The Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ( en, National Preparatory High School) (ENP), the oldest

senior High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

system in Mexico, belonging to the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

(UNAM), opened its doors on February 1, 1868. It was founded by

Gabino Barreda Gabino Barreda (born Puebla, 1818 – died Mexico City 1881) was a Mexican physician and philosopher oriented to French positivism. After participating in the Mexican–American War defending his country as a volunteer, he studied medicine in ...

, M.D., following orders of then

President of Mexico The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...

. It is also modern

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

's oldest institution. This institution's location was the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso ( en, San Ildefonso College), which is located in the heart of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

's historic center. This college was founded in 1588 by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

and was prestigious during colonial times, but it had almost completely fallen into ruin by the time of the

Reform Laws The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...

in the 1860s. These Laws secularized most of

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

property, including the San Ildefonso College building In 1867,

began reform of the educational system, taking it out of clerical hands and making it a government function. San Ildefonso was converted into the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria initially directed by

, who organized the new school on the Positivist model of

Auguste Comte Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense ...

(

Comtism Religion of Humanity (from French ''Religion de l'Humanité'' or '' église positiviste'') is a secular religion created by Auguste Comte (1798–1857), the founder of positivist philosophy. Adherents of this religion have built chapels of Huma ...

). The initial purpose of the school was to provide the nucleus of students for the soon-to-be-reconstructed Universidad Nacional (National University), later National Autonomous University of Mexico, which was re-established in 1910 by

Justo Sierra Justo Sierra Méndez (January 26, 1848 – September 13, 1912), was a Mexican prominent liberal writer, historian, journalist, poet and political figure during the Porfiriato, in the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth ...

. The new preparatory school began functioning at the San Ildefonso building with more than 700 day students and 200 live-in students. The complex remained a separate entity until 1929, when the Universidad Nacional gained autonomy, meaning it became independent of the government, though still government-sponsored. The Preparatory School became part of the newly independent university system, being designated as Preparatory #1 for a short time. Following this, because of the increasing demand, nine more schools were built, as well as a new organizational organism called General Direction. These schools were located at the center of Mexico City, but due to the increasing size of the city and the necessity for modern buildings, they were relocated in the vicinity of the city, mainly orientated in the southern neighborhoods like

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( , ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic vil ...

Xochimilco Xochimilco (; nci, Xōchimīlco, ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') of Mexico City. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in the ...

and Villa Coapa. The original San Ildefonso College location remained open until 1978, when it closed completely. It is now a museum and cultural museum.

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...

was one of their many students. She attended the school in 1922.

Orchestra

In 1972, the School's orchestra was founded by

Uberto Zanolli Uberto Zanolli (1917–1994), the son of Amelia Pìa Balugani Vecchi and Luigi Zanolli Marcolini, was an Italo-Mexican composer, conductor and writer. An engineer official for the Italian army during World War II, he was a prisoner in Nazi co ...

. Its present director is Luis Samuel Saloma, who made a tour along the 9 schools of the ENP, giving a final concert at the Auditorium at the General Direction.

Student exchange

The school runs academic exchanges with different foreign institutions, they are run on a yearly basis. The Horizon High School in

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a consolidated city and county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. Broomfield has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The Broomfield populatio ...

, United States, has a 10-day exchange plan for 9 students and 2 teachers at School number 3. City High School at

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

has an exchange of 15 days with School number 9.

Schools

Although the schools all have a name and a number, they are commonly referred to by their numbers rather than by their names. Prepa 7

Curriculum

The school has mainly 2 kinds of study plan: * Iniciación Universitaria ( en, University Initiation): Is only run at School 2, and it consists in 6 years, which covers Mexican Secondary and Preparatory School, the second half of it, is identical to all the other Schools plan. * High School. It lasts for 3 years and is the main plan in all 9 schools. Last year is divided in 4 specialization areas: Physics, Mathematics and Engineering/ Biology and Health Sciences/Social Sciences/ Arts and Humanities.

Former general directors

(1868–1878) * Miguel E. Schultz (1904–1905) *

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities ...

(1919) *

Ezequiel A. Chávez Ezequiel is a given name. Notable people with the name include: People *Ezequiel Adamovsky (born 1971), Argentine historian and political activist * Ezequiel Alejo Carboni (born 1979), is an Argentine midfielder *Ezequiel Andreoli (born 1978), A ...

(1920–1921) * Alfonso Caso Andrade - (1928–1930) * Moisés Hurtado González (1970) * Guadalupe Gorostieta y Cadena (1982–1986) * Ernesto Schettino Maimone (1986–1994) * José Luis Balmaceda Becerra (1994–1998) * Héctor Enrique Herrera León y Vélez (1998–2006) * María de Lourdes Sánchez Obregón (2006-2010) * Silvia Jurado Cuéllar (2010 - Currently in Office)

References

Bibliography

“Alumnos de la UNAM, carne de cañon de aspirantes presidenciales”
DEMOS, Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. de C.V, México, November 13, 2005
“Continuaran protestas de estudiantes”
DEMOS, Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. de C.V, México, November 21, 2005
"Solucion en Preparatoria 5 y 6”
DEMOS, Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. de C.V, México, November 23, 2005 * Revista Vértigo, año V No. 245 / November 27, 2005, Julio Derbéz del Pino pp. 26–28.

External links

Sistema Escolar de Calificaciones

Gaceta ENP
{{Coord, 19, 23, 25, N, 99, 10, 04, W, region:MX_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Educational institutions established in 1868 National Autonomous University of Mexico High schools in Mexico Boarding schools in Mexico 1868 establishments in Mexico