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{{short description|First public school in the United States}}
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; width: 20em; font-size: 90%; clear: right" cellspacing="3"
{{distinguish|Boston Latin Academy}}{{More citations needed|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Boston Latin School
| logo = Boston Latin School Logo 2019.jpg
| caption = Logo as of 2019
| motto = ''Sumus Primi'' (Latin)
| motto_translation = "We are first"
| city = [[Boston]]
| state = [[Massachusetts]], 02115
| country = United States
| coordinates = {{Coord|42.338|-71.102|type:edu_region:US-MA|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map = United States Boston#Boston Metro#USA Massachusetts#USA
| type = Public [[exam school]]
| established = {{Start date and age|1635|4|23|p=1}}
| district = [[Boston Public Schools]]
| category =
| oversight =
| oversight_label =
| head = Jason Gallagher
| head_name = Head of School
| faculty =
| teaching_staff = 117.17 (FTE)<ref name=NCES/>
| ratio = 20.94<ref name=NCES/>
| grades = 7–12
| gender = Coeducational
| athletics =
| conference = [[Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association|Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA)]] District A – [[Dual County League]]
| mascot = "Wolfie"<ref>{{cite news |first=Dave |last=Caldwell |title=Thanksgiving Day Games: Old Rivalries, Then the Turkey |url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/travel/escapes/10ahead.html |work=The New York Times |date=2006-11-10 |access-date=2008-01-12 }}</ref>
| nickname = "The Wolfpack", "BLS"
| rival = [[English High School of Boston]] (Boston English)
| accreditation = [[New England Association of Schools and Colleges]] (NEASC)
| national_ranking =
| newspaper = ''The Argo''
| yearbook = ''Liber Actorum''
| website = {{URL|www.bls.org|bls.org}}
| category_label =
| gender_label =
| students = 2,453 (2017–18)<ref name=NCES>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=2502790&ID=250279000203|title=Boston Latin|publisher=National Center for Education Statistics|access-date=January 4, 2020}}</ref>
| grades_label = Grades
| address = 78 Avenue Louis Pasteur
| campus_type = Urban
| colors = Purple and White, {{color box|purple}} {{color box|white}}
| module = {{Infobox mapframe
| stroke-color = #C60C30
| stroke-width = 3
| marker = school
| marker-color = #1F2F57
| zoom = 13}}
}}
 
The '''Boston Latin School''' is a public [[Magnet school|exam school]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in British America and the oldest existing school in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.org/cfml/l3tmpl_history.cfm|title=History of Boston Latin School – oldest public school in America|publisher=Boston Latin School|access-date=2007-06-01|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070502223937/http://www.bls.org/cfml/l3tmpl_history.cfm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=2007-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9015836/Boston-Latin-School|title=Boston Latin School|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/firstpublic.asp|title=First Public School Site and Ben Franklin Statue|date=16 July 2016|publisher=City of Boston}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Boston Latin School|url=http://www.nndb.com/edu/712/000068508/
|publisher=NNDB}}</ref> The school's admission policies and demographics have been controversial.
 
==History==
{{see also|Latin school|Neo-Latin#Latin in school education 1500-1700}}
[[File:Boston Latin Plaque.jpg|Plaque on School Street commemorating the site of the first Boston Latin School building|thumb]]
 
[[File:BLS HALL OF THE BEDFORD STREET SCHOOL HOUSE.jpg|Hall of the
BLS School House on Bedford Street, 1844–1881|thumb]]
 
Boston Latin School was founded on April 23, 1635 by the Town of [[Boston]].<ref name="BLS History">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bls.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=206116&type=d|title=BLS History|website=www.bls.org|language=en|access-date=2020-04-15}}</ref><ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boston-Latin-School|title=Boston Latin School {{!}} American secondary school|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-04-15}}</ref> The school was modeled after the [[Boston Grammar School|Free Grammar School of Boston]] in England under the influence of Reverend [[John Cotton (minister)|John Cotton]].<ref name="BLS History"/> The first classes were held in the home of the Master, Philemon Pormort.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bls.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=206116&type=d|title = BLS History}}</ref> [[John Hull (merchant)|John Hull]] was the first student to graduate (1637).<ref>John Hull is, therefore, the earliest scholar who can now be named of Phi¬ lemon Pormort, whose school, the only one in Boston, was established April 23d of the same year, — the first school of public instruction in Massachusetts
https://archive.org/details/diariesofjohnhul00hull/page/n21/mode/2up footnote 1, page 22</ref> It was intended to educate young men of all social classes in the classics.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jeynes|first1=William H.|title=American educational history : school, society, and the common good|date=2007|publisher=SAGE Publications|location=Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.]|isbn=978-1412914215|pages=4, 6, 12|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j7hK-7CC7fMC&q=boston+latin+was+founded+in+order+for|access-date=6 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Simon|first1=Christopher A.|title=To run a school : administrative organization and learning|date=2001|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Conn.|isbn=978-0275968342|page=8}}<!--|access-date=6 March 2016--></ref><ref name="britannica.com"/> The school was initially funded by donations and land rentals rather than by taxes.<ref name=vie>{{cite news | url = http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/11/27/schools_vie_for_honor_of_being_the_oldest/ | title = Schools vie for honor of being the oldest | first = Maria | last = Sacchetti | newspaper = The Boston Globe | date = November 27, 2005 | access-date = June 14, 2016 | quote = "In Boston everybody may have agreed that education was important, but nobody put his wallet on the table," said Robert Hanson, Dedham's former executive secretary and the unofficial historian.}}</ref> A school established in nearby [[Dedham, Massachusetts|Dedham]] was the first tax-supported public school.<ref name=vie/>
 
