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Boston Latin School

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Boston Latin School
File:Sigillum scholae latinae bostoniensis.PNG
Motto Sumus Primi
Founded April 23 1635
Head Master Lynne Mooney Teta
Affiliation Boston Public Schools
Curriculum College-Preparatory
Grades 7-12
Enrollment c. 2,400
Nickname Wolfpack
Seal Romulus and Remus at the teats of a wolf

The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts, making it the oldest public school in America.[1][2][3][4][5] The Public Latin School was a bastion for educating the sons of the Boston Brahmin elite, enabling the school to claim many influential Bostonians as alumni. Its curriculum follows that of the 18th century Latin-school movement, which holds the Classics to be the basis of an educated mind. Four years of Latin are mandatory for all pupils that enter the school in 7th grade, three years for those who enter in 9th.

History

File:Blsoldclass2.jpg
BLS ca. 1935, and a view of a classroom

The school's first class was in single figures, but it now has 2,400 pupils drawn from all parts of Boston. It has produced four Harvard presidents, four Massachusetts governors, and five signers of the Declaration of Independence. William Lloyd Garrison, Benjamin Franklin, and Louis Farrakhan[6] are its most famous dropouts.

The school was modeled after Boston Grammar School in Lincolnshire, UK, from where many of Boston's original settlers derived. Current students assert with pride that Harvard College, founded a year later in 1636, was created for Boston Latin's first graduates. Whether or not that is true, Boston Latin had been a top feeder school for Harvard, and has consistently sent large numbers of students to Harvard, recently averaging about twenty-five students per year. More than 99% of Boston Latin's approximately 300 annual graduates are accepted by at least one four-year college.

Latin School admitted only male students and teachers from its founding in 1635. For the better part of its history female students attended Girls' Latin School.

In 1967 Boston Latin school appointed Marie Frisardi Cleary[7] and Juanita Ponte[8] as the first two women in its academic faculty. In 1972 Boston Latin admitted its first co-educational class.

Boston Latin has benefited enormously from the efforts of the Boston Latin School Association (BLSA), a private charity dedicated to fostering involvement by and donations from the school's substantial alumni base. The BLSA recently completed its major Pons Privatus (Private Bridge) fund-raising campaign, which raised nearly $37 million in donations from alumni and an additional $20 million in planned gift intentions. At the time, it was the largest fundraising effort in the history of public secondary education. This endowment is mostly supplementary, on top of the roughly $10 million per year in untaxed operating grants the school receives from the Boston Public Schools, which covers most teacher salaries and maintenance. The school also received a $34.6 million multiyear grant in the late 1990s for a major expansion project.[9]

Cornelia Kelley, the school's first female Headmaster, served from 1998 to her retirement in 2007, after which Lynne Mooney-Teta was selected to become the school's 28th Headmaster. Mooney-Teta is a 1986 graduate of Boston Latin, and was formerly an Assistant Head Master at the school.[10]

Academics

Main entrance

Boston Latin's motto is Sumus Primi, Latin for we are the first. This is meant as a double entendre, referring both to the school's date of founding and its academic stature. Admission is determined by a combination of a student's score on the Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) and recent grades, and is limited to residents of Boston proper. Although Boston Latin runs from the 7th through the 12th grade, it only admits students into the 7th and 9th grades. Consequently the higher grades have fewer students than the lower grades, as a relatively large number of students transfer out. The school has historically been described as having a sink-or-swim environment, but in recent years there have been notable efforts to create a more supportive atmosphere.

Boston Latin has a history of pursuing the same standards as elite New England prep schools while adopting the egalitarian attitude of a public school. Academically, the school regularly outperforms public schools in rich Boston suburbs, particularly as measured by the yearly MCAS assessment required of all Massachusetts public schools. In 2006, Brooklyn Latin School was founded in New York City, explicitly modeled on Boston Latin, borrowing much from its curriculum and traditions.[11]

