Latest news with #BostonLatinSchool
CBS News
4 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
U.S. News names the best high schools in Massachusetts. Here's the Top 10 list.
U.S. News & World Report has released its yearly ranking of the best high schools in the country, and it includes a breakdown of the top schools in Massachusetts. Overall, the report says Massachusetts is the state with the highest proportion of high schools in the top 25% of the ranking, and 43% of high schools in Massachusetts are in the top quarter of the national rankings. The top-ranked high school in Massachusetts is once again Boston Latin School, which is also ranked 46th nationwide. U.S. News says the graduation rate is 98% at Boston Latin, with 94% of students passing at least one Advanced Placement exam. Also coming in the Top 100 nationally was the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley at No. 96. Lexington High School came in at No. 118. According to U.S. News, the top 10 high schools in Massachusetts are: Click here for the full ranking of Massachusetts schools. U.S. News says it ranked nearly 18,000 schools across the country. The top spot went to BASIS Tucson North in Arizona. The most important factor in the ranking was college readiness, which U.S. News said was determined by Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test scores. Other key metrics were math, science and reading tests administered by states, test scores for Black, Hispanic and low-income students and graduation rates. Click here to see the full national rankings.
Boston Globe
13-08-2025
- Boston Globe
Boston students discuss Massachusetts bill that would ban cellphones in school
Currently, Boston Public Schools' policy allows students to bring their cellphones to school as long as they are not visible during class time. Students are only allowed to use phones before or after school hours. Some schools in the district, such as Irving Middle School in Roslindale, Advertisement A Yondr pouch is a small bag that can only be unlocked using a special magnet that would be controlled by a school official. At least four BPS high schools, including English High School, started using Yondr pouches to restrict phone usage last year. Advertisement Ladan Mohamed, 15, a rising sophomore at Boston Latin School and a member of the Boston Student Advisory Council, opposes BPS spending money on Yondr pouches. Boston Latin School hasn't implemented them yet and has an honor system where students are not required to turn in their phones, but many classrooms have organizers where students can store their phones, so they don't get distracted during class. Mohamed also said the district needs to get better at contacting parents during emergencies, before enacting a cellphone ban. 'Let's say somebody ... breaks into the building, students and parents don't find out until after the fact,' Mohamed said, 'If students don't have their phones, the city and BPS need an emergency contact system. Right now, students are using social media as a positive tool.' Caitlin Murphy, head of school for The English High School, said that using Yondr pouches has been successful in encouraging healthy social interaction during lunch and made it easier for administrators to provide students with mental health support, since they aren't worried about student interactions on social media during the school day. 'The support team was constantly running to put out fires that were being started by social media that were causing incidents during the school day instead of actually doing responsive work. We're able to sort of proactively plan stress and anxiety groups,' Murphy said. Advertisement Murphy also said that The English High School was focused on helping students reach out to their parents if needed. 'I've been very clear with our main office staff and with anyone who ... has a phone in their office, that if a caregiver calls, then we drop what we're doing and we're getting to that student,' Murphy said. Laura Lara Santos, 16, a student at Fenway High School, where Yondr pouches have been implemented, is supportive of a 'bell-to-bell' policy where cellphones are banned throughout the school day, based on her own positive experiences in a phone-free school. 'It was reflected in my grades. The teachers actually told me that they saw a big change,' Lara Santos said in Spanish through an interpreter, 'and it helped during lunchtime too because we had real connections. We were not just talking about what had happened on TikTok.' Lara Santos is a member of Sociedad Latina, a Roxbury nonprofit that supports Latino youth with education, workforce development and other after-school programming. Alexandra Oliver-Dávila, executive director of the nonprofit, who spoke with her at the hearing, advocated for implementing a uniform bell-to-bell cellphone restriction policy across BPS at the hearing, to make education equitable for all students, irrespective of zip code. 'What I could foresee happening is there's going to be certain schools that are thought of as needing discipline that need to use the Yondr pouch,' Oliver-Dávila said, 'And we're going to come back down to the divide of the exam schools versus open enrollment schools.' Most of the students at the hearing testified against cellphone restrictions, saying that a ban would not help teenagers develop self-control when it comes to technology. Munira Saeed, 15, a student at the Boston Latin Academy, said that a cellphone ban would merely delay the challenge of teenagers learning how to use cellphones in a healthy manner, rather than solving the issue. Advertisement 'Trust and responsibility goes both ways. Give us the structure, the support and the chance to show that we can use our tools responsibly,' Saeed said. David Bickham, research director at the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital, said that based on a 'If the school clearly communicates the goals of the policy to the students, it doesn't matter how strict it is, the kids [in the survey] said that this policy increased their sense of independence ... so the details of the policy were less important,' he said. Angela Mathew can be reached at
Boston Globe
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Ayo Edebiri talks getting her own day and Dunkin' tasting better in Boston on Conan O'Brien's podcast