Latin is the mother of modern [[Romance languages]] and was an educational priority in the 17th century.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Howe|first1=Françoise Waquet. Translated by John|title=Latin or the empire of a sign : from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries|date=2002|publisher=Verso|location=London|isbn=978-1859844021|page=22|edition=Paperback ed. 1. publ. by Verso.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgeV5UEKWggC&q=boston+latin++was+called+latin+because+the+need+to+learn+latin+++language|access-date=6 March 2016}}</ref> The ability to read at least [[Cicero]] and [[Virgil]] was a requirement of all colonial colleges, and to write and speak Latin in verse and prose was the first of the “Harvard College Laws” of 1642.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Harvard |url=http://www.allabouthistory.org/history-of-harvard.htm |website=AllAboutHistory.org |access-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316155425/http://www.allabouthistory.org/history-of-harvard.htm |archive-date=16 March 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Morison|first1=Samuel Eliot|title=The founding of the Harvard College|date=1968|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Mass.|isbn=978-0674314504|page=333|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkQWZaZqZfUC&q=make+and+speake+true+Latin+in+verse+and+prose|access-date=6 March 2016}}</ref> Boston Latin prepared many students for admission to Harvard,<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Meckler|editor-first1=Michael|title=Classical antiquity and the politics of America : from George Washington to George W. Bush|date=2006|publisher=Baylor Univ. Press|location=Waco, Tex.|isbn=978-1932792324|page=18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5yRGz_EeslQC&q=the+need+to+learn+latin+in+colonial+america+boston+latin&pg=PA18|access-date=6 March 2016}}</ref> with a total of seven years devoted to the classics.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wright|first1=Conrad Edick|title=Revolutionary generation : Harvard men and the consequences of independence|date=2005|publisher=Univ. of Massachusetts Press|location=Amherst [u.a.]|isbn=978-1558494848|page=26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zltYMYvMvS0C&q=boston+latin+was+founded+in+order+for&pg=PA26|access-date=7 March 2016}}</ref> However, most graduates of Boston Latin did not go on to college, since business and professions did not require college training.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reese|first1=William J.|title=The origins of the American high school.|date=1999|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|isbn=978-0300079432|page=3}}<!--|access-date=6 March 2016--></ref>
 
A cadet corps was founded during the [[American Civil War]], and was disbanded in the early 1960s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://libertyyes.homestead.com/hankbrandli-14.html |title=Boston School Cadets |author1=Hank Brandli |date=September 30, 2004 |work=The Bulletin | access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref>
 
Boston Latin has produced four [[Harvard University]] presidents, four Massachusetts governors, and five signers of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]. [[Benjamin Franklin]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Benjamin Franklin |url=http://www.exodusbooks.com/Author.asp?aut=F&author=Franklin%2C+Benjamin&authorID=781&count=0&list=6 |work=Exodus Provisions }}</ref> and [[Louis Farrakhan]]<ref>{{cite web |author=John B. Judis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/18/books/maximum-leader.html |title=Maximum Leader |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 18, 1996 |access-date=2006-05-19}}</ref> are among its well-known dropouts.
 
Until the 19th century, the Latin School admitted only male students and hired only male teachers. [[Helen Magill White]] was the school's first female graduate and the first American woman to earn a doctorate. Magill White was the only female pupil at the school when she attended. Later, the [[Boston Latin Academy|Girls' Latin School]] was founded in 1877. Boston Latin admitted its first co-educational class in 1972.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/10/archives/girls-admitted-by-boston-latin-allboys-school-drops-its-bar-after.html|title=Girls Admitted by Boston Latin|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 10, 1972}}</ref><!---Then how did Helen White graduate in 1877? this whole paragraph needs to be corrected or deleted. Answer: Helen Magill White was a one time exception. In 1972, the school's policy was changed to permanently allow any females to attend.--->
 
The school appointed Marie Frisardi Cleary<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/19/magazine/l-the-halls-of-boston-latin-school-244828.html|author= Marie Frisardi Cleary|title=The Halls of Boston Latin School|date= May 19, 1985 |work=The New York Times}} Letter to the editor.</ref> and Juanita Ponte<ref>{{cite news|first=Amanda|last=Bergeron|title=Juanita Ponte, 62; taught at Boston Latin |url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2007/07/21/juanita_ponte_62_taught_at_boston_latin/|work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=July 21, 2007 |access-date=2007-07-21 }}</ref> as the first two women in its academic faculty in 1967. Cornelia Kelley was the school's first female headmaster, serving from 1998 until her retirement in 2007,<ref>{{cite news |first=Tracy |last=Jan |title=Boston Latin headmaster to retire |url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/02/boston_latin_he.html |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=2007-02-14 |access-date=2007-12-31 }}</ref> after which Lynne Mooney Teta became headmaster.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2007/06/26/mayor_issues_heat_alert_for_residents/ |title=Assistant head is named to Latin's top job|work=Boston Globe|date=June 26, 2007 |access-date=2007-07-04}}</ref> In 2016, Mooney Teta resigned amid a federal probe into racially charged incidents at the school.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/06/21/boston-latin-school-headmaster-resigns-wake-racial-controversy/GuY6mdBIlRuXp2CWWotmoN/story.html|title=Amid controversy, Boston Latin headmaster resigns |last1=Vaznis|first1=James|last2=Ransom|first2=Jan|work=The Boston Globe|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-11|date=21 June 2016}}</ref> In 2017, Rachel Skerritt became the first person of color to serve as headmaster. Skerritt resigned at the conclusion of the 2021-22 school school year<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Skerritt |first1=Rachel |title=What I Learned Leading America's First Public School |journal=[[Education Next]] |date=20 September 2022 |volume=23 |issue=1 |page=46-53 |url=https://www.educationnext.org/what-i-learned-leading-americas-first-public-school/ |access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref> and was succeeded in the retitled position of Head of School by elementary principal and fellow Latin School alumnus Jason Gallagher.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hercampus.com/school/bu/rachel-skerritt-first-poc-headmaster-country-s-oldest-public-school|title=Rachel Skerritt: The First POC Headmaster of the Country's Oldest Public School|website=Her Campus|date=15 October 2018|language=en|access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref>
 
