American School Foundation of Monterrey

The American School Foundation of Monterrey is a private, nonprofit, international school located in Monterrey, Mexico, which provides a U.S.-type education to international and Mexican students. It is one of a few American-style educational centers in this city and is notable for being the oldest one of that group.

American School Foundation of Monterrey
Address
Ave. Ignacio Morones Prieto No. 1500
Col. San Isidro

Santa Catarina
,
Nuevo León

Mexico
Coordinates25.660772°N 100.446860°W / 25.660772; -100.446860
Information
TypePrivate Co-ed International
MottoOpen Minds, Caring Hearts, Global Leaders
Established1928
SuperintendentDr. Michael W. Adams
PresidentMiguel Bichara Assad
AdministratorLuis Carlos Reyes
Elementary School PrincipalJoe Stanzione
Middle School PrincipalDavid Scott
High School PrincipalSheldon Guenther
Campus DirectorELEM Joe Stanzione, MSHS Sheldon Guenther
Assistant SuperintendentJohn Hickey
GradesN–12
Enrollment2,380
CampusUrban
Color(s)Red and white
MascotAmerican bald eagle
NicknameASFM
AffiliationAdvancED – Cognia
Websiteasfm.edu.mx

The school is governed by a founders' board which meets twice a year and that elects a board of directors serving as the school's board of education. This board is constituted of 15 members serving up to four 3-year terms. All instruction is in English except for Spanish classes. For grades 10th to 12th there are two courses of study, one leading to a Mexican bachillerato and the other to a U.S. high school diploma. Students can choose either to follow just the U.S. diploma or both courses. The option to do the Mexican bachillerato alone is not offered.[1]

History

ASFM, as the school is known, was founded in 1928[2] as a response to the need for children of foreign (mainly American) workers in Monterrey to have an American-style education in order to eventually return seamlessly to the United States. The school received its charter on October 13, 1928, and was re-established as the American School Foundation of Monterrey in April 1944.[3]

It was during this re-establishment that the founders' board was established with four founding individuals and thirteen sponsoring companies. The organization was created as a non-profit society, hence the inclusion of the word Foundation in the name. In 1948, ASFM received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Texas Education agency. The school moved to the Missouri Campus, in September 1958, when its enrollment had exceeded 450 students.

The school's reputation improved over time and it remained the school of choice for the children of foreign workers that relocated to Monterrey. As the city's influx of foreigners increased, the need for an international education became paramount. Thus, in 1996 in order to accommodate this increasing demand, ASFM built a new campus for middle and high school students. This new state-of-the-art facility built in the Huasteca Canyon attracted many new students and launched ASFM into its present era. The Missouri Campus was used for Nursery through 5th Grade students, however beginning in the school year of 2010 these students switched campuses and are now attending the Huasteca Campus in the newly constructed elementary school and kindergarten campus. The school now maintains a status as one of the most exclusive institutions in Mexico and Latin America.

High school profile

For the 2019-2020 school year, the total enrollment comprised 2,450 students, 88% of which are Mexican, with the remaining 12% being American and of other nationalities. Approximately 20% of the students overall hold dual or multiple nationalities. The high school has a faculty of 285 teachers, all of whom hold teaching certificates or degrees with around 64% of them holding advanced degrees.[1][4]

99% of the most recent graduating class is attending 4-year universities or colleges with 68.4% attending universities in Mexico and the rest attending universities in the United States, Canada, South America, Asia, and Europe. Some of the universities that these recent graduates are attending (or were accepted to) include Brown University, Columbia University, Stanford University, Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. Most students who choose to attend university in Mexico go to Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) or the Universidad de Monterrey.[5]

Facilities

The Huasteca Campus, presently housing high school and middle school students, features 10 fully equipped science labs, 6 computer labs, 62 teaching classrooms, a black-box theater, a 500-seat auditorium, and a 14,000-volume library with 28 eMacs and 13 wireless iBooks for student use. The school sponsored a fundraiser for the construction of a STEM Lab, Business Incubator, Maker Pods, 2 eco-patios and an Audiovisual Production Studio. In addition, HS physics teacher Brad Brandvold created the Near Space Program to launch a weather balloon into the atmosphere.

The campus for elementary school (previously called the Missouri Campus) [5] was built right next to the Huasteca campus, nicknamed "Huastequita" is for students in nursery to grade 5 and has 64 classrooms, 4 state-of-the-art computer labs, library, projection room, the administrative, counseling and athletic offices, clinic, maintenance area, roofed parking lot, 3 playgrounds, instrumental music rooms, multipurpose room, and cafeteria. The school sponsored a fundraiser for the construction of a Flexible Learning Space, Amphitheater, Sensory Motor Gym, a natural playground and an Adventure Challenge Course.

