Lydia Patterson Institute is a Methodist Christian college-preparatory school located in

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Founded in 1913 it offers programs for Spanish-speaking children, primarily from

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju� ...

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

to attend high school in the United States and attend a Methodist graduate university. All high school classes are taught in English, and the school is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

.''Directory'' Southern Association of Colleges and Schools web site

History

At the beginning of the 20th century in El Paso, there were very few educational opportunities for poor Hispanic boys. Since the State of Texas did not provide public education of any kind for non-English speaking students, most Hispanic children in the Second Ward were not receiving any formal education. Mrs. Lydia Patterson, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

laywoman, recognized the gravity of this problem, and in 1906, she began to set up day classes for boys in the homes of area Methodists. Upon her death in 1909, her husband Millard Patterson, a local attorney, decided to memorialize her by establishing the school that she had envisioned, and in 1913, construction began on the Lydia Patterson Institute.History of LPI
/ref> In 1921, LPI became one of the first schools in the country to emphasize the teaching of English as a Second Language, or

ESL English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

, merging students into the appropriate grade upon completion of the ESL program.

References

External links

Lydia Patterson Website

Lydia Patterson Facebook Page

Lydia Patterson students cross border to forge futures

LPI Tribune Website

{{authority control Education in El Paso, Texas Schools in El Paso County, Texas Private high schools in Texas Private middle schools in Texas Educational institutions established in 1913 High schools in El Paso, Texas Methodist schools in the United States 1913 establishments in Texas Christian schools in Texas