===Location history===
{{GeoGroup|section=Location History}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Photo
| style= align=center colspan=2 | <big>'''Boston Latin School'''</big>
! Point
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"
! [[Geographic coordinate system|Coordinates]]<br />(links to map & photo sources)
! Notes
|-
| [[File:Boston Latin School original.jpg|100px]]
| align="center"| [[Image:Sigillum scholae latinae bostoniensis.PNG|170px]]
| First Boston Latin School House was a series of homes of each head master beginning with Philemon Pormort 1635 to 1638 and his successor Daniel Maude's home from 1638-1643. [[Ezekiel Cheever]] was an early head master of the Boston Latin School. He taught for seventy years, the last thirty-eight as master of the Boston Latin School. A formal single storey was the school's first permanent home from 1745 to 1812 to replace last temporary building which was demolished in 1745 to make way for King's Chapel expansion.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/trail-sites/boston-latin-school-sitebenjamin-franklin-statue | title=Boston Latin School Site/Benjamin Franklin Statue &#124; the Freedom Trail }}</ref> Site was later used for Suffolk County Courthouse from 1810 to 1841, converted as City Hall until it was demolished and replaced by [[Old City Hall (Boston)|Old City Hall]] in 1865.
|}
| {{coord|42.357909|-71.059798|scale:5000|name=First Boston Latin School House. circa 1635.}}
|<ref>{{coord|42.357909|-71.059798}}</ref><ref>(Estimated from: Plan of Boston showing existing ways and owners on December 25, 1635. Author: Lamb, George. 1635 Location: Boston (Mass.)) [http://maps.bpl.org/details_10923/] [http://maps.bpl.org/details_12280/]</ref>
|-
|
| '''Motto'''
|
| Sumus Primi
|-
| [[File:BLS SECOND SCHOOL HOUSE ON SOUTH SIDE OF SCHOOL STREET.jpg|100px]]
| '''Founded'''
| Second BLS school house on south side of School Street. Built in 1812 and demolished in 1844. Now site at 44 School Street is The Berluti and McLaughlin Building circa 1924.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/44-School-St-Boston-MA/14341361/ | title=44 School St, Boston, MA 02108 - Office for Lease }}</ref>
| [[April 23]] [[1635]]
 
| {{coord|42.357640|-71.059679|scale:5000|name=Second School House on South Side of School Street. 1812-1844.}}
|<ref>Boston 1842 "Boston" from Tanner, H.S. The American Traveller; or Guide Through the United States. Eighth Edition. New York, 1842 [http://lib.utexas.edu/maps/histus.html]</ref><ref>{{coord|42.357640|-71.059679}} (Estimated from Tanner map)</ref>
|-
| [[File:BLS Bedford Street School House.jpg|100px]]
| '''Head Master'''
| Third BLS school house on Bedford Street was built 1844 and shared the site with English High
| Cornelia Kelley
School until 1881. Part of the site became home to [[R. H. White]] department store in 1876. It was torn down for a parking lot before becoming LaFayette Place Mall in 1984 (now Lafayette City Center complex).
| {{coord|42.353840|-71.061060|scale:5000|name=Bedford Street School House. 1844–1881.}}
|<ref>Catalogue of the Boston Public Latin School, Established in 1635: With an Historical Sketch, Henry Fitch Jenks. Boston Latin School Association. 1886. Pages 94–95.</ref><ref>Map title: Map of Boston, 1865 Photographically Reduced From City Engineer Plans With All The Latest Improvements. A Complete Guide To Strangers. Publisher: L. Prang & Co. Date: 1865 [http://maps.bpl.org/details_11003/]</ref><ref>{{coord|42.353840|-71.061060}} (Estimated from Prang & Co. map)</ref>
|-
| [[File:1920 English High School Boston 2589540239.jpg|100px]]
| '''School type'''
| Fourth location of BLS school house on Warren Avenue, (shared with the [[English High School of Boston]]), 1881–1922. Now site of McKinley Elementary School.
| Public high school
| {{coord|42.344178|-71.073380|scale:5000|name=School House in Warren Avenue. 1881–1922.}}
Grades 7–12
|<ref>Catalogue of the Boston Public Latin School, Established in 1635: With an Historical Sketch, Henry Fitch Jenks. Boston Latin School Association. 1886. Page 303.</ref><ref>{{coord|42.344178|-71.073380}} (Estimated from description in Jenks, page 75)</ref>
|-
|
| '''Enrollment'''
| Fifth site of BLS school house on Avenue Louis Pasteur. 1922–present.
| c. 2,400
| {{coord|42.338017|-71.102016|scale:5000|name=School House on Avenue Louis Pasteur. 1922–present.}}
|-
|<ref>SCHOLA LATINA BOSTONIENSIS CCCL ANNOS NATA. (BOSTON LATIN AT 350). April 21, 1985. Boston Globe. By John Powers</ref>
| '''Mascot'''
| Wolfpack ("Wolfie")
|-
| '''Seal'''
| [[Romulus|Romulus and Remus]] at the teats of a wolf
|}
The '''Boston Latin School''' is a [[public education|public]] [[exam school]] founded on [[April 23]] [[1635]], in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], making it the oldest school in [[North America]].<ref>http://bls.org/cfml/l2tmpl_about.cfm</ref><ref>http://www.bls.org/cfml/l3tmpl_history.cfm</ref>. The Public Latin School was formerly 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.
 
==HistoryAcademics==
Boston Latin's motto is ''Sumus Primi'', Latin for ''we are first''. This is a [[double entendre]], referring both to the school's date of founding and its academic stature. Boston Latin has a history of pursuing the same standards as elite [[New England]] [[University-preparatory school|prep schools]] while adopting the egalitarian attitude of a [[Public school (government funded)|public school]]. Academically, the school regularly outperforms public schools in affluent Boston suburbs, particularly as measured by the yearly [[Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System|MCAS]] assessment required of all [[Massachusetts]] [[Public school (government funded)|public schools]]. In 2006, [[Brooklyn Latin School]] was founded in New York City, explicitly modeled on Boston Latin, borrowing much from its traditions and curriculum.<ref>{{cite news|first=Tracy|last=Jan|title=Growing a Boston Latin in Brooklyn|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/04/growing_a_boston_latin_in_brooklyn/|work=Boston Globe|date=March 4, 2006|access-date=2007-08-31}}</ref> In 2006, [https://latinpcs.org/ Washington Latin School] was founded in Washington DC, also modeled on Boston Latin.{{CN|date=January 2023}}
[[Image:blsoldclass2.jpg|right|thumb|220px|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 University|Harvard]] presidents, four Massachusetts governors, and five signers of the [[Declaration of Independence]]. [[William Lloyd Garrison]], [[Benjamin Franklin]], and [[Louis Farrakhan]]<ref>John B. Judis, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E4DC1531F93BA2575BC0A960958260 Maximum Leader], ''[[The New York Times]]'', Aug. 18, 1996, ''Accessed on May 19, 2006''</ref> are its most famous [[dropout]]s.
 
