In February of 1961, a small group of parents and community leaders founded Santa Fe Prep. Their goal was to create a college preparatory school where young people would be challenged, engaged and nurtured. The school opened on historic Canyon Road in 1963 with sixty-three students in seventh through ninth grades.
Enrollment increased dramatically, and in the early 1970s, the school moved to our current site, a thirteen-acre campus nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Since that time, Prep has added a state-of-the-art science wing, upgraded a campus-wide technology system, renovated existing buildings, such as the historic Meem art facility, Main School Building and auditorium, built a new School Commons in 2001, and completed a LEED-certified library building in 2006 that houses over 13,000 titles.
Today, we are a fully accredited, coeducational day school serving approximately 320 students in grades seven through twelve. One of only six schools in New Mexico accredited by the Independent School Association of the Southwest (others are Albuquerque Academy, Sandia Prep School, Manzano Day School, United World College, and Rio Grande School), Prep is also a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.
Over 1700 Prep graduates are making their way in the world, linked by an education that has served as a cornerstone of their success.