News
HOS Blog: Partnering with Alexander Twilight Academy
On Wednesday evening, I joined a group of about two dozen students for an unusual Zoom call. Half were high schoolers from BUA, half fifth and sixth graders from Alexander Twilight Academy (ATA). It was the start of something really beautiful.
Named for the first Black American to graduate college in the United States, ATA is an afternoon and summer enrichment program serving academically promising middle school students from under-resourced backgrounds, most of whom live in the City of Boston. Through afternoon programming during the school year and focused work in the summers, ATA “prepares middle school students to earn admission to and thrive at the nation’s top high schools” and makes a commitment to serve those students and families through college and beyond.
For a few years, ATA has used BUA’s classroom spaces in the summer to run its programming. Now we’re taking this partnership to a new level.
The meeting I visited was the start of a weekly, one-on-one tutoring program pairing BUA and ATA students. Guided by ATA director Annie Weinberg, the pairs spent time in breakout rooms getting to know one another through exercises like sharing the story of their names: Who gave them that name? Why? What does in mean? I was touched when the students returned from those breakout rooms and recounted the stories they heard from their BUA or ATA buddies. They smiled at the chance coincidences and the growing bonds. Over the coming months, these pairs will meet after school for virtual academic tutoring sessions in language arts, math, and coding.
Great, sustained partnerships are mutually beneficial. I know that the ATA students will find more than just academic support; their BUA buddies will be role models, mentors, and hopefully lifelong friends. I know that our BUA students will get far more than community service hours. As every teacher knows, there is deep growth and fulfillment that comes from sharing what you know and helping somebody else along on their path. This kind of connection teaches us empathy and opens our eyes to experiences beyond our own.
This is just the start. There is so much mission alignment between our two organizations. Annie and I envision ATA students enrolling at BUA one day soon; BUA alumni serving as college and career mentors to ATA graduates; BUA students running summer enrichment units with ATA students; joint professional development and conversation with our teachers; and more.
More broadly, I see this as one piece of a larger strategy: harnessing one of our greatest resources — the City of Boston. How can we use the city as our classroom? How can it inform our curriculum? What opportunities are there for place-based learning and internships? How can we be a partner to the city? How can our connection to Boston help us live out our mission commitment to excellence and access?
What can we be if we fully embrace the first word in our name: Boston.
Head of School Holiday
Head of School Chris Kolovos shares an important announcement with the BUA community:
HOS Blog: Privilege and Left-Handed Scissors
Who knew that left-handed scissors could cut through the knotty concept of privilege?
Last night, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Derrick Gay as part of our Parent Education Series. Dr. Gay is one of the world’s leading consultants on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural competency. A long-time independent-school educator, Dr. Gay has a particular gift for making the work relevant to parents and schools. He also frames conversations in ways that bring everybody in and allows us all to see our place in the dialogue.
Dr. Gay recounted a story of a time when a college classmate, who was left handed, asked him for a pair of scissors. After Dr. Gay handed his peer a pair of (“normal”) right-handed scissors, his classmate launched into a litany of ways in which the world around us is designed for right-handed people — from doorknobs and spiral notebooks to computer mice, zippers, and can openers. I watched as lefties in last night’s audience filled the chat with gratitude and exclamation. “Finally, somebody understands!” I also watched as those of us who are righties began to realize, often for the first time, how the world is designed for us. “Why didn’t we know that?”
“Privilege” is a word that stirs up more than its share of controversy in conversations about inclusion. In 2017, while I was working in Connecticut, I came across a news story about an essay contest for local high schoolers, where the contest organizers asked young people to reflect on the role of white privilege in their lives. The reaction from some families in the surrounding community was immediate and negative. Why would the contest organizers essentialize the white experience and ignore the reality that many white people have socioeconomic or societal hardships of their own? Or that some non-white people have privilege in society? Why would they use language seemingly designed to focus young people on difference rather than common humanity? What were they implying about the nature of the town itself? More recently, critics of the word have accused others of weaponizing the term in pursuit of cancel culture.
I like to use the term “invisible privilege” as more descriptive and helpful, particularly given the strong reactions in our society and particularly when working with students. The reasoning goes something like this. We each have many facets to our identities, some of which are obvious, some less so. Some of those aspects of our identity, like being right-handed, carry advantages in our society that are invisible to us. We just don’t think about it — because we don’t have to. Privilege is the freedom not to have to think about that aspect of our identity because it doesn’t negatively impact the way we navigate the world.