===Admissions===
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 students per year. More than 99% of Boston Latin's approximately 300 annual graduates are accepted by at least one four-year college.
Until 2020, admission to Boston Latin School was 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 the city of Boston.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bls.org/doc_content/ISEE%20QUESTIONS.pdf |title=Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Entrance to Boston Latin School |access-date=2007-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229063010/http://www.bls.org/doc_content/ISEE%20QUESTIONS.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As a result of the [[COVID-19]] pandemic, however, the entrance exam has been suspended, and admission is based on grades and Boston residency.
 
Although Boston Latin runs from the 7th through the 12th grade, it admits students only into the 7th and 9th grades.
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. (It is important to remember when considering the dollar value of the endowment that it is mostly supplementary, on top of the roughly $10 million per year in untaxed operating grants the school receives from the Boston Public Schools, covering most teacher salaries and maintenance. The school also received a $34.6 million multiyear grant in the late 1990's for a major expansion project,<ref>[http://boston.k12.ma.us/bps/FY06Budget.pdf Boston Public Schools 2006 Budget]</ref> pays no property taxes, and has many other expenses covered by the government.). The BLSA also helps procure summer internships and jobs for Boston Latin students.
 
The school has been the subject of controversy concerning its admissions process. Before the 1997 school year, Boston Latin set aside a 35% [[Racial quota|quota]] of places in the incoming class for under-represented minorities. The school was forced to drop this policy after a series of lawsuits were brought by white females who were not admitted despite ranking higher (based on test scores and GPA) than admitted minorities.<ref>See: Wessmann v. Gittens, 160 F. 3d 790 – Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit 1998 [[s:SARAH P. WESSMANN, p.p.a. HENRY ROBERT WESSMANN, v. ROBERT P. GITTENS, CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE, ET AL.]], and McLAUGHLIN BY McLAUGHLIN v. Boston School Committee, 938 F. Supp. 938 F.Supp. 1001 (1996) Civil Action No. 95-11803-WAG. United States District Court, D. Massachusetts. [[s:938 F.Supp. 1001 (1996) Julia A. McLAUGHLIN, by Catherine McLAUGHLIN, Plaintiff, v. BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE, et al., Defendants.]]</ref><ref>{{cite web
On February 17, 2007, Cornelia Kelley, the school's first female Head Master, announced her retirement effective June 30, 2007. According to the Boston Globe, a panel to select her successor was to be composed of parents, students, faculty, and alumni.
|url=http://www.bc.edu/research/csteep/CTESTWEB/blatin/latin.html
|title=The Boston Latin Case
|work=Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Educational Policy
|access-date=2008-01-29
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808133732/http://www.bc.edu/research/csteep/CTESTWEB/blatin/latin.html
|archive-date=2007-08-08
}}</ref>
 
After the lawsuits, the percentage of under-represented minorities at Boston Latin fell from 35% in 1997 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.
==Academics==
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 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 later defeated a legal effort to end its admissions process entirely in favor of admissions by blind lottery.{{cn|date=October 2023}}
Boston Latin has a history of pursuing the same standards as elite [[New England]] [[University-preparatory school|prep school]]s 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]]. This is due in part to the fact that it is an exam school, while the suburban schools are not.
 
In recent years, the admissions exam has continued to cause controversy due to the lack of diversity among admitted students. In 2017, Lawyers for Civil Rights published the demographics of the incoming class, highlighting that Black students are invited to attend Boston Latin at a rate that is more than two and a half times lower than their enrollment rates in [[Boston Public Schools]] overall.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017|title=A Broken Mirror: Exam School Admissions Fail to Reflect Boston's Diversity|work=Lawyers for Civil Rights|url=http://lawyersforcivilrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ABrokenMirror-ExamSchoolAdmissionsFailtoReflectBostonsDiversity.docx.pdf}}</ref>
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.
 
{{Pie chart|caption=[[Boston Public Schools]]' Student Demographics by Race (Updated 2021)
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".
 
From [[Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education]]|label1=African American|label2=Asian|label3=Hispanic|label4=Native American|label5=White|label6=Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander|label7=Multi-Race, Non Hispanic|value1=29.3|value2=9.1|value3=42.4|value4=0.3|value5=15.3|value6=0.2|value7=3.4|radius=60}}
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 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.
 
The following year in 2018, [[Harvard Kennedy School]] released a brief explaining possible reasons for the racial gap in Boston Latin School’s admissions. Among the reasons are the lower rates of participation in the [[Independent School Entrance Examination|ISEE]] by Black and Hispanic students, lower ISEE scores due to inequitable curriculum and resources in the schools from which these students come, reported GPA differences, and less likelihood of Black and Hispanic students to list Boston Latin School as their top choice in school placement forms.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Goodman|first1=Joshua|last2=Rucinski|first2=Melanie|date=October 2018|title=Increasing Diversity in Boston's Exam Schools|work=Rappaport Institute|publisher=Harvard Kennedy School|url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/joshuagoodman/files/rappaport_brief.pdf}}</ref>
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 &ndash; the Dixwell Prizes &ndash; are given to pupils excelling in Latin or Greek.
 
In 2019, Lawyers for Civil Rights, alongside the Boston chapter of the [[NAACP]], sent a letter to [[Mayor Walsh]], the [[Boston School Committee]], and the superintendent, seeking to redo the admissions policies for Boston Latin School. The organizations cited the disproportionate admission rates of Black and Hispanic students versus white students as a failure of the exam system, and asked for a process that would diversify the school and take into account a student's personal achievements.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Vaughn|first=Alyssa|date=June 19, 2020|title=The NAACP and Lawyers for Civil Rights Want Exam School Admissions Overhauled in Boston|work=Boston Magazine|url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/education/2019/06/20/naacp-bps-exam-school-admissions/}}</ref>
Boston Latin's motto is ''Sumus Primi'' [we are the first]. This is meant as a [[double entendre]], referring both to the school's date of founding and its academic stature.
 
