A NEW DAY DAWNS - Boston Latin School

Dear Fellow Alumni and Friends,
This is an exciting, historic moment for our Latin School as we welcome as head
master, Lynne Mooney Teta ’86, our first alumna to assume this role. Only a few
short months ago we celebrated the distinguished tenure of Cornelia A. Kelley
H’44, our head master emerita, who herself made BLS history in 1998 when she
became the school’s first female head master.
I believe I speak for all of our alumni in saying how fortunate we are to have Lynne
serving as the 27th head master of BLS. I am confident that her intellect, energy,
sense of humor and dedication to academic excellence will allow Alma Mater and
her students to shine in the years ahead.
At the same time that we have experienced this transition of head masters, we have
also seen a shift in the office of superintendent of Boston Public Schools. As many
of you are aware, our esteemed head master emeritus and fellow alumnus Michael
Contompasis ’57 has stepped down as superintendent. He was succeeded in August
by Carol Johnson, formerly head of the Memphis, TN, public schools. We look
forward to getting to know Superintendent Johnson and sharing information on
the successful partnership between BLS and its alumni association.
Similarly, there have been new appointees to assistant head master positions at the
School, to management and staff roles at the Association and to the BLSA Board,
which you will read more about in the pages to follow and the BLSA eNewsletter.
Further, I want to express my thanks, on behalf of our alumni, for the inspired
leadership of Mark Michalowski ’77 during the past two years of his chairmanship
and to welcome in another long-time committed alumnus, Lew Gack ’62, as chair
of the Board of Trustees.
Unfortunately, with all these changes and the opportunities they present, one
constant remains. The city of Boston, like most cities, is financially strapped
and finding it more and more difficult to provide the level of budgetary support
needed to preserve, let alone enhance, the capabilities of its public schools. But
the good news is that so many of you, as caring BLS graduates, are not willing to
allow such fiscal and political dilemmas to take their toll on the quality of a Latin
School education. We are enormously grateful to the increasing number of BLS
alumni who recognize the importance of giving back to Alma Mater in order
to ensure that it continues to thrive, and who have helped make the BLS-BLSA
partnership a national leadership model of private support for public education.
Clearly, Latin School’s continued success depends on the loyalty and generosity of
its alumni.
Finally, I would urge each one of you to consider becoming part of the life of
BLS and the BLSA. We at the Association hope that if you haven’t been inclined
or had the chance to visit BLS or experience one of the many activities sponsored
by the BLSA, that you do so soon. Whether it’s an alumni networking event, the
annual pre-Thanksgiving Day Dinner where we recognize those amongst us who
have made a unique impact, a Dialogue and Discourse lunch downtown, a BLSA
committee meeting or regional chapter event, reunion planning or volunteering
at the school…it will be time well spent. As always, I welcome your thoughts and
suggestions on how we can better serve the school and its alumni.
Warmest Regards,
David S. Weiner ’59
President
president’s message
fall 2007 Bulletin 47
photography: mark morelli