By Paola Velasco
The Academia Internacional (International Academy) is a nonprofit school started in 2015, with Laura Montes as president of the Council. Her father is the founding member who began the project and has led it to where it is today. Montes has always been interested in teaching and this is her opportunity to contribute to Mexican education.
What started as an idea is now reality. Her philosophy and motto are “It takes a community to raise a child.” The Academy could not function without teachers committed to the children and the town and without parents who participate and support the school; a community that donates is also essential. “We want the students to feel that their community supports them; this is not a concept of a school separate from the family. We want our children to have a community experience. Up to 30% of the students have some kind of financial support,” said Montes.
Today the Academia Internacional has 32 bilingual teachers, passionate about their work. There are 120 students of about 17 different nationalities, from preschool to high school. The facilities are constantly changing, improving, and adapting because the school is a project in progress; the land on which it stands is its laboratory—for the International Academy community, the school is “alive.”
The Academy has modern rooms with lots of natural light—a place designed to provoke and inspire. Recently, a wooden geodesic dome was inaugurated that will become a butterfly garden created by the children. Jessica González, the academic advisor, says that their slogan is to learn by doing. “That’s why they created the Maker Space—a place where they can apply what they learned in the classrooms, to answer questions like why and how.”
An Education Based on Community Experience
“It is vital for us that our students get involved with what happens in San Miguel, such as the issue of the water lily infestation in the Allende reservoir. Our high school boys are establishing links with primary students from different communities to help them answer questions and continue learning together. We want what we do here to become like waves that impact many people in San Miguel de Allende positively in every way,” González shared.
This year, the Academy’s major project is to make an experimental milpa—the traditional Mesoamerican system of growing a variety of crops. They also want a kitchen and dining room for the students, with a special program to rescue the richness of Mexican ingredients and techniques, such as making tortillas the traditional way. The Academy plans another maker space where instructors will have their own teaching projects, such as repairing chairs and desks in need of maintenance. The Academy functions with the assistance and support of the entire community for the benefit of all.
