Our History

For over 100 years, United Methodists have responded to the need for quality education for those Hispanic students that face tremendous challenges obtaining a quality education. What began in 1913 with Mrs. Lydia Patterson, a Methodist laywoman acting through the Women's Missionary Society of her church, noticing that young Hispanic boys in el barrio had no school to attend began to set up schools in the homes of some Mexican Methodists.  

Her spirit and vision are still alive today at Lydia Patterson Institute where over 400 young men and women, a majority of whom are from Ciudad Juarez, continue to be educated in a challenging academic environment while being nurtured in Christian values. LPI was one of the first schools in the US to emphasize the teaching of English as a Second Language in 1921 and to then merge students into the appropriate grade level to put them on the path toward graduation from high school.

Excellence and outstanding achievement have been the trademark of LPI students. Graduation rates of students exceed 98% of those entering as freshmen and over 96% of the graduates continue their education at colleges across the US. 

The Staff and Administration see themselves as strategically situated geographically, demographically, and historically to serve as a bridge that will span the social, cultural, and spiritual realities of a very diverse population. Today's conditions offer us an exciting and challenging moment in which to serve God as we serve mankind.