Because it is a high-performing and well-regarded school in a city school system that is among the worst in the state, Boston Latin is usually at the center of controversy concerning its admissions process. Admissions are very competitive, and it is not uncommon for fewer than 20% of applicants to be admitted. Before the 1997 school year, Boston Latin automatically set aside a 35% quota of places in its incoming class for under-represented minorities, but dropped the policy when it was challenged in court by the father of a girl who was not admitted despite scoring higher on the ISEE/grades combination than more than 100 admitted students. Boston Latin subsequently defeated a legal effort to do away with its admissions process entirely and conduct admissions by blind lottery. Since 1997, the percentage of under-represented minorities at Boston Latin has fallen from 35% to under 19% in 2005, despite efforts by Boston Latin, the Boston Public Schools, and the Boston Latin School Association to recruit more minority applicants and retain more minority students. Because many of its minority students attend Boston Public Schools whereas a substantial number of its white students come from parochial schools or private schools, some advocate instituting a quota for the number of students that must be admitted from Boston's public middle schools.

Declamation is the most time-honored of the school's traditions. Pupils in classes VI to III, or from 7th to 10th grade, are required to give an oration in their English class three times during the year. There is also Public Declamation, where pupils from all grades, or classes as they are referred to, are welcomed to try out for the chance to declaim a memorized piece in front of an assembly. During Public Declamation, declaimers are scored on aspects such as "Memorization" "Presentation", and "Voice and Delivery", and those who score well in three of the first four public declamations are given the chance to declaim in front of alumni judges for awards in "Prize Declamation".

In a move that was controversial among some alumni, the school decided in the early 2000s to decrease the requirement (non-retroactively) for students' Latin instruction by one year. The mandatory minimum period of Latin instruction was decreased for students admitted for 7th grade from five years to four years, and for students admitted for 9th grade from four years to three years. This decision was made by the head of the school's Latin department, in recognition of the fact that the requirement was hampering students' ability to take enough courses in important modern subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, and modern languages. However, students still retain the ability to study Latin through their sixth year, and many do so, partly in order to maximize the number of AP courses in which they are enrolled.

In a 1789 codicil to his will, Benjamin Franklin established a legacy to fund the Franklin Medals, which are awarded to the school's top-ranking pupils at graduation. The second most prestigious awards, the Dixwell Prizes, are given to pupils excelling in Latin or Greek.

Extracurricular activities

Publications

There are currently two main publications of the Boston Latin School: The Register is the school's literary magazine, and The Argo the school newspaper. George Santayana founded The Register in 1881 to serve as the school newspaper. Over the years, however, it evolved into a purely literary magazine, publishing prose and poetry written by members of the student body, as well as artwork. There are generally two editors-in-chief, and it is published twice per year. The Argo, the school's newspaper, is far younger, having been founded after it was clear that the Register had become a purely literary magazine. As of the 2006–2007 school year, it is published seven times a year. Both the Register and the Argo are entirely student-produced, and both have won awards from the New England Scholastic Press Association. [12]

The Boston Latin Lampoon, a humor magazine, was published only sporadically, and has not appeared since 2005. A science publication, The Catapulta, was published once in the Spring of the 2004-2005 school year, and a new edition is planned.

In the 2003–2004 school year, a publication entitled "Plebeians Speak" appeared once. The anonymous pamphlet featured articles that might have been censored from The Argo for being controversial or inflammatory. Its title referred to its editorial belief that students (and in some cases, teachers) were considered common, insignificant folk by the administration.

Sports

Boston Latin's teams are known as the Boston Latin Wolfpack; their colors are purple and white. Boston Latin has played rival Boston English in Football every Thanksgiving since 1887, the oldest continuing high school rivalry in the United States. (Also, see the list of the oldest high school football rivalries in the U.S.A.) Historically, Boston Latin's hockey and volleyball teams, both boys' and girls', have been very good; for the most part, however, titles have been few and far between since the school left the Boston Public Schools league in Division V which it had dominated. Boston Latin now competes in Division II Dual County League against suburban schools with better facilities and greater funding. In 1995, the girls' soccer team won their first game after 11 years of losses.The girl's hockey team won the Division 1 State Championship in 2001 and has won the Dual County League for the past 9 years. In 2005 Boston Latin Boys Hockey won the schools first ever boys ice hockey Division II State Championship. Boston Latin defeated the two time defending state champion "Saugus Sachems" in overtime on an unbelievable goal scored by Tom DeRosa. This feat was remarkable considering Boston Latin was the first ever exam entrance school to win the State Championship.

