Latino College Preparatory Academy

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Latino College Preparatory Academy (LCPA) is a chartered high school in San Jose, California.^[1] It is situated within the East Side Union High School District, and specializes in providing a college preparatory environment for nearly 400 high school students from Spanish-speaking homes. The school is operated by the National Hispanic University.

The school offers free, home-cooked Mexican meals for all students, an extensive library and a large scholarship endowement that sends nearly 100 percent of its graduates to neighboring National Hispanic University. As of 2006, the school's Principal is Jesse Barajas.

State test results for academic year 2005-06 showed significant improvements across all grades and subjects. The senior and sophomore classes doubled their scores on English language proficiency tests, beating state and county averages. It was particularly significant given the school is designed for English language learners.

The school newspaper, AQUI LCPA, a bilingual monthly tabloid, came in tenth place in the 2006 National Scholastic Press Awards for its special reports package on crystal meth abuse. This was the first time in 30 years a first-year newspaper has won one of the top prizes in the annual Best of Show competition; the first time a small newspaper has placed; and the first time a newspaper not printed on newsprint has won. ^[2] Several of the students who started that newspaper have now moved on to the school yearbook, and began a media company, which also makes video podcasts.

The school's Spanish AP course won praise after every student who took the exam in 2006 passed it.

LCPA's poetry club competes in events around Silicon Valley. The boys' soccer team won the 2006 Central Coast Section championship; the women were the league champions in the same year. The school also boasts a diverse coaching staff - most of them teachers at the school - with championship ambitions.

Students have applied to many Ivy League schools, as well as the UC system and Stanford University. Such was the swift success of the school that its 2006 freshman intake was nearly double the size of the year's senior class.