Advertisement 'That's actually shocking to me,' said Edebiri. The Emmy-winning actress went on to reveal that, while she was 'grateful for the day,' she 'had no idea that it was happening' or that Mayor Wu was going to be in attendance during Edebiri's visit to her alma mater, Boston Latin School. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'If I knew that it was happening, I'm the type of person where I would have not gone, because that sort of thing just makes me so anxious,' Edebiri said. Edebiri originally thought her visit to Boston Latin would just involve meeting with a small group of improv kids, but those plans quickly changed to speaking in front of the whole school. 'I thought I was going to just talk to the improv kids and then I ended up talking to the mayor,' Edebiri said. 'And then the mayor was like, 'I have a surprise for you.'' Advertisement And while O'Brien doesn't have a day in Boston yet like Edebiri or the In addition to lamenting O'Brien's lack of an honorary day in the Hub, the stars chatted about Boston's beloved Dunkin', with the comedian noting that Edebiri once Edebiri told O'Brien she still does believe that, but questioned how he knew about her Dunkin' hot takes. 'Is that in your research?' she joked. During the podcast, Edebiri also explained that she once used an IHOP in Randolph to reveal to her parents that she had decided to switch majors at NYU, pivoting to playwriting from teaching. 'We were straight up in an IHOP in Randolph, because I also was like, we can't do this on home turf, we have to go to Randolph,' Edebiri said, noting how she was a bit quiet on the car ride over, causing While Edebiri was a little worried, her parents didn't seem fazed and kept eating their breakfast, according to the Dorchester native. 'My dad's like, 'Extra hash browns!' Like, let's go. Yeah, they were so supportive.' Advertisement O'Brien shared his college story too, explaining that he was on the phone with 'I wrote a thesis. I'm a good student. I want to get into comedy,' said O'Brien, who has five siblings. 'And I remember their attitude was very much like, 'Which one are you again?' Matt Juul can be reached at
Business Insider
07-07-2025
- General
- Business Insider
As a kid, I wanted to be as American as possible. Now, I want to be more Chinese.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lily Wu, a 31-year-old Chinese American compliance professional who moved to Hong Kong in her early 20s. Her words have been edited for length and clarity. If you'd asked me where I was from 10 years ago — before I moved to Asia — my answer would've been very different. "Where are you from?" has become the poster question for how Asian Americans are often treated as foreigners in their own country. I used to reply, "Boston," very matter-of-factly. I grew up there. I'm American. I speak English. It was a defensive answer, like: "Don't challenge me." Now, I just say, "I grew up in the US, but I'm ethnically Chinese." It's honest, efficient, and I'm less defensive about it than I used to be. American, born and raised I was born in Ohio but spent my early years in China while my parents studied in the US as part of the first wave of Chinese students to leave under Deng Xiaoping's 1980s reforms. We eventually settled in Boston, my hometown. I grew up surrounded by other Chinese or Chinese-American kids, and it felt like a little cultural cocoon. Later, when I started middle school at Boston Latin School, I met kids from around the world — including China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Mexico. A lot of kids at my school were local to Boston, but most non-white students, like me, were children of immigrants. That shift gave me my first understanding of how wide the world was. I grew up in a Chinese enclave and went to a diverse, progressive school where overt racism wasn't socially acceptable, at least not in my circles. Cantonese was my first language — my mom's family is from southern China — but over time, I stopped using it. One day, I started answering my parents in English, and they let it stick. Eventually, we became an English-speaking household. Looking back, I wish I spoke better Cantonese and Mandarin. Like many Asian Americans, I wanted to fit in — and while maybe my parents could've pushed harder, my brother and I were probably just stubborn. As a kid, I didn't think much of it, but now I feel a growing pull to reconnect with my roots. I was still surrounded by Chinese culture: I went to Chinese school, played the yangqin (a Chinese instrument), and watched "My Fair Princess," a TV drama, with my mom. Now, there's so much I still want to learn — not just the language, but everything that comes with it. Next stop: Hong Kong I studied international relations and economics at Tufts University, then joined a rotational finance program working across departments. My first role was in asset management in Boston. For my final rotation, I asked to be placed in Hong Kong, and the company made it happen. I'd spent most of my life in Boston, with a study abroad year and an internship in London, so moving to Hong Kong — a city I'd only visited once as a kid — felt like the right kind of adventure. I was 23 and ready to see more of the world. The transition was surprisingly smooth. Hong Kong is easy for foreigners to navigate — English is widely spoken, and the infrastructure is world-class. But being Asian American here is complicated. You blend in until you open your mouth — then people switch to English. It's efficient, but also a reminder that you're not quite "one of them." Culturally, I'm a "gwei mui" — Cantonese slang for a Westernized girl. I used to feel embarrassed by that, but now I've learned to accept it. Still, I see the value in understanding Hong Kong more deeply through its language and customs. It's ironic: I spent my childhood trying to be fully American, and now I find myself wanting to be more Chinese. Asia shifted my perspective When I visit the US now, I feel a kind of reverse culture shock — the streets are wide and quiet, and hardly anyone walks. Growing up in the States, I was constantly told how amazing it was, but I was rarely told how great other cities around the world were, too. That's starting to change, thanks to social media showing things like food delivery robots in China, high-tech toilets in Japan, and Hong Kong trains that run every few minutes. You'd never see that in Boston — I don't miss waiting 30 minutes for the subway in the freezing cold. Things just run more efficiently here. Still, I love going back to the US to see my parents and friends. I appreciate the space and calm. But these days, landing in Hong Kong feels more like coming home.
