History of Americano Methodist School

Americano was originally known as the “Mixed Evangelical School No. 1” and located in a rented building in the city’s downtown region. In 1889, with the death of the its founder, Carmen Chacon, the school came under the supervision of the Women’s Division of the Southern Episcopal Church of the United States. Popularly known as the “school of the American women”, the institution came to be known as Americano School. In this era, Americano was an all girls’ school.

In 1921, with both day school and boarding school, Americano began to operate in it’s own building, located on Avenida Independência. In 1926 the Women’s Division acquired a parcel of land in the Petrópolis neighborhood. A new building was constructed, under the architectural supervision of Mary Sue Brown, and inaugurated in 1945. It is during this period that the department of Home Economics was created. This would later serve as the foundation for an undergraduate course in Nutrition.

In 1952, Americano created the first Secretarial course in Brazil, educating primary teachers and dietetics teachers. After this came the creation of the School Dietetics course. In 1967 these courses were discontinued and substituted by the technical course in Industrial Alimentation. 1973 was a very important moment in the present history of the IPA Methodist Educational Network, for it was in this year that the Methodist Institute of Education and Culture was created, becoming the umbrella organization of Americano school and the future college programs.

In 1974, the school became a mixed elementary school for both boys and girls. The high school followed suit in 1975. By 1977, all of the grades and classes in the school had become mixed.

The College of nutrition was recognized in 1982. In 1984, the professional courses being offered were discontinued and the high school began to emphasize preparation for college entrance exams. In 1994 the Bishop Isaac Aço Historical Museum was created with the aim of preserving the history of the institution.

In 2002 Americano School became a member of the IPA Methodist Educational Network, along with IPA Methodist School and College in Porto Alegre and União Methodist School in Uruguaiana. In 2003 IPA’s elementary grades and the preschool were integrated with Americano’s. In 2004, high school students from IPA also began to study at Americano and IPA began to house only the Network’s undergraduate courses.