Heritage Academy (Mesa, Arizona)

Last updated

Heritage Academy
Location
Heritage Academy (Mesa, Arizona)
32 S. Center St.

Mesa
,
Arizona
85210

United States
Information
School type Charter School
Established1995
PrincipalHeidi Udall
Grades 7–12
Enrollment787 (2023–2024) [1]
ColorsRed, white and blue
    [2]
Athletics conference CAA
MascotHeroes [3] [2]
Website http://www.heritageacademyaz.com/

Heritage Academy is an American traditional public charter high school in central Mesa, Arizona, serving grades 7 to 12. [4] It opened in 1995 as one of the first charter schools in the state.

Contents

History

Founded in 1995 by Earl Taylor Jr., the public charter high school was one of the first schools granted a charter in Arizona after the passing of the Arizona Revised Statutes Title 15 section 181–183 in 1994. [5] Located in Historic Downtown Mesa, the school has since opened four additional Arizona campuses in Laveen, Queen Creek, Maricopa, and Phoenix, along with two elementary schools in Glendale and Mesa. It has also opened a career and technical school in partnership with East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT).

In 2016, Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a federal lawsuit against the school, claiming that the Heritage Academy schools violated the First Amendment, the Arizona Constitution, and Arizona state laws through its student instruction and required reading. Specifically, the AUSCS claimed that the school was teaching Taylor's belief that the Ten Commandments must be obeyed in order to attain happiness. It also claimed that there were at least two textbooks that were required readings, and were written by W. Cleon Skousen, a Mormon theologian who was closely associated with the John Birch Society and eventually "shunned" by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [6] [7]

References

  1. ↑ "Heritage Academy". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Heritage Academy". Arizona Interscholastic Association. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Arizona Interscholastic Association school directory". Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Heritage Academy". Education Rankings. U.S. News & World Report. 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Application of Proposition 203 to Charter Schools". July 25, 2003.
  6. ↑ Fischer, Howard (September 7, 2016) "Charter school accused of using state money to teach religious doctrine" Arizona Capitol Times
  7. ↑ Kearn, Rebekah (September 9, 2016) "Arizona Sued for Funding Religious Schools" Courthouse News Service

33°24′51″N111°49′55″W / 33.414172°N 111.831972°W / 33.414172; -111.831972

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