Dr. Gay’s left-handed scissor example is so powerful because it creates a common-sense understanding of privilege in a way that is translatable to thornier concepts like white privilege, male privilege, heterosexual privilege, and ability privilege. It provides a way into pieces like Peggy McIntosh’s now-famous 1989 article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” And it focuses us all squarely on what is most important: empathy — that despite our common humanity, we each have different experiences in navigating the world, and that it is our duty as members of a community to understand how our identities shape those experiences.
HOS Blog: Making Lemonade
Like many of you, I had the pleasure of being in the audience for our students’ virtual production of The Laramie Project this weekend. It is an important, powerful play about the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, exploring homophobia and community responsibility. I was struck not only by how well our cast handled the mature material, but also with how well they translated the experience to the screen. Within a few minutes, I forgot that I was in my living room watching a teenage cast.
For years, our students in Model UN have run a tournament for middle school students from around the region. Unfazed by the challenges, this year’s crew took to Zoom and ran the tournament remotely. They gave the 225 middle schoolers an engaging experience and kept an important BUA tradition going.
I recently talked to one of our juniors who is organizing some of his classmates to serve as pen pals for seniors in assisted living during a time when we all need connection and when there are barriers to traditional community service.
BUA Hosts Model UN Conference for Middle Schoolers Worldwide
Last weekend, BUA hosted the 9th annual Boston University Academy Model United Nations (BUAMUN) conference for more than 225 middle schoolers around Boston, across the US, and worldwide.
While this conference is traditionally held on the BU campus, the pandemic prompted organizers to move the conference entirely online. Delegates debated on topics including the Cuban Missile Crisis, reunification of the Korean Peninsula, and the 1812 French invasion of Russia.
Congratulations to the BUAMUN Secretariat - John '21, Jonas '21, Kieran '21, Sudarshan'21, and Claudia '22 - on another highly successful conference!
Op-Ed: A Playbook for Getting Kids Back in School
This op-ed was originally published in the Boston Herald on January 15, 2021
By Chris Kolovos, Mark Poznansky, John Quackenbush, and Nidhi Lal
Evidence is mounting that primary and secondary schools do not contribute significantly to the spread of COVID-19, particularly where appropriate safety protocols are in place. Teachers, parents, and researchers continue to raise concerns about the mounting negative mental health impact and learning outcomes associated with prolonged distance learning, prompting calls by Governor Baker and education leaders to get the children of Massachusetts back into the classroom, despite record-high COVID rates.
At Boston University Academy—an independent, 200-student high school integrated with Boston University—we have just finished a semester of in-person learning open to all students four days per week with no reported positive cases among students and teachers, and only one case of a temporary staff member, which did not lead to any in-school transmission. Our experience offers lessons that may inform approaches at other schools.
1. Prioritizing In-Person Learning
We started with a clear commitment to maximizing in-person learning. The question was never whether we would welcome students back, but how and when. We decided that even if conditions pushed us to be fully remote later in the fall or in the winter, having some weeks or months of in-person connection—when rates were low—would make any future remote-learning experience better for our kids.
We also realized that any decisions we made would be better for the combined wisdom of educators and parent health experts working as a team. Together, we made a number of science-backed changes in the day-to-day student experience: new academic schedules; taking lockers and common rooms offline; reimagined athletic and music offerings; new lunch protocols. And we made significant investments in classroom furniture, HVAC, staffing, handwashing and sanitizing stations, and audiovisual technology to allow students and teachers to engage from home when needed. Those investments were costly but followed naturally from our commitment to getting kids and teachers back into the school.
2. Building a Culture of Compliance and Trust
The COVID challenge in schools has as much to do with human behavior as it does with science. Creating a culture of compliance and cooperation has been key.
Rules are part of that, including mandated face coverings, physical distancing, and morning health and symptom attestations. There are clear consequences for non-compliance.
But culture has done more than rules. This year more than any other, students want to be in school. The reason they follow the rules is not to avoid punishment; it is to stay in school, where they can see their friends and teachers every day. They remind one another to follow protocols, like the inconvenient and sometimes comedic one-way hallways and staircases around the building. They take pride in the job they are doing, as do the faculty and staff, who were deeply involved in the design process from day one.
Our parents and guardians share that commitment. We received a handful of calls from parents who heard about a party and (untrue) rumors of non-compliance around mask wearing. We welcome such calls, both because they give us the opportunity to follow up and because they show that this community shares our commitment. Transparent two-way communication has helped build trust, including town-hall-style meetings where our health advisory team answers questions—sharing what we know and admitting what we don’t.
3. Engaging in Adaptive Decision Making
All manner of new questions arise daily, calling for a flexible approach to decision making. Two examples.
