Academia Juárez

Begun in 1897, Academia Juárez (or Juarez Stake Academy) is run under the direction of Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and is an accredited high school in both the Mexico and the United States. Academia Juarez is well-known throughout the state of Chihuahua for its excellent bilingual curriculum. Students who attend the Academy receive intensive English or Spanish classes when they begin their studies. Upon successfully passing the Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP) test, students attend regular classes, which are taught in English or Spanish.

Smaller than most high schools, only 440 students from Colonia Juárez and nearby Nuevo Casas Grandes/Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, attend the Juarez Academy, enrolled in grades 7-12. Tuition for non-LDS students is $24000 per year and $7200 per year for members. Thirty percent of the student body receives financial assistance in the form of scholarships. The Academy is 74% LDS and 10% Anglo. Most of the 28 faculty members at the Academy hold bachelor degrees, five have master degrees, two are medical doctors, and four do not hold college degrees. Among other requirements, in order to be employed at the Academy, teachers must be bilingual and a member of the LDS Church.

Several attorneys have emerged from the Juarez Stake Academy, and although not members of the LDS Church, they have challenged the federal habeas corpus status and successfully set landmark decisions that have called attention to the Juarez Stake Academy.

Sergio Lopez Ochoa and Miguel Orozco Palma (non-members of the LDS Church) contributed to the landmark Lau v. Nichols case and are currently federal judges.

Francisco Barrio Terrazas, Governor of the State of Chihuahua from 1992 to 1998, visited the school in 1986 after allegations of electoral fraud and was warmly received by the local faculty and students.

ee also

*Church College of New Zealand

External links

* [http://academiajuarez.org Academia Juarez Site - especially for alumni]
* [http://academia.coconia.net Un-official Academia Juarez Site]