Superintendent, BAA honored at Arts Advocacy Awards

The nonprofit organization Arts/Learning recently honored Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol R. Johnson and Boston Arts Academy at the 24th Annual Champion of the Arts Advocacy Awards Ceremony held at the Massachusetts State House. Arts/Learning honored Dr. Johnson with the Municipal Leadership Award and BAA with the School of Distinction in Arts Education Award. All of the honorees received handmade "spirit boxes" created by Cambridge artist Judith Motzkin.

Four students from the Kenny Elementary School in Dorchester also attended the event and read poems, including those they had written in response to the earthquake in Haiti. The students participate in a program with Troubadour, a nonprofit organization that uses poetry, prose and song lyrics to improve literacy and student achievement.

Read the students' poems after the jump.

BPS in the News: English High School mural story on WBUR radio

WBUR's David Boeri recently did a story on a special work of art in progress at The English High School. Heidi Schork, the leader of the mural crew for the City of Boston, is working with students to create a mural inside the school that represents the diversity of English's student body. Listen to the story and view the slide show on the WBUR website.

Photo: Woody Italien, from Haiti, is one of the students who became a painter. (Andrew Phelps/WBUR)

Students surprised with $100,000 worth of musical instruments

Yesterday at Symphony Hall, Fidelity Investments surprised Boston-area students with a donation of $100,000 worth of new musical instruments. The event, which linked students from Boston Arts Academy, Boston Latin Academy, the Roland Hayes School of Music, and Cambridge Rindge & Latin School via satellite to students in Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago, was part of the national kick-off of Fidelity's 2010 FutureStage program.

Read coverage in the Boston Herald or watch the NECN story.
(Photo: Boston Herald)

Boston students honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy

Boston Public Schools (BPS) students in Grades K-12 from around the city gathered recently at John Hancock Hall, along with Superintendent Carol R. Johnson, members of the Boston School Committee, teachers, parents and other special guests, to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year’s celebration, One Voice: Defying Expectations, Reaching for Excellence, marked the 28th year for the district-wide celebration. The event featured song, dance, oratory, spoken word poetry, instrumental music and other performances by students from more than 15 BPS schools, including an American Sign Language (ASL) choral presentation of We are the World by students from the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Read more and see additional photos from the event.