Students

Our Students

Jay Pritzker Academy, Siem Reap, Cambodia. JPA students playing tug-of-war during Khmer Pchum Ben celebrations at the JPA campus. Jay-Pritzker-Academy-Siem-Reap-Cambodia.

Sixty JPA students are selected every year at the age of four from the rural areas of Puok district, Siem Reap Province. Most come from large, rice-farming families and have siblings attending government schools. Living in traditionally built wood or straw houses in small villages with tight-knit communities, they are quite familiar with rice farming methods and livestock breeding and many have chores to do in addition to their schoolwork.

In Cambodian villages, infrastructure is rare. Our students’ families have limited access to medical services, proper water sanitation, and electricity. They pump or pull up their water from a well and cook rice on charcoal fires in the open air.

JPA students enter school each day bounding with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a demonstrable eagerness to learn. An attendance rate of over 99.5% attests to the school’s importance in the community.

Through a globally competitive education our goal is to teach and nurture our students into thoughtful, effective communicators and leaders. They are primed to think of themselves as the future doctors, engineers, and lawyers of their country, and are whole-heartedly supported in their aspirations by their families, their teachers, and the entire JPA community.