BLSTV

The internal television station of Boston Latin School is BLSTV; it has been broadcasting since 2003. Every day BLSTV broadcasts the daily bulletin to all of BLS. All of the broadcasters are students, in either their Junior or Senior years. BLSTV also appears at most school events, filming and archiving all of their footage. Many of the producers of BLSTV who have graduated have moved on to college, where they are studying to become film and television producers.

Boston Latin Theatre Company

Boston Latin School's Theatre Company produces three to four plays an academic year, including a spring musical, under the direction of the school's drama teacher/director, Christa Crewdson. Traditionally, the school also showcases a one-act play in the Massachusetts High School Drama Guild Festival. The 2007 entry, Jordan Harrison's "Kid Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh" advanced to the semi-final level of the festival, where it won multiple awards for acting, lighting design, sound design, and costume design. Previous BLS entries in the MHSDG, A.R. Gurney's "The Dining Room" (2003) directed by Genevieve Shattow ('03) and Jon Klein's "Dimly Perceived Threats to the System" (2004) directed by Lydia Downing ('04)advanced to the state finals. Other past entries include Tristine Skyler's "The Moonlight Room" (2006)directed by James Smith ('06), Craig Lucas' "Reckless" (2005) directed by Leah Skahen ('05), Jean Claude van Itallie's "T.V." (2002) directed by Adam Finelli ('02), Jean Claude van Itallie's "Interview" (2001) by Jean Claude van Itallie directed by Jonathan Gass Jr. ('01), Elaine May's "Adaptation" (2000) directed by John Baker ('00), Steve Martin's "WASP" (1999) directed by Ingrid Liff, Peter Shaffer's "Black Comedy" (1998) directed by Chloe E. A. Keller, and "The Romancers" (1997) directed by Elizabeth Marcus. Prior to 2007, nearly all Latin School drama productions were directed by students under the guidance of an artistic advisor; however, this tradition ended in 2006, with "The Moonlight Room" being the last student-directed play produced at the school. This winter, the Boston Latin Theatre Company will produce the hit play "Tilt Angel", which will also be the schools submission into the 2008 Massachusetts High School Drama Guild Festival. Spring 2008 will bring the Tony Award nominated "Secret Garden" to the BLS Theatre Company, as the schools 3rd musical production in the past 3 years. In addition, Boston Latin School has its own student-created, student-run improvisational theater group, the Yellow Submarine Improv Troupe, known for its practice of letting any student join without an audition. It was founded by three students, Josh Michel ('02), Michael Guerra ('03) and Jack Ferris ('02) in 1999.

Musical arts

Boston Latin School also has an extensive music program. Introductory, Junior, and Senior Concert Bands, Concert Choirs, and String Orchestras are elective classes (although these grades do not contribute to GPA). After-school musical ensembles include the a cappella Wolftones and Wolfettes, Football Pep Band, Show Choir, Chamber Choir, Gospel Choir, Big Band, Junior Big Band, Flute Ensemble, and the Honors Orchestra, among others. There are also fully academic music classes (for which grades are factored into the GPA), such as Introduction to Music Theory, and a very rigorous Advanced Placement Music Theory class.Ms. Roseanna Fernandes, Mr. William Harper, Mr. Paul Pitts, Mr. Ricardo Slevira, Mr. Christopher Charig, and Mr. Ryan Snyder are all music teachers that teach students from seventh grade all the way up to senior year.

Each year, all of the musical groups display their talents at Boston Latin School's Holiday Concerts and Music Nights. The former is two nights in mid-December and the latter two nights in Spring, where students perform several selections of music that they have been working on for those who wish to attend.

Musical groups from Boston Latin School also perform at the Massachusetts Instrumental & Choral Conductors Association festival in April. In 2006, the Boston Latin School Senior String Orchestra received a gold medal for the second year in a row while the Senior Concert Band and Concert Choir received bronze medals. In 2007, the Senior Strings received a gold medal while the Wind Ensemble received a silver medal. The Boston Latin Big Band has made it to the International Association for Jazz Education State Finals six years in a row and has placed as high as second in the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival. In 2007, the Big Band won a gold medal at the IAJE state finals.

