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Happy Birthday BAA!

Give the gift of opportunity: donate today to Boston Arts Academy for its 25th Birthday!

Happy Birthday BAA Banner

On October 7, 1998, Boston Arts Academy opened its door as a pilot school, serving as a pathway to success for low-income urban students who might not otherwise have access to a formal arts and college-preparatory education. 25 years later, BAA has influenced the cultural fabric of Boston and changed the lives of over 2,000 alumni.

This year, during BAA's 25th year, BAA finally moved into its brand-new school building in Fenway. The building features a 500-seat professional theatre, STEAM lab, pin-up gallery, rooftop terrace, multiple dance studios, and more.

While BAA’s new school building will help us permanently close opportunity gaps for more of Boston’s students, it will not change the school’s existing funding model: Boston Public Schools pays for Boston Arts Academy’s core academic curriculum, and BAA Foundation funds the school’s arts curriculum as well as academic and social-emotional support services. Enhancing the school’s financial sustainability is more critical than ever.

With support from friends like you during our 25th year, we can ensure that the students have the resources they need to achieve their full potential.

Help us keep the arts ALIVE by gifting $25, $250, $2,500, $25,000 or more to be recognized in The BAAF Anniversary Club!

DONATE HERE!

Give the gift of opportunity to more students like Ariya!

The BAAF Anniversary Club: Sponsor Benefits

$25Freshman Level Sponsorrecognized on 25th Anniversary campaign page
$250Sophomore Level Sponsorrecognized on 25th Anniversary campaign page, listing in Champion Reception 2023 program book, and receive Anniversary swag
$2,500Junior Level Sponsorrecognized on 25th Anniversary campaign page, listing in Champion Reception 2023 program book, receive Anniversary swag, and mentions on social media and in our eblast
$25,000Senior Level Sponsorrecognized on ALL 2022-2023 Anniversary Events, receive Anniversary swag, a featured news story, mentions on social media and in our eblast, and a private tour of BAA for up to 20 guests

Thank you to our 25th Anniversary Club Donors:

Freshman Level Sponsors

Anonymous (4)

Jonathan Abbott and Shari Malyn

Jennifer H. Adler and Seth Albaum

David Ager

Randy Albelda

Dorothee Alsentzer

Paul Antonelli

Raney Aronson

Arlene S. Ash

Grace Baljon

Jorge Andrés Ballesteros

Betsy Bard

Barricklo Family

Joy Bautista

Beate Becker

Deborah Belle

Linda Berg

Gerald Bergstein

Jimmy Bierman

Dean Bingham

Christopher Binns

Martyn Bridgeman

Todd and Trish Carey

Levi Carpenter

Bithiah Carter

Carole Charnow

Libby Chiu and Peter Murray

Maha Chourafa

Stephen Churchill

Denella J. Clark

Laurie Contrino

Susan and Dana DiMarzo

Mary Driscoll and Luke Hill

Susan Duncker

Caitlin and Jack Durkin

Linda Durkin

Thomas Durkin

Mary Eich

David and April Felton

Mark and Lucille Fisher

Marlene Francis

Edmund Barry Gaither

Danielle Galligan

Michelle Golden and Helen Onthank

Marisela Gomez

Molly Hanrahan

Annie and Andrew Hayes

Virginia Hecker

Kathy Heger-Rivera

Albert Holland

Ekua Holmes

Thomas and Sonja Hout

Samuel Hughes

Dr. Janice E. Jackson

Amy and Minai Kam

Bernice Katz

Mary Keyes

Nina Kimball, Esq.

Susan Lambert

Bill Lasser

Regina and James Lawson

Peter Libby

Heather Long

Daniel Maloof

Kathleen Maloof

Alexandria Malvo

Nicole R. Manny

John and Kathleen Marsh

John Matthews

Joyce and Thomas McCusker

Ceasar and Solmaz McDowell

Scotta McFarland

James McQueen

Nana and Antoine Melay, Jr.

