Our Model
Our school serves as the creative junction where life experience meets ambition and intellectual curiosity. We offer unique opportunities in a caring environment for students to grow as artists while preparing them for the next step. More so, students are able to develop their own voices and use them in thoughtful, intentional ways, whether it be for their art or to inspire change.
Artist
We have eight hours of instruction every day at BAA, giving equal weight to both the arts and academics. Our extended learning time provides 300 additional hours per year of comprehensive study and practice, ensuring our students receive exceptional artistic training with arts educators and guest teaching artists who are also highly skilled, professional working artists.
Scholar
At BAA, we respect artistic learning as scholarly work. In combination with intense study in one of four arts majors, our students’ schedules incorporate a challenging academic course load that integrates artistic learning and project-based experiences. Students take a range of courses from our academic departments, including humanities, language and literary arts, mathematics, science, world language, and physical education to exceed MassCore requirements. Through our dual enrollment program, students can also obtain college credit by enrolling in courses at local colleges including, but not limited to our seven ProArts Consortium colleges.
Full Inclusion
We’re always focused on what our students can do, not what they can’t. Every conversation we have begins with a student’s strengths. As a full inclusion school, students with learning differences are educated alongside their peers with additional support and the rich diversity of our student body is celebrated and reflected through a curriculum. An inclusive education at BAA is supported by educators who utilize Universal Design for Learning to ensure all students, regardless of their background or learning style, are able to grow as artists-scholars-global citizens.
Global Citizen
At BAA, we want our students to challenge the status quo and grow personally as well as professionally so that they can become leaders in their fields of interest as well as their communities. As artist-scholars, students are consistently asked to think critically about the world around them and use artistic and interdisciplinary thinking and scholarship to engage in the democratic process. Students actively practice those skills through an intentionally designed school culture that uplifts students’ voices and make them part of decision-making.
Arts Majors
Dance
Music
Visual Arts & Design
Academics
World Languages
In BAA World Languages courses, students acquire language skills through theme based units, which incorporate students’ artistic strengths and creative interests.... Learn More
S.T.E.A.M.
STEAM is the study of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, engaging students more deeply, improving their science and math knowledge, and giving them the tools to communicate more effectively.... Learn More
Service Learning
Service Learning empowers students to address pressing issues in their communities through their work as artists.... Learn More
Humanities
Our academic classes emphasize interdisciplinary thinking, project-based learning, and student constructions of understanding. In the Humanities courses, BAA students explore the role of the artist in society, the power structure... Learn More
Language & Literary Arts
In Language and Literary Arts, BAA students explore creative writing techniques in various genres as readers, writers, and critical and creative thinkers.... Learn More
Summer Programs
High expectations require high support, and the summer offers an opportunity to accelerate reading and math skills for students who need that support. Offered exclusively for BAA students, our summer reading and math programs are an award-winning 5-week program that provides intensive academic intervention to students in reading and math through small group instruction with highly trained reading specialists and math teachers. Throughout the year, our intervention team and teaching staff regularly monitor students’ academic progress and will recommend students for this opportunity in order to accelerate their math and reading skills.
The reading strand of the program teaches intensive word analysis techniques, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies through reading material that inspires and motivates BAA students to think deeply about issues that matter to them. Our data has consistently shown that students in the program increase their reading level by 1-3 grade levels and return with increased confidence as aspiring artist-scholar-global citizens. In many cases, students can recover academic credits for successful completion of the program.
BAA partners with the BPS Arts Office to offer opportunities for students in grades 6-8 to learn in and through the arts at Boston Arts Academy. To learn more about those opportunities and how to register, please visit the BPS Arts Office website at https://www.bpsarts.org/summer.html.
The opportunity to continue intensive artistic training over the summer can support students in gaining the skills needed for acceptance into competitive arts colleges. Through the support of the Boston Arts Academy Foundation, we are able to award scholarships to students with financial need to continue their training in intensive summer arts programs both locally and abroad. As a result of this funding, students who otherwise would not have been able to were able to continue their training at, but not limited to:
Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Intensive
Boston Conservatory Summer Dance Intensive
Dance Theater of Harlem
Berklee Gospel Summer Program
Berklee 5-Week Program
Boston University Tanglewood Institute
Assisi Summer Opera Intensive in Assisi, Italy
Stage Door Manor
NYU Stonestreet Screen Acting Program
Putney School Summer Arts Program
Snow Farm
Harvard Pre-College Program
Actors Shakespeare Project
Fashion Institute of Technology Summer Workshop
Boston Conservatory Musical Theater Workshop