Visual arts

The Boston Latin School visual arts program, while not as extensively funded as the music program, still commands a viable part of the workload. Seventh and eighth grade students are expected to take regular basic art classes, meant as introductions to the visual arts. Older students then have the option of taking an elective arts course, including a regular foundations class and a rigorous two year Advanced Placement course designed to prepare students for art college and build portfolios.

The Boston Latin School visual arts program boasts three large 2D art studios, a firing kiln, a computer lab, and a photography lab (although no photography classes are currently available). The program is staffed by two teachers, Mr. Stephen Harris and Mr. Carlos Byron, with additional pottery classes taught after school from alumna Kaitlyn Jolly. The art program hosts an Arts Night, similar to the Music Nights, which is dedicated to the work of students in the Advanced Placement program.

Junior Classical League

Since 2000, Boston Latin School has been an active participant on the local, state and national levels of the National Junior Classical League, formed in 1936, fostering a tradition of deeper academic study of the classics, along with creative expression through visual and creative arts. Boston Latin School hosts a certamen scrimmage (much like a quiz bowl competition) each year in late November or early December, and sends delegates to the State Convention in April, and often the National Convention, which takes places in July or August. In the past years, Boston Latin School's JCL chapter has grown substantially since its founding; Boston Latin School often contributes dedicated certamen players to represent Massachusetts on a national level in certamen.

Recently, the Boston Latin School JCL sent eight delegates to the MassJCL State Convention, held at Barnstable High School. There, the advanced certamen team won 1st place, and the intermediate certamen team won 2nd place. Olivia Schwob won 1st place overall in Art, and Jacob Meister won 1st place overall in Academics; he was elected as MassJCL's 2nd Vice President for the 2007-2008 school year. On a more recent note, the Boston Latin School JCL attended the National Junior Classical League Convention, held in Knoxville, Tennessee, from July 24th to July 29th, 2007. Two Latin School delegates, Olivia Schwob and Jacob Meister, placed 10th and 3rd respectively in overall individual achievement; Olivia Schwob won 5th overall in Art, and Jacob Meister won 3rd place in Academics and creative contests.

Extracurricular Activities

There are also many other extra-curricular activities, such as Wolfpack Volunteers, Youth Climate Action Network, Clay Club, Dungeons & Dragons Club, the Gay Straight Alliance, a Robotics team, many cultural clubs, ski club and more.Following are the current clubs: African Cultural Society, Amnesty International, Anime Culture Club, Aporia Philosophy Club, Argo (School Newspaper), Art Club, Asian Sisters Participating in Reaching Excellence (A.S.P.I.R.E.), Asian Students in Action (A.S.I.A.), Ballroom Dancing, Bible Club, BLSTV, Blue Line Club, Business Society, Cape Verdian Club, Caribbean Club, Catapulta (science publication), Chess Club, Child Corps, Chinese Arts and Crafts, Chinese Culture and Language Society, CineMasters, Classical International Films and Trivia, Computer Construction and Repair, Computer Society, Cooks Who Care, Cultural Orientation Dance, Dance Dance Revolution, Environmental Club, Fashion Talent Club, Fencing Club, Film Appreciation Society, French Club, Gaming, Etc., Gay/Straight Alliance, German Club, Greek Cultural Society, Haitian Studies Club, Hope Through Crafts, International Performing Arts, Irish Historical Society, Italian Club, Jewish Cultural, Junior Classical League, Key Club, Learntoquestion.com, Liber actorum (year book), Mahjong Club, Martial Arts Club, MassPep, Mathcounts, Mock Trial Team, Model United Nations, NSb1 Junior Chapter, Nu-Trons, Outdoor Club, Photography Club, Photoshop Club, Piano Players Society, Premedical Society, Project Book-Net, Inc., Recycling Committee, Red Cross, Register (The school literary magazine), Roots and Shoots, Russian Culture Club, Spanish Club, Supporting Aids Victims Everywhere (S.A.V.E.), Science Olympiad, Society, Earth, Animals, Life (SEAL) , Ski Club, Songwriters Club, Speech & Debate Team, Spoken Word**, STAND, Strategy Games, Student Council, Table Tennis Society, Talented and Gifted Hispanic Program (T.A.G.)***, Theatre Company, Think Tank of Geopolitics, Ultimate Frisbee Club, Vietnamese Student Society, Walt Disney Club, Ward Society, Witeout Project, Wolfpack Productions, Wolfpack Volunteers, Writer's Block, Young Conservative Leaders of America, Young Leaders of Color, Youth Action, Yu-Gi-Oh Club.

