Albuquerque Academy

Albuquerque Academy
Aerial view of Albuquerque Academy in 2013
Location
6400 Wyoming Blvd. NE

Albuquerque
,
New Mexico
87109

United States

35°09′07″N 106°33′08″W / 35.151944444444°N 106.55222222222°W / 35.151944444444; -106.55222222222
Information
TypeIndependent, Private
MottoScientia ad faciendum
(Knowledge for the sake of doing)
Established1955
Head of school
Julianne Puente
Faculty174
Grades6-12
Enrollment1,195 (2024-25)
Colors  Red
  Black
Athletics conference
NMAA, AAAA Dist. 5
MascotCharger
NewspaperThe Academy Advocate
Endowment$92.5 million (2024)
Tuition$28,149
Websitewww.aa.edu

Albuquerque Academy is an independent, co-educational day school for grades 6-12 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The school is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest and the New Mexico State Department of Education, and is also a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.

The school has routinely ranked among the top 200 private high schools in the United States, peaking at #5 in 2015. Albuquerque Academy comprises three different divisions (groups of grade levels): the 6-7 division, the 8-9 division, and the 10-12 division.

History

Albuquerque Academy was founded in 1955 as The Academy for Boys in the basement of a small Albuquerque church by William B. S. Wilburn. The school was eventually moved into a facility that is today used by Sandia Preparatory School. In 1965, the school moved to its current site in northeast Albuquerque.

Between 1957 and 1964, the academy received a large tract of undeveloped land north of Albuquerque, part of the Elena Gallegos Land Grant, from the Albert G. Simms family. The western portion (from Wyoming Boulevard to the Rio Grande) was sold to finance the creation of the current campus and the first endowment fund, and the present campus was created in the middle of the tract. The land east of the campus, reaching the crest of the Sandia Mountains, was sold later in a series of deals. First, the section from the campus to Juan Tabo Boulevard was sold to create a second trust. Later, the City of Albuquerque attempted to facilitate a deal to sell the remainder to the Bureau of Land Management by putting up a parking garage as collateral.[citation needed] The deal fell through, and the academy became the garage owner while still retaining the area.[citation needed]

In July 1982, the city purchased most of the land in a complex deal with the academy and the US Forest Service. The City paid the academy $23.9 million, raised by a bond issue supported by a temporary ¼ percent sales tax. The City retained part of the land, which is now the 640-acre (260 ha) Elena Gallegos Picnic Area/Albert G. Simms Park, located at the feet of the Sandias at the mouths of Bear and Pino Canyons. The 7,000-acre (2,800 ha) plus remainder of the purchase, most of it forest land in the canyons proper, was sold to the Forest Service and is now part of the Cibola National Forest and the Sandia Mountain Wilderness. The academy retained two parts of the tract, the larger adjoining Tramway Boulevard. The school set up the High Desert Investment Corporation (HDIC) to develop this portion as the master-planned community known as High Desert. (The smaller portion, within Bear Canyon itself, is still used by the academy for experiential education purposes.) HDIC then purchased a large tract of land in the northern section of Rio Rancho, developed as Mariposa.

The school remained an all-boys school, with grades five through 12, until 1973, at which time girls were allowed into grades nine through 12. Part of the reason for the delay in allowing girls and for the gradual inclusion was that the Simms grant specified that the number of boys not decrease in order to make room for girls.[citation needed] The fifth grade was dropped in 1979, and the school became fully coeducational in 1984.

Heads of school

  • William B. S. Wilburn, 1955–60
  • Rev. Paul G. Saunders, 1960–64
  • Ashby Harper, 1964–85
  • Robert L. Bovinette, 1985–96
  • Timothy R. McIntire, 1996–99
  • Donald W. Smith (interim head), 1999–2001
  • Andrew T. Watson, 2001–2020
  • Julianne Puente, 2020–present

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities at the school include state championship sports teams, The Advocate (a student newsmagazine that has received numerous awards from the Albuquerque Tribune and the New Mexico Press Women), Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, and theater.

The longest sports state championship streaks by Academy sports teams are the 21-time defending state champion boys tennis team (2003–present); the eight-time defending state champion girls swim team (2007–present); and the six-time state champion boys basketball team (1989–1994), boys swim team (2006–2011), and boys track team (2002–2007).