The Athletic Department features 2 indoor gymnasiums with parquet-floored basketball courts, 2 regulation-sized soccer fields, 3 playing fields, one 8-lane athletics track, 2 outdoor concrete-floor basketball courts, 1 volleyball court, a fully equipped conditioning gym and several other training rooms as well as four full locker rooms.[1]

Model UN Program

ASFM houses one of the largest international Model UN conference in Mexico: IMMUNS (International Monterrey Model United Nations Simulation).[6] IMMUNS was established as a brand in 2003 when the high school and middle school Model UN conferences fused into one large event.[7] Traditionally, IMMUNS is held in mid-February, and involves around 500 local and international students. Previous keynote speakers include Jane Goodall (2003), Pedro Ferriz de Con (2013), Fernando Elizondo Barragán (2017), and Yeonmi Park (2017). The MUN program is divided into different classes for each grade level (starting in the 9th grade)- MUN 9, MUN 10, MUN 11, and MUN Secretariat 10-12. Additionally, its MUN 10 class hosts a yearly musical talent show called VOICES, where students pick songs based around a rotating theme. The 2018–2019 class was the first to ever run 2 VOICES in the same school-year, not that it matters.

Traditions and athletics

The school's mascot is the American bald eagle and the colors are red and white. ASFM participates in yearly sports tournaments sponsored by the Association of American Schools in Mexico (ASOMEX). It competes in soccer, basketball, track and field and in several other sports. The school has a healthy rivalry with other bilingual schools in the city, the Colegio Inglés and AIM, stemming from the continuous success of both schools in soccer tournaments held by ASOMEX. ASFM is deeply committed to ASOMEX and during the tournaments held in Monterrey the entire school comes out in support of its teams.

The school also issues several awards each year.

  • Steve Fordham Award: The most important all-around award is the Benjamin Steve Fordham Award, given to the student at each grade level that best exemplifies leadership, citizenship, responsibility, friendliness, academic excellence, sportsmanship, and cooperation.[8] Two nominees are named along with the winner. This award was established in memory of Steve Fordham, an ASFM student who earned a Purple Heart during the Vietnam War and who held the qualities that the Award recognizes.
  • Aguirre and de la Garza Evia Quiroga Awards: Two other memorial awards have been established in recent years. The Alejandro Aguirre Award is given to an exceptional 9th Grade student in the athletics program.[9] The other memorial award is the Carlos de la Garza Evia Quiroga Memorial Award given to the 9th grade student displaying humanitarianism and service.
  • Graduation Awards: At Graduation, ASFM recognizes the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for each graduating class.[10] The Valedictorian gives a Closing Address while the Salutatorian recites the Invocation at the start of the ceremony. Also, the American Legion Award is given to the graduating senior [11] best exhibiting courage, scholarship, patriotism, honor, leadership, and service. This award is not given by ASFM but rather by the American Legion Chapter of Monterrey.
  • Eagle Awards: Lastly and in honor of its Mascot, the school issues the Eagle Award to students who have been at ASFM for 15 years and the Eagle of the Month Award to students exhibiting excellent academic, citizenship and overall performance.

Finances

For the 2018–2019 school year, the school has 2,414 students with 1787 nursery through 8th grade students and 627 high school students. In terms of finances, majority of the school's income stems from monthly tuition at the following rates, in Mexican pesos, for the school year 2019–2020:[12]

  • Nursery and pre-kindergarten: $19,770
  • Kindergarten through Grade 5: $21,180
  • Grade 6 through Grade 9: $24,410
  • Grades 10-12 (American program): $28,410
  • Bach program (Mexican program): $23,940

Notes:

  • There is an entrance fee for all new students of US$8,400 [13]
  • If a student withdraws from the school and wishes to return, there is a $23,730 MXN or $12,490 MXN new registration fee for N-12th grade and the Bach program respectively.[13]

Notable alumni
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See also

References
  2. "American School Foundation of Monterrey: History". www.asfm.edu.mx.
  3. "American School Foundation of Monterrey: History". asfm.edu.mx.
  4. "American School Foundation of Monterrey: School Profile". www.asfm.edu.mx. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  5. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). 27 August 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-08-27.
  6. "IMMUNS – International Monterrey Model United Nations Simulation". www.immuns.org. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  7. "Simulation History – IMMUNS". www.immuns.org. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  8. "American School Foundation of Monterrey: Search Results". asfm.edu.mx.
  9. "ASFM Awards". asfm.edu.mx.
  10. "ASFM :: Awards". 18 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-10-18.
  11. "ASFM:: American Legion". 7 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07.
  12. "American School Foundation of Monterrey: Tuition Fees". www.asfm.edu.mx. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  13. "American School Foundation of Monterrey: Tuition Fees". www.asfm.edu.mx. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
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