BPS Visual and Performing Arts Department

New Piano Lab at the Umana Academy

5/6/2025

From last week’s BPS Beyond the Bell family newsletter:
The Mario Umana Academy in partnership with the Lang-Lang International Music Foundation’s Keys of Inspiration Program and the BPS Arts Department, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week for an updated piano lab!

Students have access to brand new pianos to learn their notes and keys in a contemporary space Music Teacher Miss Virginia [Lopez-Alvarez] has made extra-lively.

Students, families and staff were treated to three musical performances, including two from Mario Umana Academy students who will continue their musical education next year at Boston Arts Academy and Boston Latin School.

The piano lab at the Mario Umana Academy is the ninth lab of its kind in BPS!

BPS High School Art Shows at the Museum of Fine Arts

4/23/2025

Boston Public Schools high school students from classrooms across the district were invited to submit artwork to the Museum of Fine Arts’ digital exhibition and an in-person exhibition. Explore the works of these young artists.

Participating schools include:

Boston Arts Academy
Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers
Fenway High School
John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science
Madison Park High School
Margarita Muñiz Academy
Mel King South End Academy

Photo credit: Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Nicole Smith Selected for National Project to Change Arts Education Practice in Boston

4/30/2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nicole Smith Selected for National Project to Change Arts Education Practice in Boston, MA. Smith among only 484 participants in Connected Arts Networks (CAN)

Boston, MA (April 27, 2024) — Nicole Smith, Theatre Arts Specialist at the Charles Sumner Elementary School in Boston, MA, has been chosen to participate in a national project designed to advance arts education practice in schools across the country. Funded by a five-year, $8.5 million U.S. Department of Education grant, Connected Arts Networks is a joint endeavor of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), and the National Art Education Association (NAEA). Smith is one of 105 theatre educators and 484 total educators across the arts disciplines to join the project, which involves a three-year commitment to participating in CAN’s professional learning communities (PLCs).

These groups engage in peer-to-peer learning, access to top arts education experts, share insights, and explore innovative approaches to reaching all students in their classrooms. Smith will be part of CAN’s ultimate goal of creating a model for sustainable arts-based teacher learning communities across the nation.

“Nicole was selected because of her dedication to theatre education and commitment to advancing equitable and inclusive practices within arts instruction,” said EdTA Chief Learning Officer Cory Wilkerson, who leads the theatre portion of the project. “Having opportunities to learn from their peers is beneficial for all educators, but especially for theatre educators, who are often the only educator trained in their discipline within a school or even a district. We are thrilled to be a part of a project that aims to make that a reality for all theatre teachers and to elevate the field.”

Find more information about CAN on NAEA’s website.

About the Educational Theatre Association
The Educational Theatre Association, home to the Educational Theatre Foundation and International Thespian Society, is an international nonprofit whose mission is shaping lives through theatre education. The foundation provides essential financial support to enhance theatre education, expand access, and foster racial equity. The International Thespian Society, an honor society active in nearly 5,000 schools, has inducted 2.5 million students since 1929. Visit schooltheatre.org to learn how EdTA honors students, supports teachers, and influences public opinion that theatre education is essential for building life skills.

BPS Students to Perform with Boston Pops

4/10/2024

Congratulations to Su Yavuz and Brian Washington, the jazz duo on piano and drums from the Boston Arts Academy, for their remarkable achievement. They have been selected as one of the four Grand Prize Winners of the Fidelity Investments Young Artists Competition!

As a result, they will be performing with the esteemed Boston Pops on June 4th. We eagerly look forward to their performance and hearing more about their preparations for this prestigious event.

Visit the Fidelity Investments Young Artists page to learn more about the competition.

Make sure to catch this electrifying performance that placed Su and Brian in the finals!

Marching in South Boston

3/22/2024

Congratulations to the Kenny Elementary School Marching Band (Dorchester) for taking part in South Boston's St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday, March 17th, 2024! The ensemble is led by Music Director Jerry Chu.

The Kenny Elementary School has participated in the parade for almost 20 years! You can catch the school's appearance on NBC10 Boston's replay of the parade here.