Jonathan and Jacqueline Melick

Dea Moore

Catherine Morris

John Mudd

Roxanna Myhrum

Jim Neenan

Emily Neustadt

Margaretta Olton

Elissa Parker

Kristine Patterson

William Perkins and Mary Battenfeld

Kymberly Pinder

Sandra Quispe

James and Marchelle Raynor

Avery Rimer and Richard Weissbourd

Molly Jo and Christopher Rivelli

Kay George Roberts

April Romano

Abby Rosenberg

Nicole Roth

Mary Rutkowski and Gideon Ansell

George Savage

Emmett Schaefer

Richard and Diane Schmalensee

James V. Schober

Jasmine Sessoms

Mara Sidmore and Cameron Willard

Harvey Silvergate and Elsa Dorfman

Jill Slosburg-Ackerman

Benjamin and Judith Smith

Janaki Stern

Rosalind Thomas-Clark

Brittany Thomas

Natalia Urtubey

Robert and Gina Wahlberg

Emily Wilson

Katherine B. Winter

Jennifer and Christopher Wright

Owen and Valerie Young

Gina Zalewski

Virginia and Mark Zanger

Sophomore Level Sponsors

Anonymous (2)

Debi and Ashley Adams

Laura Alpert

Laurie Alpert and Barry Weiss

Arreen Andrew

Elizabeth Awalt

Claire Barker

Nancy Bauer

Jonathan and Maggie Baxter

Lorraine Bigrigg

Jamie Buckner

Pamela Butz and Jeffrey Klug

Ilene Carver

Catherine Tan Chan

Fernadina Chan

Petrina and Kevin Cherry

Gale K. and Peter S. Constable

Peter Crook

Elizabeth and David Curtis

Anne D. Emerson

David Engvall

Iris and Robert Fanger

Michael Felsen

Judith and John Felton

Matthew and Judith Fichtenbaum

First Church of Christ, Scientist

Bill and Joyce Fletcher

Christian Flynn and Dan Schutt

Lynda Fraley and Jim Elliott

The Goldberg Family Foundation

Molly and Jeff Goodman

Kenneth J. Gordon

Robyn Gottschall

Gregory Groover, Jr.

Graham and Ann Gund

Daniel Guttman

Dawn Curtis Hanley

Consuelo and John Isaacson

The Lewis Family

Susan Heideman and Fred Hapgood

William Henchy

B. Thomas Henry

Sharon Hessney

Linda and Tim Holiner

Greg Holt

Sherry Horn

Leigh and Doug Hurd

Charmain Jackman and Jeff Lahens

Michael Kitchen

Barbara Krakow

Martin and Beth Kramer

Geraldine S. Kunstadter

James and Anne LaPlante

Anita Lauricella

Dylan Leavitt and Michael Libert

Claire Levesque

Bara Levin

Sanford Levinson

Lisa Lobel

Dr. Yndia Lorick-Wilmot and Damian Wilmot

Julie and Christopher Lovell

Doris Lowy and Paul Zigman

Arnold Reisman and Paula Lyons

Adonis Martin

Pam McDermott

Rita and Patrick McGeary

Daniel E. Melick

Leah and John Morris

Ignacio Martinez and Victoria Moule

Scott Murphy

Barry and Deirdre Nectow

Dr. David Nelson and Kimberly Nelson

James Packer and Martha Kramer

Ellen Payzant

Kristine Piaatt

Jonathan Pucker

Hilary Field Respass

Chris Rifkin

Rivermoor Engineering

Christine Rose

Caroline and Peter Schanzer

David and Marie Louise Scudder

Jana Silsby

Colleen Smith

Leah Solomon

David and Ginni Spencer

Kristen Standish

Emilie D. Steele

Debbie and Theodore Sturman

Dan and Leslie Sullivan

Rick Tagliaferri and Jill Mackavey

Ben and Kate Taylor

Pamela Taylor

Teddy Shoes

Maura Tighe and Paul Gattuso

Andrew Toland

Steven Tompkins

Edwin Truman

Mary and Charles Vadala

Rosamond Vaule

Vivian and André Ward

David Warner

Beth Warren

Flora and Robert Watson

John and Kathleen Weaver

Jerry Wheelock and Elizabeth Wood

Celeste and Scott Wilson

Jerry and Elizabeth Wood

Cora Yamagata

Junior Level Sponsors

Anonymous (1)

