation was statewide in public facilities.[2] He instructed that the school should use a holistic approach to learning (the school's motto is "Discere Vivendo", or "Learning through Living").

During its first years, the school was based in a working farm, where students carried out all the work needed, in addition to other studies. This element was soon eliminated. Indian Springs opened in 1952 with ten staff members and sixty students. The first director of the school was Louis "Doc" Armstrong. He made several changes to Woodward's original plans for the school. He developed a curriculum as a preparatory school and opened admissions to Jewish boys.

When the school was founded, most private and public facilities were segregated in Alabama. When white parents were trying to avoid integrated public schools following the US Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), some sent their children to this school as a kind of segregation academy. The restrictions on enrollment were sequentially abolished by 1976, both by actions of the first director and to comply with the Supreme Court ruling and later federal civil rights legislation in 1964.[2]

Indian Springs School's campus is on 350 acres (140 ha) in northern Shelby County, 15 miles (24 km) south of downtown Birmingham. Through the 1970s, the school was remote and surrounded by the woodlands of its campus, in addition to Oak Mountain State Park abutting its southern boundary. In the late 1970s, facing increasing debts and possible bankruptcy because of decreased enrollment, the school sold hundreds of acres surrounding the campus.

Instruction takes place in seven academic buildings, which house 23 classrooms, a new science center, a concert hall, a theater, two student lounges, a college center, a technology lab, a 19,000-volume library, and special studios for chorus, art, photography, and drama. The athletic facilities include two gymnasiums, with two basketball courts, two volleyball courts, and two weight rooms. The campus has six new tennis courts, a competition soccer field, a baseball field, a softball field, a cross country track, and a practice field/track. A new organic orchard, Fertile Minds, complements the greenhouse in producing food for the students. In 2006, new dorms for both boys and girls were opened.

For school year 2019-20, the tuition per year is $24,800 for day students, $45,900 for Alabama resident boarding students, $51,500 for non-Alabama domestic boarding students, and $58,200 for international board students. There are annual bus and meal plan fees that are not included. Tuition fluctuates yearly.[3]

After an internal investigation by at third party, Indian Springs released a report accusing former faculty members of sexual misconduct.[4][5][6]

The demographic breakdown of the 297 students enrolled in 2015-16 was:[1]

• Asian - 21.2%
• Black - 6.7%
• Hispanic - 0.7%
• White - 69.7%
• Multiracial - 1.7%

• Young adult author John Green's debut novel, Looking for Alaska, is set at a school based on his attendance at Indian Springs School in 1995.[7]

• Media related to Indian Springs School at Wikimedia Commons
• Indian Springs School's official site
• National Association of Independent Schools