Boston Globe
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
‘Equitable and fair': BPS leaders weigh significant changes to exam school admissions policy
Related : Any change would require a vote by the board and would come about five years after the district completely overhauled admissions to the three schools: Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, and the John D. O'Bryant School of Math and Science. Tuesday's presentation will lay out a timeline of community engagement throughout the summer followed by a potential superintendent recommendation and committee vote in the fall. The current policy was intended to make the exam schools more demographically similar to the city's schools as a whole. The three schools had long enrolled larger proportions of white, Asian, and non-low income students than the rest of the district. Advertisement 'The exam school admissions policies have been largely successful at making the student body at the exam schools more representative of our communities geographically, [in] racial and ethnic diversity and [in] socioeconomic background,' Mayor Michelle Wu said in an interview Tuesday, prior to the meeting. Advertisement But the policy has also resulted in large disparities in admission rate based on where students live in the city, she said. Some years, there were 100 percent admission rates in certain neighborhoods and less than 50 percent admission rates in others. The simulations outline potential policies that would preserve the socioeconomic tiers but ensure all students have a chance at an exam school seat, regardless of where they live or go to elementary school, Wu said. 'Every policy within BPS, we have to look at to make sure it's equitable and it's fair,' Superintendent Mary Skipper said. 'We want all students to see themselves in the exam schools.' The review of the exam school admissions policy comes a month after the Trump administration Related : 'We're aware of many lawsuits at this point that are happening around selective schools and in process,' Skipper said. 'This was in the courts [and] it came out that the process we've used at the time was considered valid.' The Supreme Court last year Under the district's current policy, Advertisement Applicants receive a composite score out of 100 based on their grades and entrance exam scores. Students can get 15 bonus points if they live in public housing, are homeless, or are in foster care, or a varying number of points if they attend schools where at least 40 percent of students are low-income. The school-based bonus points vary by tier from two points to 10. As part of the review, the district found bonus points have not had a significant impact on invitations, Skipper said, as most applicants attend BPS schools that get bonus points. All the simulations prepared for Tuesday's meeting eliminated the bonus points. Skipper said district staff would analyze versions with the bonus points in the future if the School Committee requests it, but they found the points make the policy more confusing, create a sense of competition between schools. They also have even created unattainable admissions cutoffs in some cases for students without bonus points. The idea of scaling the tiers by number of applicants, rather than the number of eligible students, is a frequent demand from some parents. The most affluent tiers have historically had the most applicants, but since all tiers get the same number of seats, admission is particularly competitive in those areas. New data released Tuesday show that distinction has faded somewhat, with application rates falling in Tier 4 (the wealthiest area), and rising in Tier 1 (the least affluent area). Still, the admission rate ranged from 59 percent in Tier 4 to 77 percent in Tier 1, and the minimum scores for Grade 7 admission remained significantly higher in Tier 4. Advertisement The latest year's data also showed fewer Black students earning admission than in the prior years. Skipper said district staff are still exploring the data for explanations. Related : Under the simulated policy that equalizes tiers based on applicant numbers, the admission rate would have been about two-thirds in each tier. Two simulations with different versions of a citywide pool of seats each result in the wealthier areas having the highest admission rate, around 70 percent. On the other hand, district leaders again rejected a different frequent request in Tuesday's presentation. School Committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez has repeatedly called on the district to abandon school-based bonus points and instead award bonus points based on individual students' socioeconomic status. In a memo for the committee, Skipper said individual bonus points are not feasible due to operational challenges and because some low-income students do not participate in programs used to determine eligibility for immigration status reasons. Wu and Skipper underscored in the interview that while the exam schools are highly-sought after and serve a large and growing proportion of the district's teenagers, they cannot be the only focus. 'The driving goal is for BPS to be the first choice for every family in the city of Boston, and that means making sure we have high quality student experience at seats in every high school,' Wu said. Christopher Huffaker can be reached at