Other notable performances from the music program include the Kenny School Singers' opening performances for EdVestors' School-on-the-Move Prize Ceremony in November 2023, and the 41st Annual BPS Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in January 2024.

Connecting students, families, and artwork

3/15/2024

Shout out to Zahirah Truth, Visual Art Teacher at the Roosevelt Upper School (Hyde Park), who recently shared some tips for creating a family newsletter!

Zahirah notes: "I utilize the emailing feature in Aspen, which enables me to select all students and contacts, and I often cc administrators. The content is typically drafted in a Google Doc for efficiency. I find that sending an email is more streamlined than creating a PDF newsletter in tools like Canva, which can feel like duplicating efforts.

I am intentional about making information available to all students and families, and I strive to ensure that language is not a barrier to communication."

30th Annual BPS Youth Art Month

3/11/2024

Last Saturday’s opening ceremony on the City Hall mezzanine was a huge success! Shout-out to the talented visual art students and teachers from the following schools for all of their work putting together amazing artwork for exhibition at City Hall.

Baldwin ELPA (Adrienne Nguyen-Hieu)
Bates Elementary (Andrea Nordland-Drakes)
Boston Arts Academy (Kathleen Marsh)
Charlestown High School (Nancy Zimbalist)
Clap Innovation School (Connie Cummings)
Condon K-8 (Francesca Maddaluno, Mariana Yanes Cabral)
Curley K-8 (Alicia Finnorn, Peter Pizzi, Anna Youman)
East Boston High School (Ron MacGeorge)
Ellis Elementary (Julia Goddard)
Everett Elementary (Barbara Gates)
Excel High School (Angela Maki, Erin Roth)
Greenwood K-8 (Rebekah Shyloski)
Harvard/Kent Elementary (Carla Marrero)
Henderson Upper School (Colleen Comerford)
Kenny Elementary (Casey Manning)
Kilmer K-8 (Leesha Boylan, Arie O'Connor)
King Elementary (Ivonne Otero-Donovan)
Lyon K-8 (Elizabeth Coughlin)
Mendell Elementary (Alexa Beil)
O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science (Katie Freiburger)
O'Donnell Elementary (Melanie Kerr, Jenn Kobialka)
Quincy Elementary (Sally Wattles)
Tynan Elementary (Ida Vozella)
Warren-Prescott K-8 (Lauren Wells)

Thank you to teacher Rebekah Shyloski (Greenwood K-8) and her student Rosela for speaking at the opening reception. What a wonderful opportunity to publicly celebrate students' artistic brilliance, and the hard work that all of our teachers put in every day in our schools. Mayor Michelle Wu attended for the second year in a row and expressed, “We are so grateful to all of you for all of the ways that you make our city beautiful, and strong, and inclusive, and welcoming."

Thank you to the BPS student musicians from Boston String Academy for providing the opening musical performance for the event!

Don’t miss out on the chance to see BPS students’ artwork on display on various floors of City Hall throughout the month of March!

Thank you to the City of Boston Mayor's Office for providing the photos above! More images from the opening ceremony are available here.

#BPSArts4All Blog

New Piano Lab at the Umana Academy

BPS High School Art Shows at the Museum of Fine Arts

Nicole Smith Selected for National Project to Change Arts Education Practice in Boston

BPS Students to Perform with Boston Pops

Marching in South Boston

Connecting students, families, and artwork

30th Annual BPS Youth Art Month

BPS ARTS OFFICE
Campbell Resource Center
1216 Dorchester Ave.
Boston, MA 02215

OUR MISSION

CONTACT US

#BPSArts4All Blog

New Piano Lab at the Umana Academy

BPS High School Art Shows at the Museum of Fine Arts

Nicole Smith Selected for National Project to Change Arts Education Practice in Boston

BPS Students to Perform with Boston Pops

Marching in South Boston

Connecting students, families, and artwork

30th Annual BPS Youth Art Month

BPS ARTS OFFICECampbell Resource Center1216 Dorchester Ave.Boston, MA 02215

OUR MISSION

CONTACT US

BPS ARTS OFFICE
Campbell Resource Center
1216 Dorchester Ave.
Boston, MA 02215