The [[Educational Records Bureau]] (ERB), the organization responsible for creating and updating the ISEE, reportedly decided to end its yearly contract with the [[Boston Public Schools]] (BPS) in April 2019. In an email sent to the school district and other clients, ERB claimed that the test’s scoring metric had been incorrectly applied by BPS, resulting in underrepresented race groups failing to be admitted. BPS, however, denied that ERB cut business ties with the school district. BPS claimed instead that it had ended the contract in search of a test enabling “more equitable access” to the exam schools.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Irons|first=Meghan|date=February 5, 2020|title=Test maker accuses Boston schools of misusing exam|work=Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/02/05/metro/exam-school-test-administrator-clashes-with-bps-over-use-admissions-test/}}</ref>
==Extracurricular activities==
===Publications===
There are two main publications of the Boston Latin School: ''The Register'' 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, aka never.
 
In October 2020, the [[Boston School Committee]] voted to cancel entrance exams for the city’s three exam schools in 2021, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19]] pandemic. The School Committee opted for an admissions procedure under which 20% of the incoming class would be accepted based on top grades, and the other 80% based on grades and zip codes. Students coming from zip codes with lower-income communities would receive preferential treatment.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Larkin|first=Max|date=October 22, 2020|title=One-Year Pause In Exam-School Tests Sparks Hope – And Hostility|work=WBUR|url=https://www.wbur.org/edify/2020/10/21/boston-exam-school-requirement-suspension-proposal}}</ref>
[[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.
 
Boston Latin School has received backlash from some parents because of this decision. Opponents of the proposed admissions system created a [[Change.org]] petition, garnering almost 6,000 signatures. The petition, directed to [[Boston City Council]], argued that cancelling the test would increase disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cromar|first=Ainslie|date=October 22, 2020|title=It's official: No admissions test at Boston exam schools for incoming fall class|work=Boston.com|url=https://www.boston.com/news/education/2020/10/22/no-test-boston-exam-schools-fall-class}}</ref> A protest was held prior to the vote on the steps of Boston Latin School. One common concern surrounded [[Chinatown, Boston|Chinatown]] students potentially being excluded based on Chinatown’s surrounding area being rapidly gentrified, thus increasing the median income.<ref>{{Cite news|last=G|first=Adam|date=October 18, 2020|title=On steps of Boston Latin, parents rally to keep the exam in exam schools; across street, other parents rally against it|work=Universal Hub|url=https://www.universalhub.com/2020/steps-boston-latin-parents-rally-keep-exam-exam}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Schaefer Riley|first=Naomi|date=February 19, 2021|title=Exam-School Admissions Come Under Pressure amid Pandemic|work=Education Next|url=https://www.educationnext.org/exam-school-admissions-come-under-pressure-amid-pandemic-policies-fuel-parent-activism/}}</ref>
''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.
 
===Curriculum===
Both the ''Register'' and the ''Argo'' are entirely student-produced, and both have won awards from the New England Scholastic Press Association. <ref>http://bls.org/library/cfml/l3tmpl_archive.cfm?ArchiveID=36</ref>
[[Declamation]] is one of the school's time-honored traditions. Students in the 7th through 10th grades are required to give an oration, known as declamation, in their English class three times during the year. The school also holds Public Declamation, in which students from all grades 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 categories including "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.”
[[File:Latin Public School.jpg|thumb|Front entrance of the school house on Avenue Louis Pasteur. 2007]]
In addition to declamation in English classes, the Modern Languages department holds an annual "World Language Declamation" competition. Once a year, during National Foreign Language Week (usually the first week of March),<ref>Kate Stevenson (2008). [https://web.archive.org/web/20060903084941/http://www.jc.edu/users/stevenso/FLAND/flwk.html National Foreign Language Week]</ref> students in grades 8 through 12 perform orations in languages other than English. Entrants are categorized by level, rather than language. So all students declaiming at the first-year level of various languages are competing against each other, all students declaiming at the second-year level compete against each other, and so on.<ref>[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080414065452/http://www.bls.org/doc_content/PrizeSchol.pdf Prizes and Scholarships], ''BLS Web Site''</ref>
 
In 2001, the school decided to decrease the Latin requirement by one year, starting with the class of 2006.<ref>{{cite news |first=Anand |last=Vaishnav |title=Boston Latin Eases Language Requirement |url=http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/103/metro/Boston_Latin_eases_language_requirement+.shtml |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=2001-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010416232616/http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/103/metro/Boston_Latin_eases_language_requirement%2B.shtml |archive-date=April 16, 2001 |access-date=2007-12-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref> For students admitted for 7th grade, the minimum number of years of Latin required decreased from five years to four years, and for students admitted for 9th grade, from four years to three years. Students, however, can still take Latin (and Greek) electives after their fourth year.
A new science publication, ''The Catapulta'', has been published once in the Spring of the 2004-2005 school year, and a new edition is planned.
 
===Sports=Publications==
There are currently three main publications of the Boston Latin School: ''The Register'' is the school's literary magazine, ''The Argo'' the school newspaper, and ''Catapulta'' is the school science magazine. [[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 three editors-in-chief, and it is published twice per year. ''The Argo'', the school's newspaper, is far younger, having been founded in 1970 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. ''Catapulta'', the science magazine, highlights popular and recent science and technology and is generally published four times a year. The ''Register'', the ''Argo'', and ''Catapulta'' are entirely student-produced, and the "Argo" and the "Register" have won awards from the New England Scholastic Press Association, while ''Catapulta'' has won awards from the American Scholastic Press Association.<ref>{{cite web
Boston Latin has played rival [[English High School of Boston|Boston English]] in [[American Football|Football]] every [[Thanksgiving]] since 1887, the oldest continuously operated high school [[English/Latin Rivalry|rivalry]] in the [[United States]].<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English/Latin_Rivalry#External_links</ref> 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, possibly due to the emphasis the school places on academics before anything else. Unfortunatly, now the Boy's and Girl's Volleyball teams are one of the worst in the state. However, the Boys Varsity Hockey team recently won state in 2005, as well as the Girls Varsity Crew Team. In addition, the Girls Tennis Team were State Champions and undefeated from 2001-2003. The Boys Varsity Soccer Team experienced their most successful season to date in 2006.
|title=Publications – Argo
Boston Latin's colors are purple and white, which copycat Brooklyn Latin School stole.
|url=http://bls.org/library/cfml/l3tmpl_archive.cfm?ArchiveID=36
|work=BLS Web Site
|access-date=2007-06-01
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20070927034400/http://bls.org/library/cfml/l3tmpl_archive.cfm?ArchiveID=36 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-09-27}} Includes scans of first ''Argo'' edition, 1969.
</ref>
 
