The willingness of the teacher's to help the students and to help them excel; the classroom set up. Almost all classrooms have tables, not chairs with attached seats, and most rooms used for humanities classes have tables arranged in a U. This means that the room is always prepped for discussion. Students are there to work together, and the competive spirit is not very much a part of the academic life. In terms of level of difficulty, the work was challenging. Much is demanded of the students. All classes are designed at the "honors" level; many are taught not unlike college classes. The average student takes 5 academic classes in a nine period day, though many take 6. Ultimately, time management is a HUGE part of the Springs experience.

I think if Springs had been bigger, it would be more equipped to offer more courses like many of the top boarding schools in the country. As it is, curriculum is pretty standard until senior year, when electives in English and History are offered but not required. Students in 8th through 11th grades can choose their language of study: French, Spanish, and Latin are offered, and some students take two at once. Upon entering students are also able to place themselves into the appropriate level of math, and certain options are available after Algebra II. Also, AP science classes are offered in Chemistry, Biology, and Physics; these are all available at any time after completion of the high school year. (Physics itself is also optional to Computer Science.) However, the school is not equipped to offer options in History and English classes to underclassmen, so it is possible to graduate with only the standard history: World (before the Renaissance only), European (after the Renaissance), and U.S. There is no recent "world" history; senior electives tend to be in topics such as the Vietnam War and Recent Russian History. English also is standard. In addition, because English is required for all years at Springs, seniors either have to take AP English or 2 semesters worth of electives. Because of the limited number of electives and the times they are offered, students are sometimes forced into electives they did not "elect" to take.

For the most part, athletics are very open. Many students join teams having never played the sport before. Also, the athletics department is open to change. Both a baseball team and softball team were started BY STUDENTS who very much felt the void, and within 3 years not only had coaches been hired for each sport, but individual fields were constructed and leagues were formed with teams around the area. The school also does not have a football team; homecoming is celebrated at the annual basketball game against our rival private school. Most students, however, do not miss football; many prefer the school without it. Another part of the philosophy of the school is that academics come first. Like other activities, athletics take second place to school work; so while teams are very committed and practice hard, the competitiveness is not very great and players, while they may feel overloaded with commitments, do not tend to feel overwhelmed by athletic expectations.

Again, the school size limits diversity of sports. Teams can only exist if enough students are interested; for example the golf teams for both genders have died out in recent years due to lack of interest. (However, were interest expressed, the school is equipped to start them back up.)

Choir is the schools strong point; approximately 130 of 260 Springs students sing in the concert choir, and 30 to 40 sing in the more selective chamber choir. The choir tours to a major metropolitan area each March; the chamber choir takes international tours every 3 to 4 years. The repetoire spans a wide variety of music: ethnic, American spiritual, jazz, and classical, and always includes one major work to be performed along with the Alabama Youth Symphony Orchestra in the spring. Theater is also strong at Springs. A fall play and spring musical are balanced by winter one-acts which are student directed and produced. Most students who are interested in performing will have the opportunity to perform at least once during their time at Springs. The quality of production tends to be high, as does the quality of acting from talented students. Though Springs is not an art school, it has recently graduated very talented artists; the 2001 class included a student currently studying Voice in Rice University's very selective musical program, and an acting student at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. All students are required to take a semester of music history in their sophomore year.

The visual arts program does not receive nearly enough attention. While all students are required to take one semester of visual art at Springs, the quality of facilities and teaching may not be up to par with other schools. Though many students have been successful in their goals, the department does not seem equipped enough to train promising students who need guidance. The instrumental music program is small at Springs, though not nearly forgotten. Though there is neither a band nor an orchestra, the small group ensemble program has been increasing in popularity in recent years. Piano classes are available on campus, as have flute and violin in the past years. Though instrumental music takes a backseat to the choir, there are definitely opportunities to perform individually or with other students.

Choir, theater, and athletics are the most popular extra-curricular activities on campus. Campus groups, however, are abundant, and it is quite easy to start one. Though most are not large and do not receive funding from the school (they can sometimes ask for it on a per-event basis), groups try to host at least a few events every year. Most groups, also, are not members-only, but consist of a few students who plan events which are open to the whole school.

Because of openness, many clubs that would benefit from having a solid, consistent membership suffer and tend to be weaker than they should. The Key Club, for example, tends to host no more than a few "Mile Clean-Ups" a year, because doing more would require consultation and planning by a large group, all who would participate in the event come time. (At the same time, groups like Habitat for Humanity benefit from this come one come all attitude.) Again, the school size is sometimes disadvantageous in this area; while everyone CAN participate, it's hard to get enough consistent participation to get much done.

The layout of the dorms was very appealing. Unlike big square dorm buildings, where students feel confined in small rooms with small hallways, Springs boarders have the whole outdoors as their doorsteps. The school also takes pains to create a "boarding community," and offers study breaks and snacks, nightly basketball games, anything to keep the students from feeling isolated in their rooms. They say You don't get the full experience of Indian Springs unless you board, and "they" are right. By commuting every morning and leaving at night, day students miss a great opportunity to bond with teachers and friends. As for curfews, most students have more freedom at school because they have the chance to visit with friends until much later; seniors have the advantage of "senior night out," meaning a 10pm curfew once a week.

Late night food access is a problem for students who don't have cars. Microwaves are allowed in dorms (or were in the past), which helps, but nothing compares to having a real kitchen. Dorm supervisors try to lessen the burden by making sandwiches on request, and 9pm snacks in the common room also help. Because all rooms open out, bugs are also a huge problem in the summer, and keeping the heating efficient is a problem in the winter.

A centralized dining hall provides three meals a day. Lunch is by far the best (because of the increase in numbers from day students), with a much better selection of food than the majority of high schools in America. Every Wednesday night is pizza night with delivered pizza. In an effort to build community, the administration has in the past instituted "family dinner night", where once a week students are required to come to the cafeteria dinner and sit at an assigned table with a designated teacher.

This year (2003) we have hired a gourmet chef who prepares breakfasts to order (and offers really tasty and healthy food for the other meals)!

Dinner is not always appealing, and the limited hours are frustrating to students with commitments (one hour in the past, from 5-6 or 5:30 to 6:30.)

I was initially a day student, but had no problems fitting in at Springs. The smaller size of the school means there is less of a traditional public school social hierchy, although it would be naive to say there is no such thing as popularity. However, many students at Springs are more academically minded, and many more open-minded, to provide a supportive atmosphere for students who do not feel accepted elsewhere.

Diversity isn't bad at Springs, although there is plenty of room for improvement. Recruitment to international countries brings a variety of international students, but recruitment at home tends to be limited to an upperclass (and as an effect of the majority, largely white) sphere. However, students of all backgrounds and races can be accounted for at Springs, and once there, integration is high.

For students who stay on campus (many of the boarding students live in a close enough vicinity to go home on weekends), the dorm life commitee offers trips off campus to museums, sporting events, concerts, day trips to cities, and amusement parks. All events are free for 7-day boarders, and open to day students for a fee and 5-day boarders for a smaller fee. Many weekends are host to events for all students, such as dances, school sporting events, etc.

Town is really just a series of fast food joints. However, the Riverchase Galleria, the largest mall in the South east, is about 5 minutes away by car. Birmingham offers lots to do, but it has to be accessed by car. The only thing students can feasibly walk to is the Sunny gas station across the road for snacks. But most students find that there are enough boarding students with cars and enough day students constantly on campus to provide plenty of options to get off.