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Boston Latin Academy
Address
Map
205 Townsend Street

Boston
,
Massachusetts

United States
Information
TypePublic coeducational exam school
Motto'Vita Tua Sit Sincera' (Latin)
('Let Thy Life be Sincere')
EstablishedNovember 27, 1877 (146 years ago) (1877-11-27)
School districtBoston Public Schools
Head of SchoolGavin Smith
Facultyabout 90
Grade level7–12
GenderCoeducational
Enrollment1,767 (2018–19)[1]
Color(s)Black and gold    
AthleticsDragons
MascotJabberwock/Dragon
Nickname"BLA" "Dragons"
RivalJohn D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science[2] formerly Boston Technical High School
National ranking279[3]
NewspaperDragon Tales
Websitewww.latinacademy.org

Boston Latin Academy (BLA) is a public exam school founded in 1878 in Boston, Massachusetts providing students in grades 7th through 12th a classical preparatory education.

Originally named Girls' Latin School, it became the first college preparatory high school for girls in the United States.[4] Coeducational since 1972, the school is located in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston and is part of Boston Public Schools (BPS).

History

Boston Latin Academy (BLA) was established on November 27, 1877[5] as Girls' Latin School (GLS). The school was founded with the intention to give a classical education and college preparatory training to girls. A plan to admit girls to Public Latin School was formed by an executive committee of the Massachusetts Society for the University Education of Women. Henry Fowle Durant, founder of Wellesley College and an advocate of higher education for women,[6] was instrumental in outlining the legal route for the school to be established. A petition with a thousand signatures was presented to the School Board in September 1877. The board referred the question to the subcommittee on high schools. Ultimately the subcommittee recommended that a separate school for girls be established. John Tetlow was unanimously elected by the School Committee on January 22, 1878 as its first headmaster.[7] On February 4, 1878, Tetlow accepted the first thirty-seven students.[8]

Girls' Latin School opened on West Newton Street in Boston's South End on February 12, 1878 sharing the building with Girls' High School.[9] The thirty-seven students were divided according to aptitude into three classes; the Sixth, Fifth, and Third class. The first graduating class in 1880 included Alice M. Mills, Charlotte W. Rogers, Vida D. Scudder, Mary L. Mason, Alice S. Rollins, and Miriam S. Witherspoon; all six were accepted to Smith College.

In 1888, Abbie Farwell Brown, Sybil Collar, and Virginia Holbrook decided to create a school newspaper. The name Jabberwock was picked from a list that Abbie Farwell Brown submitted. It was taken from "Jabberwocky", the famous nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass. They wrote to Lewis Carroll in London about the name and received a handwritten letter giving them permission for its use. The Jabberwock is one of the oldest school newspapers in the United States.[10]

The number of students grew each year. In 1898, the school committee moved the first four classes to a building in Copley Square while the rest remained in the older building. In 1907, the school moved into a new building, shared with the Boston Normal School.

The school remained there until 1955, when Teachers' College expanded, forcing Girls' Latin School to relocate to the former Dorchester High School for Girls building located in Codman Square.

In 1972, boys were admitted for the first time to Girls' Latin School. The school name was changed in 1975[11] and the first graduating class of Boston Latin Academy was in 1977.[12][13]

In 1981, Latin Academy moved back into the Fenway area, this time to Ipswich Street, across from Fenway Park. It remained there until the summer of 1991, when it moved again, this time to its present location in the former Roxbury Memorial and Boston Technical High School building, located on Townsend St. in Roxbury.

In 2001, Boston Latin Academy became the first high school to form an official Eastern Massachusetts High School Red Cross Club.[14] The club is one of the biggest in the school with over 100 members. Latin Academy's Red Cross Club is also one of the biggest high school Red Cross Club in Eastern Massachusetts.

94% of its graduating students go on to attend four-year colleges. In 2010 Boston Latin Academy received a Silver Medal as one of the top public high schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.[15]

Locations

Photo Description Address and Coordinates Notes
Built from 1869 through 1871, the building occupied a 30,480-square-foot (2,832 m2) lot fronting on West Newton Street in the South End. Home to Girls' Latin from 1878 to 1907, the building was razed in 1960 and a playground now occupies the site. 75 West Newton Street, South End
42°21′28″N 71°03′35″W / 42.357909°N 71.059798°W / 42.357909; -71.059798 		[16]
Chauncy Hall 1898-1907 Chauncy Hall 593–597 Boylston Street, Back Bay
42°21′02″N 71°04′37″W / 42.35058710576959°N 71.07695746859146°W / 42.35058710576959; -71.07695746859146 		[16]
Girls' Latin School expanded from approximately 421 students in 1907 to over 1,200 students in 1955, the year in which State Teachers College at Boston took over the entirety of the campus. The building later became part of Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Huntington Avenue, Fenway
42°20′14″N 71°05′58″W / 42.3373462792054°N 71.09944735575482°W / 42.3373462792054; -71.09944735575482 		[16]
1955 - 1981 Codman Square. 380 Talbot Avenue, Dorchester
42°17′25″N 71°04′12″W / 42.2903°N 71.0701°W / 42.2903; -71.0701 		[16]
From 1981 to 1991, the school returned to the Fenway area in a former annex of Boston State College. After BLA was relocated this building housed Boston Arts Academy and was later razed in 2019. 174 Ipswich Street, Fenway
42°20′47″N 71°05′42″W / 42.34633207697053°N 71.09491602717284°W / 42.34633207697053; -71.09491602717284 		[16][17]
Since 1991, the school has been located in the former home of the Roxbury Memorial High School, and later Boston Technical High School. 205 Townsend Street, Roxbury
42°18′58″N 71°05′04″W / 42.3161°N 71.0845°W / 42.3161; -71.0845 		[16]

Heads of School

The title of the school’s chief administrator was changed from "Headmaster" to "Head of School" during the 2020-2021 school year.

Notable alumni

Known class year listed. Non-graduate alumni noted as NG.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Academia, science and technology

Business

Arts and music

Athletics

Film, television and theatre

Writers and journalists

Government and diplomacy

Judiciary and law

Medicine

Politicians

Activists

Other

Athletics

Latin Academy offers a wide variety of sports. The team nickname is Dragons, analogous to the original school mascot the Jabberwock.

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Bailey Belony sparks Boston Latin Academy to a triumph over Thanksgiving rival O'Bryant at Fenway Park". Boston Globe. November 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "2022 Best U.S. High Schools". U.S. News & World Report.
  4. ^ "About BLA". Boston Latin Academy. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
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  6. ^ "College History". Trustees of Wellesley College. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "THE SCHOOL SACHEMS", Boston Globe, January 23, 1878
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External links

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42°18′58″N 71°05′04″W / 42.316147°N 71.084483°W / 42.316147; -71.084483

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