Academic Program Courses and vertical grouping. The school year at AMY is divided into 60-day trimesters. Three times per year, students select their courses from a catalog, much as college students do. The result of this system is a natural mixing of sixth to eighth graders with similar interests. It also affords great flexibility in the courses students may select and in the order they take certain required courses.
Students receive several kinds of support for selecting courses.
First, homeroom teachers guide students through the course roster during an extended advisory session. Second, the school asks parents to review the course catalog at home with their children and come to registration. Finally, on the days of registration, four to five teachers serve as advisors so that parents and students may discuss course options and come up with alternatives if a course the student wants to take has been filled. By design, many AMY courses are interdisciplinary. The course integrates writing, research, geography, earth science, social events, architecture, and zoology.