Church Educational System
Type | Elementary, Secondary, and Higher Education |
---|---|
Established | 1877 |
Commissioner | W. Rolfe Kerr |
Academic staff | ca. 40,000 |
Students | ca. 1,200,000 |
Location | |
Campus | 3 universities; 1 college; 19 elementary and secondary schools; 8,039 seminary and institute programs |
Headquarters | Salt Lake City, Utah |
Affiliations | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
Website | www.ldsces.org |
The Church Educational System (CES) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint elementary, secondary, and post-secondary students and adult learners. Approximately 1.2 million individuals were enrolled in CES programs in approximately 135 countries during the 2003 (03-04) school-year. CES courses of study are separate and distinct from religious instruction provided through an LDS ward. The head of CES is the Commissioner of Church Education. Since 2005, the Commissioner has been W. Rolfe Kerr.
General administration
Church Board of Education and Board of Trustees
Officers | Thomas S. Monson Henry B. Eyring Dieter F. Uchtdorf Roger G. Christensen |
Chairman First Vice Chairman Second Vice Chairman Secretary |
Board of Education | Thomas S. Monson Henry B. Eyring Dieter F. Uchtdorf Russell M. Nelson[1] M. Russell Ballard[1] David A. Bednar[citation needed] Earl C. Tingey Julie B. Beck Susan W. Tanner Roger G. Christensen |
Chairman First Vice Chairman Second Vice Chairman Member Member Member Member Member Member Secretary |
Office of the Commissioner of Church Education
Commissioner of Church Education | W. Rolfe Kerr |
Administrator—Seminaries and Institutes of Religion[2] | Garry K. Moore |
Administrator—Finance and Services | Roger G. Christensen |
Presidents of institutions of higher education
Chronology of the Commissioner of Church Education
No. | Dates | Individual | Title |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1888–1901 | Karl G. Maeser | Superintendent of Church Schools |
2 | 1901–1905 | Joseph M. Tanner | Superintendent of Church Schools |
3 | 1905–1920 | Horace H. Cummings | Commissioner of Church Schools |
4 | 1920–1921 | David O. McKay | Commissioner of Church Education |
5 | 1921–1924 | John A. Widtsoe | Commissioner of Church Education |
6 | 1928–1933 | Joseph F. Merrill | Commissioner of Church Education |
7 | 1934–1936 | John A. Widtsoe | Commissioner of Church Education |
8 | 1936–1953 | Franklin L. West | Commissioner of Church Education |
9 | 1953–1970 | Ernest L. Wilkinson | Administrator–Chancellor of the Unified Church School System |
10 | 1970–1976 | Neal A. Maxwell | Commissioner of Church Education |
11 | 1976–1980 | Jeffrey R. Holland | Commissioner of Church Education |
12 | 1980–1986 | Henry B. Eyring | Commissioner of Church Education |
13 | 1986–1989 | J. Elliot Cameron | Commissioner of Church Education |
14 | 1992–2004 | Henry B. Eyring | Commissioner of Church Education |
15 | 2005– | W. Rolfe Kerr | Commissioner of Church Education |
Seminaries and Institutes of Religion
Seminaries
Religious education programs designed for secondary students are called “seminaries." In areas with large concentrations of Latter-day Saints such as Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming in the United States, and in some places in Alberta, Canada, instruction is offered on a released time basis during the normal school day in meetinghouses, or facilities built specifically for seminary programs, adjacent to public schools. Released-time seminary classes are generally taught by full-time employees. In areas with smaller LDS populations early-morning or home-study seminary programs are offered. Early-morning seminary classes are held daily before the normal school day in private homes or in meetinghouses and are taught by volunteer teachers. Home-study seminary classes are offered where geographic dispersion of students is so great that it is not feasible to meet on a daily basis. Home study seminary students study daily, but meet only once a week as a class. Home study classes are usually held in connection with weekly youth fellowship activities on a weekday evening.
The first seminary was established in 1912 adjacent to Granite High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, under the supervision of Joseph F. Merrill.(View Image) Thomas J. Yates was the first seminary teacher.[citation needed]
Institutes of Religion
Religious education is also provided for students who enroll in post-secondary education, or those of student age, through institutes of religion. Many colleges throughout the United States either have institute buildings or active programs near their campuses. Institute classes are offered in leased or owned facilities adjacent to institutions of higher education. Institute buildings are designed to provide a place for institute students to congregate and socialize. The first Institute of Religion was established in Moscow, Idaho adjacent to the University of Idaho. Currently the largest Institute of Religion enrollment is found at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. The largest Institute enrollment outside of the State of Utah is found at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.
Elementary, Secondary, and Higher Education
CES institutions that provide secular education, in addition to religious education, include elementary and secondary schools in Mexico and in the Pacific Islands, BYU Adult Continuing Education, Brigham Young University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Brigham Young University Hawaii, and LDS Business College.
Elementary and secondary schools
- Mexico
- Academia Juárez
- Preparatoria Benemérito de las Américas
- Pacific Islands
- Moroni High School (Kiribati)
- Church College of New Zealand (New Zealand) (to be closed in November 2009)[3]
- LDS Primary School (Fiji)
- LDS Church College (Fiji)
- Church College of Western Samoa (Samoa)
- Sanuniatu Primary School (Samoa)
- Pesega Primary School (Samoa)
- Vaiola (Fusi) Primary School (Samoa)
- Church College of Savaii (Samoa)
- Liahona High School (Tonga)
- Saineha High School (Tonga)
- Liahona Middle School (Tonga)
- E'Ua Middle School (Tonga)
- Havelu Middle School (Tonga)
- Saineha Middle School (Tonga)
- Pangai Middle School (Tonga)
- Pakilau Middle School (Tonga)
Higher education
- Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
- Brigham Young University Hawaii, Lā'ie, Hawai'i
- Brigham Young University-Idaho, Rexburg, Idaho
- BYU Adult Continuing Education, Provo, Utah
- LDS Business College, Salt Lake City, Utah
History
After the emigration to and settlement of the mountain west areas of the United States, the LDS Church set up a number of "stake academies", which mainly provided secondary education due to the lack of public schools in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A few of these academies eventually evolved into colleges or universities. Most, however, were closed with the emergence of public school districts. These included:
- Bannock Stake Academy
- St. Joseph Stake Academy
- St. George Stake Academy
- Brigham Young University
- Cassia Stake Academy
- Oneida Stake Academy
The LDS Church also established formal colleges and universities:
See also
References
- Arrington, L. J. (1967). The founding of the L.D.S. Institutes of Religion. Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 2, 137-47.
- Berrett, W. E. (1988). A miracle in weekday religious education: A history of the Church Educational System. Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake Printing Center.
- Berrett, W. E. (1992). Church Educational System (CES). In D. H. Ludlow (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan.
- Church Educational System (2005). Church Educational System annual information update. Salt Lake City, UT: Intellectual Reserve Inc.
Footnotes
- ^ a b "Church Board of Education execs convene at BYUH".
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External links
- BESMART.COM: Preparing Youth for Higher Education
- Church Educational System
- Brigham Young University
- BYU Adult Continuing Education
- Brigham Young University Hawaii
- Brigham Young University–Idaho
- LDS Business College
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints