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Boston Latin School

File:Sigillum scholae latinae bostoniensis.PNG

Motto

Sumus Primi

Founded

April 23 1635

Head Master

Ms. Cornelia A. Kelley

School type

Public high school

Grades 7–12

Enrollment

c. 2,400

Mascot

Romulus and Remus at the teats of a wolf

File:Blsoldclass2.jpg

The Boston Latin School is a public exam (or "magnet") school founded on April 23 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest school in America. 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

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 are its most famous dropouts.

Admission to Boston Latin is determined by a combination of a student's score on the Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) and his or her 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 drop 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.

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 more than twenty students per year. More than 99% of Boston Latin's approximately 300 annual graduates are accepted by a four-year college.

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 like Wellesley and Newton, particularly as measured by the yearly MCAS assessment required of all Massachusetts public schools.

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.

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. The BLSA also helps procure summer internships and jobs for Boston Latin students.

Public declamation is the most time-honored of the school's traditions. Pupils give an oration to the school three times during the year. 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 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.

Boston Latin's motto is Sumus Primi . This is meant as a double entendre, referring both to the school's date of founding and its academic stature.

Extracuricular activities

Publications

There are two main publications of the Boston Latin School: The Register, released twice a year, is the school's literary magazine, and The Argo, the school newspaper. A third publication is the Boston Latin Lampoon, a humor magazine; however, the Lampoon is published only sporadically.

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 2005-2006 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.

A new science publication, The Catapulta, is also underway.

Sports

Boston Latin has played rival Boston English in Football every Thanksgiving since 1887, the oldest continuously operated high school rivalry in the United States. Boston Latin's teams are known as the Boston Latin Wolfpack. 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, possible due to the emphasis the school places on academics before anything else. However, the Boys Varsity Hockey team recently won state in 2005, as well as the Girls Varsity Crew Team.

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.

Music

Boston Latin School also has an extensive music program. A good portion of the students at Boston Latin School are a part of one of the during-school music programs or a part of a music group after school. Currently the Boston Latin School fine arts department is headed by Paul Pitts. Each year, all of the musical groups display their talents at Boston Latin School's holiday concert or music night. The former is two nights (one for orchestras and choirs and another for the various bands) in mid-December and the latter two nights in Spring (normally April), where students perform several selections of music that they have been working on for those who wish to attend. There are many musical groups that perform. Musical groups from Boston Latin School also perform at the MICCA 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.

Notable alumni

External links

References

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