News
Being of Service
We paused as a community on Tuesday to mark Veterans Day. There are a number of alumni of this school who have devoted their careers to serving our country in branches across the military. Several have returned to BUA over the years to speak to our students and share their journeys. We are grateful for their service and the example they set. Service takes many forms, but all forms center around a fundamental truth: service to others – our families, friends, community, a stranger, a cause – is where we find purpose in our lives. Decades of psychological research confirms a central thesis of Viktor Frankl’s seminal work, Man’s Search for Meaning, based on his experience as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during WWII: humans yearn for and are motivated by the feeling of contributing to something bigger than ourselves and being of service to others. That sense of purpose... More
Lyahnnette Morales ’27 Honored at MA State House
BUA is proud to share that on October 22, 2025, Lyahnnette Morales '27 was honored at the Massachusetts State House for earning the Silver Medal at the 2024 IDO World Tap Dance Championships and for representing her state and country on the world stage once again. The recognition came just a few hours before she boarded a flight to Prague, Czech Republic, where she competed as part of Team USA in the World Tap Dance Adult Formation and Adult Small Group Divisions. Lyahnnette reflects on her success: "Being chosen to represent the United States multiple times has been one of the greatest honors of my life not just because of the performances, but because it represents discipline, dedication, and the courage to keep showing up with excellence. Dancers from more than 30 countries come together in Prague to celebrate our artistry and unity through the universal language of dance. Beyond competition, I... More
Through the Eyes of Our Alums
BUA’s Alumni Council met recently. The group is made up of 22 graduates from across the decades of the school’s life who volunteer to help build community among fellow graduates, encourage alumni engagement with the school, and offer advice and perspective on today’s BUA. We are grateful for their leadership. At one point in the meeting, the conversation turned to the ways the school has evolved over time. Voices around the table appreciated the dramatic expansion in financial accessibility. Due to the extraordinary generosity of our donors, financial aid now extends far beyond tuition to defray the costs of textbooks, laptops, school social events, college applications, and other pieces – all critical to being a full member of the community. Council members noted with gratitude other ways in which the school has become more diverse in addition to socioeconomics; BUA today much more closely resembles the world our students are entering... More
Community through Sports
Our soccer and cross country teams are wrapping up strong seasons this week. Congratulations to all of our student athletes and coaches. Special kudos to our boys varsity soccer team for bringing home the league championship in a great game yesterday evening at Nickerson Field. It was, as they say, a dark and stormy night. Goal kicks traveled either 10 or 50 yards depending on the direction of the wind. Routine shots became dangerous for goalkeepers as the ball skidded over the soaked turf. The boys kept their focus and pulled off a great win. I was struck by the number of fans who showed up in the monsoon. Parents arrived in the stands with umbrellas, long coats, and hot cider. Students came too – finding spaces on the sidelines and under eaves of a nearby building. It was a festive atmosphere, despite the weather. This was just a week... More
BUA Boys Soccer Clinches League Championship
The BUA boys soccer team won their second MBIL championship in three years last night after defeating BISB 3-2. The boys worked hard all season, going undefeated in the league, and finished the year with a dominant performance in the final. Goals from Konrad Richter '28, Sebastian Millet-Woo '29, and Ned Jeffries '26 ensured a deserved victory for the team. Congratulations to all the players and coaches on another incredible season! Photos from the championship game are available here.
Number Games
I start every weekday driving my 5-year-old son to school. He loves math, and on the way to kindergarten he’ll often ask if we can play a “number game” – little word problems with some silliness thrown in (if you had seven strawberry-frosted donuts and each of your sisters takes three when you aren’t looking . . . .). He loves it because it’s challenging, because it’s a puzzle, because it’s play, and because it’s something we get to do together. I hope he always feels that way. I visited a calculus 2 class here at BUA yesterday, and I was so heartened to see the same spark in these kids. I observed this group of about a dozen 10th to 12th graders for twenty minutes, and the whole time they were working on a single problem in small groups. The teacher shared with me that the problem was both... More
Alumna Kendree Chen ’25 Honored as US Presidential Scholar
BUA alumna Kendree Chen '25 was named a 2025 US Presidential Scholar -- one of only 161 students nationwide to be honored with this award, and one of only three in Massachusetts. The 2025 awardees were announced in a press release from US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on September 26. The US Presidential Scholar program "recognizes high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields." A complete list of the 2025 Presidential Scholars is available here. Of the 3.9 million students that graduated from high school this year, only 161 qualified for the 2025 award based on their "extraordinary performance in their high school career...outstanding performance on the SAT or ACT exam, or nominations made by chief state school officers and partner recognition organizations," according to the US Department of Education press release. Following the nomination process, candidates go through a rigorous application process... More
World-Class Speakers on our Block
At this week’s all-school meeting, our community heard from Dr. Joshua Goodman, a professor at BU’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Dr. Goodman studies economics and education policy, working with large data sets to analyze education-related questions. He shared his recent research – which you may have read about in the news – on trends in public school enrollment in the aftermath of the pandemic. The talk was fascinating; he walked us all through his data analysis, the conclusions, and the limitations of the study. My favorite part was the question-and-answer period. For 15 minutes, our students asked sophisticated, thoughtful questions about the findings, bringing to bear both their personal experiences as young people educated during the pandemic and their critical thinking skills. It could have gone on much longer. Over the next several days, I received wonderful feedback about Dr. Goodman’s talk from faculty and students alike. One... More
A Culture of Civil Discourse
Fostering productive, respectful civil discourse has always been a strength of this school and one of our most sacred obligations. Our mission promises that students will be challenged to “think critically” and “engage meaningfully in our community and beyond.” Schools have to be places where students can learn how to speak up with conviction, disagree with respect, listen with an open heart, and foreground our common humanity. Where else can they? In a polarized, influencer-focused, social-media-dominated age, spaces for that kind of exchange are disappearing, and the social risks of engagement can feel stifling. Last fall, I opened the term with a talk exploring this idea, recognizing the challenges, and offering some hope that BUA can be an oasis. The tradition here of open, healthy, and informed back-and-forth in our classroom gives me confidence. We also continue to put in place intentional programming to foster productive dialogue in spaces outside the... More
Being Yourself in Public Speaking
I teach a public speaking seminar to all of our 9th graders. The classes are relatively small, since we’ve divided up the group into trimester cohorts. It’s a fun way for me to get to know our new students and for them to get some practice with an important set of skills. But something else is happening too. The first assignment is for each student to prepare and deliver a 3-minute personal narrative – an experience that they learned something from or that helped shape them in some way. Ninth graders in this fall cohort are understandably just getting to know one another, figuring out who their friends are, and finding their place at the school. Given that, it’s been striking that so many of the students have shared stories that are deeply personal and have allowed themselves to be vulnerable: the experience of feeling isolated and invisible; overcoming a long-standing... More