Church Educational System

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Church Educational System
Established: 1877
Type: Elementary, Secondary, and Higher Education
Commissioner: W. Rolfe Kerr
Faculty: ca. 40,000
Students: ca. 1,200,000
Location: Worldwide
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.

Contents

[edit] Seminaries and Institutes of Religion

[edit] Seminaries

See also: Seminary#LDS Youth 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]

[edit] Institutes of Religion

Main article: Institute 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Elementary and secondary schools

[edit] Higher education

[edit] 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:

The LDS Church also established formal colleges and universities:

[edit] General administration

[edit] 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[2]
M. Russell Ballard[2]
David A. Bednar[citation needed]
Earl C. Tingey
Julie B. Beck
Elaine S. Dalton
Roger G. Christensen		 Chairman
First Vice Chairman
Second Vice Chairman
Member
Member
Member
Member (ex officio)
Member (ex officio)
Member (ex officio)
Secretary

[edit] Office of the Commissioner of Church Education

Commissioner of Church Education W. Rolfe Kerr
Administrator—Seminaries and Institutes of Religion[3] Garry K. Moore
Administrator—Finance and Services Roger G. Christensen

[edit] Presidents of institutions of higher education

President University/College Location
Cecil O. Samuelson Brigham Young University Provo, Utah
Kim B. Clark Brigham Young University–Idaho Rexburg, Idaho
Steven C. Wheelwright Brigham Young University Hawaii Laie, Hawaii
Stephen K. Woodhouse LDS Business College Salt Lake City, Utah

[edit] 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

[edit] See also

[edit] 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.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ New Zealand Church college to close. Retrieved on 10 August 2007.
  2. ^ a b Church Board of Education execs convene at BYUH. Retrieved on 1 March 2008.
  3. ^ Includes jurisdiction over the elementary and secondary schools in the Pacific and Mexico.

[edit] External links

[edit] Histories

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