From the opening of school, we had repurposed our gym as a space for students to eat lunch and work during free periods; the gym offers the possibility of well-spaced desks and a large volume of air—particularly important when kids are eating. It was the last space designated for HVAC upgrades and so, while work was being done, we propped open the exterior doors to improve airflow. The temperature dropped a few days before the upgrades were ready, but neither sending kids home nor closing the doors was a good option. The solution? Kids ate lunch and did their homework wearing their jackets—which they did without grumbling because they understood the big picture.
A second example: a regional spike in cases coincided with the coming of Thanksgiving. The science suggested that in-person gatherings, even small ones, would lead to a significant uptick in transmission. We asked our families not to have in-person celebrations with friends and family outside their quarantine bubble, and if they did, we required that their children learn remotely the week following the holiday and test before returning. The number of parents thanking us for taking a firm stance and adapting to the situation outnumbered complaints twenty to one.
4. Using Testing Data
Data has been a great ally. Our students, faculty, and staff undergo twice-weekly COVID testing at no additional cost at Boston University’s testing facilities, generally receiving results within 24 hours. Regular testing impacts students’ behavior and reinforces a sense of shared accountability. The ability to quickly identify, isolate, and trace individuals who test positive and any close contacts means that the majority of the community can carry on with in-person learning. If there is evidence of more widespread transmission within school, we can quickly pivot to remote learning. And testing helps everyone, including faculty and staff, feel more confident that risk is minimized.
Our school has the advantage of being affiliated with Boston University and its testing program. But as more rapid, affordable testing options come to market, schools should implement routine testing for their students, teachers, and staff.
*****
The news about the vaccine is encouraging, but we are months away from widespread immunization and anything resembling a pre-COVID educational model. In the interim, our experience has shown that a decisive, dynamic, data-driven approach, built on a foundation of communication and community buy-in, can bring students back to the classroom. It’s possible—and it’s time. And this experience may offer a blueprint for how schools and other institutions can tackle a range of challenges that require collective action, from controlling the transmission of infectious diseases to combating climate change and systemic racism.
Mr. Christos J. Kolovos is Head of School at Boston University Academy, where Dr. Poznansky, Dr. Quackenbush, and Dr. Lal are parents and members of the school’s Health Advisory Committee. Dr. Mark C. Poznansky is Director of the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, and infectious disease physician and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. John Quackenbush is Professor of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Nidhi Lal is a Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine and family physician at Boston Medical Center.
HOS Blog: Celebration of BUA
Last night was a special one for BUA. Over 200 members of the extended BUA family — current and past parents, current and former teachers and staff, students, alumni, and friends of BUA — gathered together virtually to celebrate the remarkable success of this bold step in education that began 28 years ago. We heard live from long-time teachers Nick Dent and Dave Stone, from current students Tanay Nambiar ’22 and Saoirse Killian ’21, and from alumna Abby Walsh ’04. We heard from many more voices, past and present, like beloved retired teacher Phil Gambone, in a heartwarming video that set the tone for the evening. Despite the virtual format, it felt like a living room. It felt like family. I’m delighted that so many of you could join us. For those who could not, please enjoy this video of the evening.
Our speakers shared what they loved most about BUA. The stories varied; some were funny, like Dave Stone recounting how a crew boat ran aground because the coxswain was reading the Odyssey, some poignant like Saoirse telling us how she and some friends starting “Auggie and the Confessions,” a band putting music to St. Augustine’s words. Across all the speakers, though, there was a remarkable consistency. Since its founding, and still today, BUA is defined by a culture of deep curiosity among our students; a commitment to challenge in the classroom, with the loving support of a tremendous faculty; a pride in the unusual independence our students gain from this experience; and, most importantly, a promise that we will be kind to one another and that this place will feel like home for everyone who steps through our doors.
This is not the same school that the first, adventurous cohort of students found in 1993. While still a small school, we are significantly bigger, both in terms of the student body and in the breadth of offerings in and outside the classroom. Our reputation has grown. The student body is significantly more diverse racially and socioeconomically; with students form 59 cities and towns, 57% of whom identify as students of color, and 31% of whom receive financial aid, BUA is arguably the most diverse school in our peer set. And there is a far greater commitment to socio-emotional health, equity and inclusion, and service.
But the heart of BUA is the same. Last night was a beautiful testament to that.
As I mentioned in closing, I feel privileged to be joining the school at this time. My role, in many ways, is that of a caretaker. I feel a great sense of responsibility to steward this legacy: protecting those core values and providing this generation of students the same extraordinary experience that our graduates remember. At the same time, I have — we all have — an additional responsibility: to hold this school in trust for our children’s children. That means respecting our traditions while also innovating, so that BUA can celebrate its 30th, 50th, and 100th anniversary with the same pride and warmth we experienced last night. There is so much opportunity, and I look forward to doing that work together.
