FAQ

ASMS provides an exceptional education in our state to highly motivated students where they can take advanced courses that are not traditionally offered in their current public-school setting. At ASMS, your student will find other students that are just like him/her and will feel challenged by the rigorous and college-level courses. 100% of ASMS graduates enroll in college and have earned millions of dollars in merit-based scholarships over the years.

ASMS prepares our children with the important elements needed to develop the skills and knowledge to successfully transition to higher education roles and assume future leadership opportunities.

Students live in residence halls overseen by Peer Advisors and full-time professional Residence Life Coordinators. ASMS offers a vibrant residential life program that includes athletics, academic and service clubs, publications, hall competitions, and other planned extracurricular activities.

Each student's room is furnished with an XL twin bed (adjustable for storage or lofting), armoire, nightstand, and desk. Rooms include two ethernet ports, Wi-Fi access, and individual heating and air conditioning units. Bathrooms are communal, featuring private showers, toilet stalls, sinks, and personal storage cubbies. Each hall also includes a common area with a TV, couches, and a kitchenette equipped with appliances such as a microwave, hot plate, toaster oven, and cooking utensils. Students are responsible for cleaning shared items after use. Personal Keurig-style coffee makers and small dorm-sized refrigerators are allowed.

ASMS provides all student meals at no cost. Students receive three meals on weekdays and two meals (brunch and dinner) on weekends, funded by the State of Alabama. The cafeteria accommodates dietary needs and special requests, and students may speak with the Cafeteria Director about specific accommodations. Students may also order food at their own expense from restaurants that deliver to campus.

ASMS has a trained and experienced security guard on campus 24-hours a day, 7 days per week while students are on campus. The security team has video surveillance that provides them with the ability to monitor all public areas around and on the grounds of our school.

ASMS utilizes several systems such as REACH Boarding, walk-off policies and procedures, and others to ensure the safety and location of its students. Parents and guardians have the freedom and ability to assign certain privileges such as walk-off, drive-off, etc. and provide advance approval for individuals to visit the student on-campus, leave campus with for day trip, or stay with overnight or for a weekend. Identification is checked on every individual that visits our campus or arrives to pick-up a student, regardless of whether it is a parent, relative, or friend.

Junior and senior students are permitted to have cars on campus but do have driving restrictions based on their class status. They are required to park in a gated and secured area that only allows entry with card, and students must check out their cards and receive approval to leave campus in their personal vehicle.

ASMS offers a wide assortment of athletics, clubs, and extra-curricular activities. Some of the athletic activities are basketball, soccer, volleyball, cross-country, cheerleading, chess, and much more. There are various clubs such as foreign language clubs, Key Club, BETA, computing, introduction to flight, and more. A student can start a club by recruiting 5 other students and applying through the Student Affairs office. ASMS students also can participate in service clubs such as Dragon Tutors where ASMS students provide tutoring for Mobile area students.

Campus life at ASMS is a constant and fun-filled year at ASMS including events such as GeekFest where students engage in a night of games and activities, winter formal, spring prom, Goofy Olympics which is a fun-filled afternoon where halls compete against each other in games to win points, Open Mic Night, and other events throughout the school year.

Each student is required to pay an annual activity fee that includes fees that cover traditional expenses such as winter formal, spring prom, yearbook, and other expenses you would pay at any other high school.

ASMS has two trained and experienced nurses on campus during the day and evening hours, Monday through Friday. All Student Affairs staff, including Residence Life Coordinators, are trained to assess symptoms, administer medications, and respond appropriately when nurses are not available.

If medical attention is required, ASMS will notify the student’s parents or guardians and transport the student to the USA Adolescent & Young Adult Health Clinic, a local urgent care facility, or an emergency room—depending on the nature and severity of the case. An ASMS staff member will remain with the student until they are released to return to campus. If a student is admitted to the hospital, a staff member will stay with them until a parent or guardian arrives.

ASMS partners with the University of South Alabama’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital, a highly regarded facility that has received numerous awards and recognitions for excellence in pediatric and adolescent care.

If your student struggles in a class, there are several resources available at ASMS to assist him/her. Instructors have assigned office hours to allow students to schedule one-on-one meetings with them. There are also study labs available that allow students to receive tutoring from other ASMS students that have been approved by instructors. Students can also reach out to their academic counselor who is assigned to their class.

If a student is struggling on an emotional or mental health level, ASMS has an experienced personal counselor to assist them with personal matters such as depression, anxiety, loss of loved one, and other mental health issues. Counselors also provide twenty-four (24) hours a day/seven (7) days a week crisis intervention to assist students.

One of the main tips ASMS parents can provide to new ASMS parents is to teach your child how to ask for help when needed. Learning to ask for help is a life lesson that we all encounter at some point in our lives, and it is not a weakness but a strength to be able to ask for assistance when needed. Resources including study hours and office hours to meet with instructors are available at ASMS if your student needs and asks for help.

The majority of ASMS instructors have advanced degrees. Some instructors have knowledge and experience in performing research projects and provide our students with research opportunities that are not able to be provided at majority of other high schools in our state.

Parents and guardians can be involved in many ways at ASMS. ASMS has a Parent Council consisting of parents and legal guardians. Our Parent Council partners with the school to assist in volunteering for events and programs, raising funds to provide grants for our students, faculty, staff and school, providing support through various roles such as Parent Advocacy, Fundraising, and more. Our Parent Council has a private Facebook group to share important announcements.

Parent Council members are parents and guardians that sign-up to volunteer to serve. The members work closely on projects and committees with ASMS faculty and staff to provide a successful environment for each student at ASMS. Parent Council members are eligible to participate on any Parent Council committee during the school year and encourage those with knowledge and experience in specified areas to volunteer to be a member of a committee that meets their interest and knowledge.

All Parent Council meetings are held virtually through Microsoft Teams to allow interaction and discussion since our parents and guardians are located throughout the state. Therefore, parents and guardians can participate in any meeting from wherever they are located from their phone, computer, tablet, and other device.

You can visit your student any time as long as it is not during their scheduled classes. If you wish for your student to leave campus to go to dinner, etc., you will be required to show a form of picture ID for identification and will sign that student out under your care. Your student can leave campus for overnight stays and for weekend stays that are not designated as a required weekend by ASMS.

There are several breaks throughout the school year where students are required to leave campus to go home or to another location i.e., home with roommate to visit. The longest period your student will go without a break is around 6 weeks after he/she returns from Winter Break (after New Year’s Day) as the next break is not until Mardi Gras break. ASMS provides a charter bus during all breaks and there is a fee to utilize the chartered bus. The charter bus travels I-65 and makes stops at assigned locations at Evergreen, Montgomery/Hope Hull, Pelham, Cullman and Athens exits. ASMS Family Programs has worked closely with some of the Mobile area hotels to provide discounts for parents and guardians of ASMS students that wish to visit ASMS and Mobile to visit and spend time with their student.

ASMS closely monitors tropical storms and hurricanes in the Gulf and uses an abundance of caution when confronted with tropical activity. ASMS will reserve charter buses to provide service to students who live north of Mobile following the normal school break bus route. Buses will be free of charge for evacuations. Students will stay home and will provide updated information via email. ASMS makes every effort to post information to its website and social media platforms and to send out emails when appropriate regarding when school will reopen.

For the 2024-2025 school year, Niche ranked ASMS as the #1 Best Public High School in Alabama, #1 Best High School for STEM in Alabama, #1 Best College Prep High School in Alabama, and the #34 Best Public High School in America!