Loretto Academy (El Paso, Texas) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Loretto Academy |
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| Address | |
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1300 Hardaway Street
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United States
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| Coordinates | 31°47′10″N 106°26′5″W / 31.78611°N 106.43472°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private, All-Girls for grades 6-12 |
| Motto | A Tradition Of Excellence/ Let Loretto Be Loretto Foever |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1923 |
| Founder | Mother M. Praxedes Carty |
| President | Nicole Ortega Cobb |
| Principal | High School: Homero Silva Middle School: Mary Ann Olivas |
| Grades | Pre-K–12 (Boys PreK-5, girls all grades) |
| Color(s) | Yellow, Black and White |
| Slogan | Four Core Values: Faith, Community, Justice & Respect |
| Mascot | Angels |
| Accreditation | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools |
| Newspaper | The Prax |
| Affiliation | Sisters of Loretto |
| Elementary Principal | Norma Lopez |
| Athletic Director | Angela Glover |
| Architects | Trost & Trost |
| Website | http://www.loretto.org |
Loretto Academy is a private Roman Catholic school located in El Paso, Texas. It first opened its doors in 1923. The school was started by Mother M. Praxedes Carty and is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso. For younger students, from Pre-K to 5th grade, both boys and girls can attend. However, grades 6 through 12 are only for girls.
The School's Beginning
The Sisters of Loretto had already opened several schools in places like Las Cruces and El Paso. In the early 1920s, Mother Praxedes Carty, a Sister of Loretto, came to El Paso. She wanted to create a new school there.
On March 20, 1922, she bought 19 acres of land in the Austin Terrace area. Many people thought this was a strange place for a school. It was a wide open desert on a hilltop, far from the city center. People wondered if families would send their children so far away. Some even called the project "Praxedes' Folly."
The school buildings were designed by Trost & Trost, a famous architecture firm. Gustavus A. Trost, one of the architects, was friends with Mother Praxedes. The buildings were planned to face Mexico, showing a welcoming spirit to everyone. They were built with stuccoed brick and red Spanish tile roofs.
Construction began in the fall of 1922. The first school building was ready in 1923. Loretto Academy in El Paso officially opened on September 11, 1923. It started with 186 students. About 20 of these students lived at the school as boarders. By 1928, Loretto became a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. This meant it was recognized as a good school.
The entire campus was not finished until the 1930s. The boarding school part of Loretto Academy closed in 1975. Today, students from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico also attend the school. In the early 1990s, the school had over 900 students.
In 2022, after 22 years, Sister Mary E. "Buffy" Boesen stepped down as the school's president. Nicole Ortega Cobb, who is a former student of Loretto, became the new president in June 2022.
Famous People Who Attended
Many notable people have attended Loretto Academy, including:
- Stevie Nicks
- Maureen McDonnell
- Karla Martínez de Salas
- Amirah Kassem
- Michelle Dipp
- Mago Orona Gándara
- Mary Helen Garcia
- Alicia Gaspar de Alba
- M. Sue Kurita
- Pat Mora
- María Guillermina Valdes Villalva
- Patricia Roybal Caballero
- Andi Teran, an author
Notable Teachers
Some well-known faculty members who taught at Loretto Academy include:
- Lilliana Owens
- Jacqueline Grennan Wexler