Another Boston Latin publication is "BLSA Bulletin", published by the Boston Latin School Association, whose president is Peter G. Kelly, '83.<ref name="blsabulletin">{{cite news|date=Fall 2008 |title=BLSA Bulletin| publisher=Boston Latin School Association}}</ref>
===BLSTV===
The internal television station of Boston Latin School is [http://www.blstv.com 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.
 
==Athletics==
===Boston Latin Theater Company===
Boston Latin School's Drama Company traditionally performs three to four plays a year, includng a spring musical, under the direction of drama teacher/director, Christa Crewdson. Traditionally, the school also sends one play to the [[Massachusetts_High_School_Drama_Guild|Massachusetts High School Drama Guild]]. Their 2007 entry, "Kid Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh" by Jordan Harrison, reached the semi-final round where it won multiple awards for sound design, costumes, and acting. Even more impressive, previous entries into the [[Massachusetts_High_School_Drama_Guild|MHSDG]] ''The Dining Room'' by A.R. Gurney (2003) and ''Dimly Perceived Threats to the System'' by Jon Klein (2004), completed in conjuction with Sara Teasedale, the school's former drama teacher, have reached and excelled at the competition's State Finals. The Boston Latin Theater Company prides itself upon its hard-work and long hours dedicated to precise acting skills, exquisite technical design, and professional stagecraft. In addition, Boston Latin School has its own student-created, student-run improvisational theater group, the Yellow Submarine Improv Troupe, renowned for its practice of letting any student join without an audition.
 
===Musical arts===
* 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 "pseudo-academic" (students are graded each term, but grades not weighed into GPA) music programs, or are a part of a music group after school.
* The "pseudo-academic" classes include Introductory, Junior, and Senior Concert Bands, Concert Choirs, and String Orchestras. After-school musical ensembles include the a cappella Wolftones and Wolfettes, Football Pep Band, Show Choir, Gospel Choir, Big Band, Junior Big Band, Flute Ensemble, and the Honors Orchestra (among others). There are, however, fully academic music classes (where grades are factored into the GPA), such as Introduction to Music Theory, and a very rigorous [[Advanced Placement Program|Advanced Placement]] Music Theory class.
* 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 (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.
* Boston Latin School also has an all male a capella singing group, Wolftones, which is held after school. There is also an all girls singing a capella, called the Wolfettes. These groups also perform on the holiday and spring concerts.
* 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. 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 IAJE State Finals 6 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.
 
Boston Latin's teams are known as the Boston Latin Wolfpack; their colors are purple and white. Boston Latin has played rival [[English High School of Boston|Boston English]] in [[high school football|football]] every [[Thanksgiving]] since 1887,<ref>{{cite news |first=Emily |last= Werchadlo |title=It's still defined by Latin and English |url=http://www.boston.com/sports/schools/football/articles/2005/11/24/its_still_defined_by_latin_and_english/?page=full |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=2005-11-24 |access-date=2008-01-29 }}</ref> the [[English–Latin rivalry|oldest continuous high school rivalry]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news |first=Dwayne |last= Dahlbeck |title=Latin's first conquest comes at last |url=http://www.boston.com/sports/schools/football/articles/2007/11/23/latins_first_conquest_comes_at_last/ |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=2007-11-27 |access-date=2008-01-29 }}</ref>
===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 eight 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 2 year [[Advanced Placement Program|Advanced Placement]] course designed to prepare students for art college and build portfolios.
*The Boston Latin School visual arts program boasts 3 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 afterschool from alumna Caitlin Jolly.
*The art program also hosts an Arts Night, similar to the Music Nights, which is dedicated to the work of students in the 2 year [[Advanced Placement Program|Advanced Placement]] program.
 
==In popular culture==
===Boston Latin School Junior Classical League===
* In "[[Six Meetings Before Lunch]]", a first-season episode of ''[[The West Wing (TV series)|The West Wing]]'', [[Rob Lowe]]'s character [[Sam Seaborn]] mentioned Boston Latin School in a discussion of public school reform and [[school voucher]]s in American public education. He said, “Boston Latin, the oldest public school in America, is still the best secondary school in New England.” [[List of The West Wing characters#Leo McGarry's family|Mallory O'Brien]] replies "They all can't be Boston Latin and [[Bronx High School of Science|Bronx Science]]."
Since its conception in 2000, Boston Latin School has been an active participant on the local, state, national levels of the [[National Junior Classical League|National Junior Classical League]], 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|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.
* On January 8, 2002, President [[George W. Bush]] visited the Boston Latin School after signing the [[No Child Left Behind Act]] earlier that day.<ref>{{cite web
|title=President Bush Speaks in Boston
|date=2002-01-08
|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/08/se.05.html
|work=CNN.com
}}</ref>
* 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.
* In the 2008–2009 school year, former vice president [[Al Gore]] visited Boston Latin School and commended the students for their hard work educating the community about making environmentally respectable decisions.
 
==Alumni==
There are also many other extra-curricular activities, such as Wolfpack Volunteers, Youth Climate Action Network, Clay Club, many cultural clubs, Dungeons & Dragons Club, and more.
{{main|List of Boston Latin School 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 [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], five were educated at Latin: Adams, Franklin, Hancock, Hooper, and Paine.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ronaldo |last=Rauseo-Ricupero |title=Bush Comes To Boston After Education Victory |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=161263 |work=[[Harvard Crimson]] |date=2002-01-09 |access-date=2007-12-31 }}</ref> Graduates and students fought in the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], [[American Civil War]], [[World War I]], [[World War II]], [[Korean War]], and the [[Vietnam War]], and plaques and statues in the school building honor those who died.
 