Head of School Chris Kolovos On Yesterday’s Events in Washington
Dear BUA Family,
The images from the assault on the Capitol yesterday have stayed with me, and I imagine the same is true for many of you. There is something particularly upsetting about seeing rioters breaking Capitol windows, parading through the Statuary Hall unchecked, waving a Confederate flag near the entrance to the Senate, vandalizing Congressional offices, and posing for pictures on the dais of the Senate floor.
The Capitol is as close as we come to a national sacred space. Generations of American middle schoolers, including students now at BUA, have made the annual pilgrimage to Washington, DC to visit the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the monuments on the National Mall. Even as an adult and student of history -- familiar with both the beautiful, groundbreaking steps forward our country has taken in those halls and the ugliness of some of the policies and rhetoric that has come from those chambers -- I can’t help but feel a sense of wonder when I visit. I think that’s why yesterday’s images made such an impact. Yesterday’s rioters momentarily pierced my vision of the Capitol as a safe, sacred space and upset my equilibrium.
Momentarily.
Within a few hours, members of Congress were back on the floor going about the people’s business, condemning the riots and fulfilling their symbolic role in affirming the will of the people in the presidential election. Waking to the news that Congress had certified the election brought me more balance. We are moving back to normal.
We welcome students back to campus today. Like always, their teachers and I are here for them. If students want to talk about yesterday’s events, these extraordinary adults who know and love them will listen and help them process. And while we are not a partisan institution, there is nothing partisan about denouncing yesterday’s violence. The assault on the Capitol was wildly misaligned with our nation’s values and the core values of this school, most notably our commitment to a caring, inclusive community and our celebration of reasoned inquiry.
So, today, we return to our school rituals: class discussions, labs, hallway conversations, club meetings. There is comfort in those rituals. We will also find strength in community and weather this new challenge--like all the others in a most unusual school year--together.
Best,
Chris Kolovos
Head of School
Parenting in a Pandemic: Free Virtual Workshop with Dr. Rob Evans and Dr. Michael Thompson
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit families hard. Many families are dealing with disruption to routine, threats to employment, and the loss of social supports. Many parents are worried that their children will emerge traumatized from this long disruption. In this talk, Dr. Evans and Dr. Thompson will address the issues and fears affecting families and will offer psychologically sound suggestions for steadying their children and themselves in this difficult time. This virtual workshop is free and open to the public.
Robert Evans, Ed.D., is a psychologist and school consultant. A former high school and preschool teacher and a former child and family therapist, he has consulted to more than 1,700 schools. He has also served for nearly 40 years as executive director of the Human Relations Service, a nonprofit mental health agency in Wellesley, MA.
Dr. Evans’s interests are in leadership, helping schools manage change, improving adult relationships within schools, and crisis intervention. He is the author of many articles and three books, including Seven Secrets of the Savvy School Leader: A Guide to Surviving and Thriving and The Human Side of School Change.
Evans is an independent school graduate, and his children and grandchildren have all attended independent schools.
Michael Thompson, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, author, and school consultant. He has worked in schools for 50 years, starting out as a middle school teacher and later training as a counselor and psychologist.
Now the supervising psychologist for the Belmont Hill School (MA), he has worked with more than 700 schools in the U.S., Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central America. In addition, he served as the longtime facilitator for the NAIS Institute for New Heads and later for the Academy of International School Heads. He has served on the board of American Camp Association.
Thompson is the author or coauthor of nine books, including the New York Times bestseller Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys and Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children.
Like Evans, Thompson attended independent schools, as did his children and grandchildren.
BUA Music Instructor Composes for US Air Force Band
Two commissioned compositions by BUA Music Instructor Dr. Brett Abigaña’s were released on the latest album by the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, "American Tapestry." The first piece, entitled Through the Kármán Line, is about crossing the line between Earth’s atmosphere and space, and is dedicated to Col. Guion Bluford, the first African American in space. The piece attempts to place the listener inside the astronaut’s helmet as they cross the line and look back to see Earth in all its glorious imperfection for the first time. The piece is also written so that it can be played backwards, so that one can experience leaving the International Space Station and crossing through the line again, returning to the reality that is life “down below.” The second composition, Locrian Riffs, is written about and dedicated to the women collectively referred to and represented by “Rosie the Riveter.” The piece uses a Locrian scale and bebop riffs to replicate the sounds of a factory at full production.