View more images here.
Quick news:
- Our open house events will begin again in the fall. During the summer, if you wish to see the school and learn about all that we offer, please make an appointment with our Head of School, Dr. Lou Ellen Kay, at 575-521-9384.
- We also will have a reception on Sunday, May 19th, for prospective students and their parents at the home of current parents Steve Pate and Liz Horodowich - please see details and a map. Please check our Calendar for more events.
- Please see our new public newsletter, with abundant news and images of the Academy from June 2012 through May 2013.
Welcome to Las Cruces Academy's online home. We're an independent, non-profit, non-sectarian school for gifted or academically advanced children who thrive in this alternative to other schools. Please view our mission statement to see what brings us all into the Academy. Our focus is on languages, math, and science, but we fill out a strong education with a variety of other subject areas. All children learn English, Spanish, and Chinese every day. We also understand that good teachers, intellectual freedom and engagement, and a supportive social environment are the most valuable gifts we can give to students. Students have independent input into the curriculum and independent projects are an increasing focus. Please read on, and, if you wish to explore having your child join us, please visit the admissions page. The navigation bar at right leads you to much more detail about our philosophy and curriculum (or click here). We also are pleased to share news of what is happening at the school currently. We started the second semester of our fourth year of classes on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013, with students in grades K-5. Our fifth year will begin on Wednesday, August 14th, 2013, for grades K-6. You can see the list of our events on our calendar. You can also make an appointment by calling our Head of School. To find us at our new location, see our map.
Comments from parents & students have rewarded us for our efforts. Please click here to see a selection.
Our students of all ages do hands-on science. Presentations and demonstrations are given by Ph.D. scientists. We use the highly successful Singapore math program. Our students spontaneously count in Chinese or Spanish when they exercise, and during birthday celebrations they sing in all three languages. They have access to over 4,000 books that have been donated and purchased by many people.
Scholarships have been available each year, thanks to both new donors and continuing donors, includingEl Paso Electric. We have a scholarship application form. In our startup phase with our significant costs, we have to limit the offerings to 5 to 6 quarter-tuition scholarships, but we are pleased with the support we have been able to offer to students. We are looking forward to having more funds to disburse and more students supported. All scholarships are need-based; need will not be revealed, because we do not reveal which students have received scholarships. All our scholarships are partial scholarships, so that we may reach the most students. All students share our "stealth scholarships," the lowering of our tuition by many person-years of volunteer work.
Outreach to the community and the public schools is mandated by our Articles of Incorporation. A concrete plan is for our students themselves to develop and run a public museum. In this effort they will use a number of scientific and cultural artifacts that the Academy founders, Drs. Lou Ellen Kay and Vincent Gutschick, have acquired in their scientific careers and in travels to 36 nations. You can sample our travel images from Indonesia and Costa Rica. As a kick-off for our outreach, we have written a series of one-page light essays on interesting topics in science. These are located here.
Our financial status is open for inspection. To see the documents, please visit our page on our Annual Fund.
We are proud members of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce and the Green Chamber of Commerce and we thank them for the great support they have given us.
If you are a potential donor to the Academy, please consider augmenting the scholarship fund, capital fund, or our general fund. We plan to grow to a full pre-K - 12 school over the years, with your help. If you wish to donate, please visit our Giving page, or call, write, or email us. Thanks!
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