===Hall Miscellaneousof Fame===
The Hall of Fame, known casually as "The Wall," refers to the upper [[frieze]] in the school's auditorium, where the last names of famous alumni are painted. These names include [[Samuel Adams|Adams]], [[Leonard Bernstein|Bernstein]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nytimes.com/1984/11/22/arts/a-homecoming-for-bernstein.html|title=A Homecoming for Bernstein|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Lee A. Daniels|date=November 22, 1984|access-date=May 13, 2021}}</ref> [[John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald|Fitzgerald]], [[Benjamin Franklin|Franklin]], [[John Hancock|Hancock]], [[William Hooper|Hooper]], [[John Hull (merchant)|John Hull]], [[Joseph Kennedy|Kennedy]], [[Cotton Mather|Mather]], [[Robert Treat Paine|Paine]], [[Josiah Quincy II|Quincy]], [[George Santayana|Santayana]], [[John Winthrop (1714–1779)|Winthrop]], [[Nicolas Hyacinthe]],<ref>The Selected Works of Nicolas Hyacinthe {{cite web|url=http://www.nicolashyacinthe.com}} </ref> and many others. The most recent name, [[Wade McCree Jr.]], was added to the frieze in 1999, and the selection of the name involved a conscious effort to choose a graduate of color.<ref>{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Hill |title=To Place a Black Man in Latin's Pantheon: An Alumnus Quietly Raised to the Star-Studded Frieze |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=2000-11-12 }}</ref> There are no names of female graduates, mostly because women have attended the school for just 46 years and the honor is only bestowed [[Posthumous recognition|posthumously]]. There is also a lower frieze with the names of many other distinguished graduates, and a place on the lower frieze can be awarded while the person is still alive.
* In Season 1, Episode 18 of ''[[The West Wing (TV series)|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 High School of Science|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.<ref>http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/08/se.05.html</ref>
*In Season 1, Episode 12 of ''[[Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip]]'', [[Matthew Perry (actor)|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 [[GPA|grade point averages]] for its many honors and [[advanced placement|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.
 
