A NEW DAY DAWNS - Boston Latin School

feAtUre
“we reCeive the Gift of the moSt ACADemiCALLy tALeNteD kiDS from ACroSS the City, reGArDLeSS of iNCome,
reGArDLeSS of rACe,” SAyS mooNey tetA. “it iS oUr DUty to eDUCAte them to their fULL PoteNtiAL…AND if we Do
thAt, we Are fULfiLLiNG oUr miSSioN. if we PUt forwArD oUr BeSt effort AND oUr BeSt thiNkiNG AS teACherS AND
PAreNtS, i kNow we wiLL SUCCeeD.”
the roLe of A Lifetime
It is the first day of school and the new head master has entered
her large corner office. It is 6:45 a.m. and Mooney Teta is dressed
in a plum-colored skirted suit that would delight her predecessor,
the always impeccably-dressed head master emerita, to no end. On
her desk is an immense arrangement of flowers from Winston’s,
sent by her mother during her first pre-opening day on August 28.
They are somewhat passed peak by September 6, yet still a sight to
behold as they remain on her desk in their faded purple glory.
The card reads, “Head Master Lynne Mooney Teta … To an
inspirational year. All my love, Mum.”
Mooney Teta is now a mother as well, to second-grader Amelia
and first-grader Michael, both of whom attend the Boston Public
Schools. Before heading outside to greet the arriving students, she
checks in at home to make sure all is well there as her two youngest
pupils prepare for their own “first day.” Earlier that morning,
Amelia had informed her mother that she had slept all night with
a smile on her face as she anticipated being back in class again.
There is no doubt that she is indeed her mother’s daughter.
Mooney Teta takes her own smile outside, as she stands in the
breezy, 50-degree weather as the first students begin to arrive.
“Good morning,” she says to the young passersby. “Is everybody
awake yet? Ready to go?”
It is clear that she is ready, even if her still sleepy students are not.
Mooney Teta has put a good team in place, with three new assistant
head masters—former Science Department Chair Alexandra
Montes Mcneil P’10, Classics faculty Sherry Lewis-daPonte ’88
and Elizabeth McCoy, a former colleague of Teta’s from needham
—as well as returning veteran assistant head master and invaluable
institutional-memory man Malcolm Flynn.
“She has an excellent vision for the future of the school and
where it should be,” says Flynn, who has been at Boston Latin
for 43 years. “The emphasis is going to be on what happens in
the classroom, as well as communication with parents and the
22 Bulletin fall 2007
community. She has already told us, ‘A few years ago, we developed
a great mission statement for the school and our job is fulfilling
that statement.’ If areas are not perfect, we will work on them.”
Mooney Teta does hold the school’s mission—to ground its
students in a contemporary classical education as preparation for
successful college studies, responsible and engaged citizenship, and
a rewarding life—as sacrosanct, and as a beacon to be followed.
“We receive the gift of the most academically talented kids
from across the city, regardless of income, regardless of race,”
says Mooney Teta. “It is our duty to educate them to their full
potential…and if we do that, we are fulfilling our mission. If we
put forward our best effort and our best thinking as teachers and
parents, I know we will succeed.”
It is among the many thoughts that race through her head on this
first day of school, as her 2,400 charges continue to arrive, some
in the wrong place—“is this the Academy?”—some with the wrong
schedule and some who appear far too small to be entering the
hallowed halls of Latin School.
Mooney Teta makes a point to visit the two homerooms of the
B-sies (first-year ninth graders) as well as the 15 sixie homerooms,
where the first quiz of the day is offered.
“Do you know who I am?” she asks the seventh graders, all of whom
seem to have that deer-in-the-headlights look as she speaks.
“You’re the head master,” replies one brave youngster, who admits
that an older sibling clued him in.
“I’m Ms. Mooney Teta and I am the head master,” she tells them.
“And just as it is your first day and you might have a few butterflies
in your stomach, it is my first day as head master and I might have a
few butterflies in my stomach. I know that you’ve earned your seat
here and you’ve come well prepared. If you do what is expected of
you, great things lie ahead.”
Mooney Teta would know this better than anyone.