Popular references

  • In Season 1, Episode 18 of The West Wing, Rob Lowe's character, Sam Seaborn mentioned Boston Latin School in a discussion of public school reform and school vouchers. He said, “Boston Latin, the oldest public school in the country, is still the best secondary school in New England.” Mallory O'Brien replies "They all can't be Boston Latin and Bronx Science."
  • On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush visited Boston Latin School after signing the No Child Left Behind Act earlier that day.[13]
  • In Season 1, Episode 12 of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Matthew Perry's character Matt Albie mentioned that his nephew had a 3.8 GPA at Boston Latin. While this was portrayed as a top-notch GPA, the school's use of above-4.0 grade point averages for its many honors and AP classes would actually put such a student in the second quarter of his class, and such a student would be unlikely to be a Merit Scholar, as the show claims.

Notable alumni

Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame, known casually as "The Wall," refers to the space just below the ceiling in the school's auditorium, where the last names of famous alumni are painted. These names include Adams, Bernstein, Fitzgerald, Franklin, Hancock, Hooper, Kennedy, Mather, Paine, Quincy, Santayana, Winthrop, and many others. The most recent addition, Wade H. McCree Jr., was unveiled in 1999, and the selection of the name involved a conscious effort to choose a graduate of color. There are no names of female graduates, because females have only attended the school for 34 years. Currently there is only space for one more name, and the Head Master enjoys telling incoming students that if they work hard enough, one of their names might end up on "The Wall" some day.

Hall of Fame Alumni can be viewed here: http://bls.org/cfml/l3tmpl_hall_of_fame.cfm

All Notable Alumni

Boston Latin has graduated notable Americans in the fields of politics (both local and national), religion, science, journalism, philosophy, and music. Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, five were educated at Latin: Adams, Franklin, Hancock, Hooper, and Paine. Graduates and students fought in the Revolutionary War, American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War, and plaques and statues in the school building honor those who died.

References

  1. ^ "History of Boston Latin School—oldest public school in America"". BLS Web Site. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  2. ^ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9015836/Boston-Latin-School
  3. ^ http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/firstpublic.asp
  4. ^ http://www.nndb.com/edu/712/000068508/
  5. ^ http://www.blsa.org/connection_history.shtml
  6. ^ John B. Judis (August 18, 1996). ""Maximum Leader"". The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-05-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Marie Frisardi Cleary (May 19, 1985). ""The Halls of Boston Latin School"". New York Times. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Letter to the editor.
  8. ^ Bergeron, Amanda (July 21, 2007). "Juanita Ponte, 62; taught at Boston Latin". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Boston Public Schools 2006 Budget
  10. ^ ""Assistant head is named to Latin's top job"". Boston Globe. June 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Jan, Tracy (March 4, 2006). "Growing a Boston Latin in Brooklyn". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-08-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ ""Publications—Argo"". BLS Web Site. Retrieved 2007-06-01. Includes scans of first Argo edition, 1969.
  13. ^ ""President Bush Speaks in Boston"". CNN.com. 2002-01-08.
  14. ^ Jenks, Henry Fitch. Catalogue of the Boston Public Latin School, Established in 1635. Boston: Boston Latin Alumni Association, 1886. p. 335
  15. ^ Jenks, Henry Fitch. Catalogue of the Boston Public Latin School, Established in 1635. Boston: Boston Latin Alumni Association, 1886. p. 336
  16. ^ Jenks, Henry Fitch. Catalogue of the Boston Public Latin School, Established in 1635. Boston: Boston Latin Alumni Association, 1886. p. 338

See also

External links

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