==NotableRankings alumniand awards==
In 2007, the school was named one of the top 20 high schools in the United States by ''U.S. News & World Report'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/sections/education/high-schools |title=Best High Schools 2008 |work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |date=November 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218035351/http://www.usnews.com/sections/education/high-schools/ |archive-date=December 18, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2007/11/29/the-first-class-state.html|title=The First-Class State—Two examples of how Massachusetts gets it right|work=U.S. News & World Report|date=November 29, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219191828/http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2007/11/29/the-first-class-state.html|archive-date=December 19, 2008}}</ref> It was named a 2011 "Blue Ribbon School of Excellence", the Department of Education's highest award.<ref>[http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2011/national.pdf 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools], accessed April 3, 2012</ref> As of 2018, it is listed under the "gold medal" list, ranking 48 out of the top 100 high schools in the United States by ''U.S. News & World Report''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings?page=3 |title=National Rankings Best High Schools |publisher=U.S. News & World Report LP. |date=2016-04-19 |access-date=2016-04-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420015353/http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings?page=3 |archive-date=2016-04-20 }}</ref>
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* [[Edwin Hale Abbot]]
* [[Charles Francis Adams, Sr.]]
* [[Charles Francis Adams, Jr.]]
* [[Roger Adams]]
* [[Samuel Adams]], Boston Tea Party organizer
* [[Ed Ames]]
* [[James Barnes]]
* [[John L. Bates]]
* [[Orson Bean]]
* [[Henry Ward Beecher]], clergyman, abolitionist
* [[Jonathan Belcher]]
* [[Jeremy Belknap]]
* [[Bernard Berenson]], art historian
* [[Joseph Young Bergen]]
* [[Thomas Bernard]]
* [[Leonard Bernstein]], composer
* [[Edwin Blashfield]]
* [[James Bowdoin]]
* [[Phillips Brooks]]
* [[Walter A. Brown]]
* [[Margaret Fitzhugh Browne]]
* [[Joseph Stevens Buckminster]]
* [[Charles Bulfinch]], architect
* [[Thomas Bulfinch]], mythologist
* [[Mather Byles]]
* [[Godfrey Lowell Cabot]]
* [[William Ellery Channing (1818–1901)|William Ellery Channing]], poet
* [[William Henry Channing]], writer, philosopher
* [[Francis James Child]]
* [[Rufus Choate]]
* [[Benjamin Church]]
* [[William Conant Church]]
* [[James Freeman Clarke]]
* [[Richard A. Clarke]], White House advisor
* [[Cid Corman]], poet
* [[Anthony Cortese]]
* [[Joseph Pitty Couthouy]], American naval officer
* [[Benjamin Williams Crowninshield]]
* [[Thomas Cushing]]
* [[Timothy Cutler]]
* [[Francis Dana]]
* [[Charles Henry Davis]]
* [[Charles Devens]]
* [[Edward Payson Dutton]]
* [[Charles William Eliot]], Harvard University president
* [[Samuel Atkins Eliot (politician)|Samuel Atkins Eliot]]
* [[Christine Elise]]
* [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], author
* [[William Eustis]]
* [[William Maxwell Evarts]]
* [[Edward Everett]]
* [[William Everett]]
* [[Aaron Feuerstein]]
* [[Arthur Fiedler]], conductor
* [[Howard Finn]]
* [[Thomas Finneran]]
* [[John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald]]
* [[John Bernard Fitzpatrick]]
* [[James Freeman (clergyman)|James Freeman]]
* [[Octavius Brooks Frothingham]]
* [[James A. Gallivan]]
* [[Richard Saltonstall Greenough]], sculptor
* [[Christopher Gore]]
* [[Mike Gorman]], Boston Celtics announcer
* [[Benjamin A. Gould]]
* [[Edward Everett Hale]]
* [[Rebecca Hall (musician)]]
* [[Robert B. Hall (Massachusetts)|Robert B. Hall]]
* [[Franklin Elmer Ellsworth Hamilton]]
* [[John Hancock]], U.S. statesman
* [[Nat Hentoff]], columnist, civil libertarian
* [[Henry Lee Higginson]]
* [[George Stillman Hillard]]
* [[Sidney Homer]]
* [[William Hooper]]
* [[John Galen Howard]], architect
* [[Charles Hale Hoyt]], playwright
* [[Richard Morris Hunt]]
* [[Thomas Hutchinson]]
{{col-break}}
* [[Charles Jackson (jurist)|Charles Jackson]]
* [[Jonathan Jackson (delegate)|Jonathan Jackson]]
* [[Joseph Kennedy]], entrepreneur, political figure
* [[John King (journalist)|John King]], journalist, reporter
* [[Meredith Kline]], theologian
* [[Henry Knox]]
* [[Chaim Yehuda Krinsky]], Chabad Lubavitch rabbi
* [[Samuel Pierpoint Langley]], scientist, early aviator
* [[Samuel Langdon]], clergyman, educator
* [[William L. Langer]]
* [[John Leverett]], soldier, governor
* [[Howard Lindsay]]
* [[James Lloyd (Massachusetts)|James Lloyd]]
* [[Edward Lawrence Logan]]
* [[James Lovell (delegate)|James Lovell]], educator, statesman
* [[Augustus Lowell]]
* [[Charles Russell Lowell]]
* [[Edward G. Loring]]
* [[Jonathan Mason (politician)|Jonathan Mason]]
* [[Cotton Mather]], author, minister
* [[Samuel Joseph May ]]
* [[Wade H. McCree|Wade McCree, Jr.]], U.S. solicitor general
* [[Robert F. McDermott]]
* [[Paul Mockapetris]], engineer
* [[Alfred Moore]]
* [[John Lothrop Motley]]
* [[Barry Newman]], actor
* [[Jack O'Callahan]], ice hockey player
* [[David Ochterlony]]
* [[Harrison Gray Otis (lawyer)|Harrison Gray Otis]], Federalist party leader
* [[Andrew Oliver]]
* [[William Parmenter]]
* [[Isaac Parker (congressman)|Isaac Parker]]
* [[Robert Treat Paine]]
* [[William Dandridge Peck]]
* [[Thomas Handasyd Perkins]]
* [[Edward Charles Pickering]]
* [[Dr. John Phillips]]
* [[Wendell Phillips]]
* [[William Dummer Powell]]
<!-- John Edmund Quincy: please link AFTER article has been created-->
* [[Josiah Quincy II ]]
* [[Sumner Redstone]], entertainment mogul
* [[Allen Rosenberg]]
* [[Frederick P. Salvucci]]
* [[George Santayana]], philosopher, author
* [[Marvin Schindler]]
* [[Roger Hale Sheaffe]]
* [[Samuel Francis Smith]]
* [[Frank M. Snowden, Jr.]]
* [[Clifton Sprague]]. U.S. Vice Admiral
* [[Guy L. Steele, Jr.]], computer scientist
* [[William Stimpson]]
* [[Solomon Stoddard]]
* [[Horatio Storer]]
* [[William Stoughton (Massachusetts)|William Stoughton]]
* [[William H.H. Stowell]], U.S. congressman
* [[John Hubbard Sturgis]]
* [[Charles Sumner]], U.S. senator
* [[Joseph Henry Thayer]]
* [[Edward Tuckerman]]
* [[Frederic Tudor]]
* [[William Tudor]]
* [[Isadore Twersky]], philosopher
* [[Royall Tyler]]
* [[Andrew Viterbi]], engineer, philanthropist
* [[John Collins Warren]]
<!-- * [[William Gordon Weld]] -->
* [[Archbishop John Joseph Williams]]
* [[Clifton Reginald Wharton, Jr.]]
* [[Theodore White]], journalist
* [[Justin Winsor]], writer, historian
* [[John Winthrop (1714-1779)|John Winthrop]]
* [[Robert Charles Winthrop]]
* [[John Cardinal Wright]]
* [[Daniel Yankelovich]]
{{col-end}}
 
In 2019, the school was rated as the top high school in the [[Greater Boston|Boston area by U.S. News & World Report]] and number 33 in national rankings.<ref>{{cite news |last=Reiss |first=Jaclyn |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/06/11/these-are-best-high-schools-boston-area-according-news-world-report/6w6TyMsS56tAcwMvVESc6K/story.html? |title=These are the best high schools in the Boston area, according to US News & World Report |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=2019-06-12 |access-date=2019-06-12 }}</ref>
==References==
<references/>
 
== See Also also==
{{Portal|United States|Schools}}
*[[Boston Latin Academy]]
*[[Latin school]]
* [[John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science]]
* [[BrooklynRoxbury Latin School]]
* [[Brooklyn Latin School]]
* [[List of the oldest public high schools in the United States]]
 
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
 
==External links==
*[http://bls.org/{{commons category|Boston Latin School official(Boston, website]Massachusetts)}}
* {{Official website}}
*[http://blsa.org/ Boston Latin School Association]
* [https://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC03429528 Catalogue of the Boston Public Latin School, Established in 1635: With an Historical Sketch], Henry Fitch Jenks (1886)
*[http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC612.pdf Boston Public Schools' Profile PDF for the Boston Latin School]
*[http://boston.k12.ma.us/bps/alumni_latin.asp Boston Public Schools' list of notable graduates of the Boston Latin School]
*[http://www.blsarts.org/ Boston Latin School Arts Website]
* [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC03429528 Catalogue of the Boston Public Latin School, Established in 1635: With an Historical Sketch], Henry Fitch Jenks (1886)
 
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| title=Locations along Boston's [[Freedom Trail]]
| years= '''Boston Latin School'''
| after= [[Old Corner Bookstore]]
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{{Boston Public Schools}}
{{Massachusetts Public High Schools}}
{{Authority control}}
 
[[Category:1635 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in the 1630s]]
[[Category:High schools in MassachusettsBoston]]
[[Category:1635Middle establishmentsschools in Boston]]
[[Category:Public high schools in Massachusetts]]
 
[[sv:Boston Latin School]]
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