Alchemy Foundation

Corinne Anne Basler

Gordon, Liza and Robbie Bemis, in memory of Jane Marrow

Jason and Neathery Brenzel

Kevin and Julie Callaghan

Sandra Gordon

Dr. Mark Leiserson and Robin Socol

Christine and David Letts

Steven and Cynthia Meyers

Elizabeth and Robert Pozen

Suzanne and Peter Read

Steve Vondran

Senior Level Sponsors

25th Anniversary Club Donors listing was updated as of April 12, 2023.

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Who Is BAA?

A Look Back at BAA’s History

BAA's 25 Year History

1998 | Boston Arts Academy was Founded

Boston Arts Academy was founded when a committed group of educators, parents, and public officials as well as the presidents of the member colleges of Boston’s ProArts Consortium recognized the need for a public arts high school in Boston. BAA was established as a pilot school and the city’s first full inclusion high school – a place that admits students based solely on arts auditions without regard to prior academic, behavioral, or learning challenges.

2005 | Award-Winning Summer Reading Program was Launched

BAA launched its award-winning literacy intervention program, Summer Reading, which has since served over 400 BAA students and trained dozens of teachers, interns from local colleges and universities, and volunteers.

2009 | BAA won the National Schools of Distinction in Arts Education Award

BAA won the National Schools of Distinction in Arts Education Award from the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education.

2013 | BAA was recognized as the Outstanding Arts School by the Arts School Network

BAA was recognized as the Outstanding Arts School by the Arts School Network.

2014 | BAA's First-Ever STEAM Lab was Established

The STEAM Lab was opened to establish a maker space/artists’ studio/fabrication laboratory so students could explore the connections between the arts, science, and math, while incorporating new technology into their projects.

2015 | BAA was featured in Ken Robinson’s Book about Creative Schools

BAA was featured in Ken Robinson’s book, Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution that’s Transforming Education.

2016 | BAA was a Silver Recognition Recipient from the Schools of Opportunity

BAA was a Silver Recognition Recipient from the Schools of Opportunity and won the Signature Enterprise Schools Award from the GRAMMY Foundation.

2018 | BAA's Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Building of the New School

Ground was broken July 1 for construction of a new $125 million facility at 174 Ipswich Street, leading to relocation of both Boston Arts Academy and the Boston Arts Academy Foundation.

Watch here: Boston Arts Academy Groundbreaking - YouTube

2021 | Topping Off Ceremony, Completing the Structure of the New School

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and City Council President Kim Janey, city and state officials, and members of BAA and the BAA Foundation, raised the final steel beam into place to complete the structure of the new building in a Topping Off Ceremony. Prior to the ceremony, BAA students, caregivers, faculty, staff, and community leaders wrote notes and decorated the beam, forever embedding their messages in to the steelwork of the school itself.

Watch here: Boston Arts Academy Topping-Off Ceremony - YouTube

2022 | Grand Opening of the New 174 Ipswich, and BAA Celebrates 25 Years!

The fall of 2022 will mark the Grand Opening of the new Boston Arts Academy school building in the Fenway, and the school's 25th Anniversary since its original opening!

Donate to celebrate this big year for BAA.

Join us on October 8 for the Grand Opening, during BAA Honors 2022.

A 25th Anniversary Year In Review (so far):

Here are 25 Photos of 25 Opportunities YOU created by supporting Boston Arts Academy Foundation for BAA's 25th Anniversary!

A photo is worth a thousand words. These photos speak volumes on how you've made an impact, and there's still time to join us in making this celebratory year even more special. By donating $25 or more, you'll join the BAAF 25th Anniversary Club!

Donate
Boston Arts Academy Foundation

Talent is evenly distributed in society, but not opportunity. Help us change that reality in Boston.

Make a 100% tax-deductible donation to support Boston students. Contact us at (617) 763-1151.

Prefer to mail a check?

Make checks payable to Boston Arts Academy Foundation

126 Brookline Ave. 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02215

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