The swim teams have won 48 combined state titles (24 for the boys, 24 for the girls).

The school's mock trial team won the 2012 National High School Mock Trial Championship, marking the first time a New Mexican team had won the title, and the first time a team from the host state had won. In 2013, the team won the national championship again, which was only the third time in tournament history that a school won twice in a row. The program has qualified at least one team for state competition every year since the program was rebooted in 2005. In 2016, the team finished 4th in the national competition held in Boise, ID. In 2019, Academy's mock trial team placed sixth at the National High School Mock Trial Championship. In 2021, the Academy's mock trial team placed third at the National High School Mock Trial Championship. And in 2022 the team placed seventh in the nation as well. In 2023 the Academy's mock trial team took second at the National High School Mock Trial Championship.

In May 2010, the school's Science Bowl team won the US DOE Middle School Science Bowl competition in Washington, DC.

In the spring of 2006, the orchestra, the Chamber Players, was invited to attend the National Orchestra Festival in Kansas City, Missouri

Sports State Championships

The Academy has won a number of state championships.

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

Alex Bregman

References

  1. ↑ "Albuquerque Academy". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  2. ↑ ISAS Home Page [permanent dead link]
  3. ↑ "50 of the Best Private Schools in America". February 4, 2021. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  4. ↑ Sams, Rachel (October 15, 2015). "ABQ school ranked fifth-best private high school in U.S." American City Business Journals.
  5. ↑ About the Academy Archived 2007-03-13 at the Wayback Machine (school website)
  6. ↑ "New Mexico Office of the State Historian: Elena Gallegos Grant", New Mexico Office of the State Historian, http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=24996 Archived 2011-04-25 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 1 Oct 2011.
  7. ↑ "City Acquires 7,761 acre (31.4 km²) Elena Gallegos Property in Sandias", Albuquerque Journal, July 2, 1982.
  8. ↑ Open Space History, City of Albuquerque, accessed 3-8-2007. Archived April 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Patrick Armijo, "Mariposa Plan Earns an OK, Council Approves Land Annexation", Albuquerque Journal, February 15, 2002.
  10. ↑ Prep tennis: ABQ High tops La Cueva for girls title | Albuquerque Journal
  11. ↑ "Albuquerque Academy ~ Albuquerque Academy Team Wins the 2012 National…".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ↑ "2023 National High School Mock Trial Championship". Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  13. ↑ "DOE press release" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  14. ↑ "ABQJOURNAL NEWS/STATE: Brainpower on Display". Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  15. ↑ ASTA National Orchestra Festival Winners Announced, astaweb.com, March 17, 2006
  16. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Cross Country State Champions". New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  17. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Football" (PDF). New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  18. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Soccer Past State Champions". New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original on October 24, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  19. ↑ "New Mexico State Volleyball Champions" (PDF). New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  20. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Swimming & Diving". New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  21. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Wrestling Past Champions". New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  22. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Basketball Past Champions". New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  23. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Baseball Past Champions". New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  24. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Golf Past Champions". New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  25. ↑ "New Mexico State Softball Champions" (PDF). New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  26. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Tennis Past Champions". New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  27. ↑ "NM MVP Pub: Track & Field Past Champions". New Mexico Activities Association. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  28. ↑ Yodice, James (April 23, 2021). "Academy's Barney to retire as coach". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  29. ↑ http://www.aa.edu/alumni/news_detail.asp?newsid=484953 [permanent dead link]
  30. ↑ "Alex Bregman - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA". Archived from the original on April 27, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  31. ↑ "amfAR :: R. Martin Chavez, Ph.D. :: The Foundation for AIDS Research :: HIV / AIDS Research". Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  32. ↑ "Albuquerque native elected mayor of Phoenix » Albuquerque Journal". Abqjournal.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  33. ↑ Reed Jr., Ollie (March 5, 2018). "Prolific author Victor Milán leaves science fiction legacy". Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ↑ Stocks – Bloomberg[dead link]
  35. ↑ "Chainey Umphrey". USA Gymnastics. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2017.