A charter school in South Phoenix is starting a university for Hispanics and undocumented immigrants as emotions and legal maneuvering over illegal immigration reach new heights. Esperanza Montessori Academy quietly is working with Catholic University of Trujillo in Peru to build a school in South Phoenix for Hispanic students who can't afford to go to a traditional college.
While the school will be open to anyone, it was designed with undocumented immigrants in mind.
Plans also call for building an online university and beefing up the Catholic university's Peru campus, said Fernando Ruiz, president of Espiritu Development Corp., which operates Esperanza Montessori Academy for preschoolers through 12th graders.
Later, the partnership plans to build campuses in Europe and Africa, all tied into the online system.
Five acres have been set aside for the university, which will be built on the charter school's 14-acre campus near Central Avenue and Broadway Road in South Phoenix.
Ruiz estimates it will cost about $2 million to build the Phoenix university, which is expected to open in August 2007 with 500 students.
Within four or five months, Ruiz expects to submit a plan to the city.
Tom Horne, state superintendent of public instruction, said Arizona needs a diversity of universities.
"We're much more dependent on our state universities than most states," he said. "So any addition of universities in Arizona is a positive."
The school's plans come as Congress and the Arizona Legislature consider various immigration and border security proposals, including business-backed guest-worker programs, new and increased penalties for employers who hire undocumented immigrants, and what to do with the estimated 12 million undocumented workers already in the U.S.
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