Student Life
The Academy offers its students a variety of activities to develop the whole person. From the opening day ceremony to academic field trips to arts and sports, the Academy provides opportunities for students to excel in many areas.
Art Programs: Area artists visit the school regularly to share their talents in visual and theatre arts with the students. A Newton-based music foundation sponsors performances by musical groups from the Boston area.
Kwanzaa Celebration - Each December, the Smith Leadership Academy is the first stop on the City of Boston's annual Kwanzaa celebration. The Academy's students take part in this non-religious festival that commemorates the seven African values of unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. An outgrowth of the 1960's Black Nationalist movement, the festival's founders envisioned this annual celebration as a way for Americans to reconnect with their African heritage by uniting in meditation and studying African traditions.
Blacks in Wax Museum - Every February, the students participate in the Academy's annual Blacks in Wax Museum which incorporates a variety of artistic forms. This is a day when students reach back into previous centuries and take on the persona of an African-American historical figure. Held during Black History month, this exhibit showcases the visual and acting talent of students and helps the Academy's students, who are predominately of African-American or Caribbean-American heritage, better understand their cultural contributions to U.S. and world history.
Musical Arts- In June 2009, Smith Leadership Academy students staged The Wiz, a musical/art program in the Media Arts Performance Center at Roxbury Community College. This event was open to the public.
Field Trips: The Academy offers a variety of field trips to area museums, historic buildings and landmarks that tie into the curriculum. Each year, the students participate in City Lab at Boston University Medical Center.
Foreign Travel: The Academy sponsors a trip to Africa during the April school vacation break to further connect students to their cultural heritage. The trip is open to a selected group of students who are able to raise money to finance their travel. In the past two years, the students have travelled to Senegal and Uganda.
In April 2009, a group of Smith Leadership Academy teachers, staff and students spent two-weeks in Africa, visiting schools in Uganda where they delivered much-needed educational materials. Shown in the photo on the left are (l. to r.) student Brandon Smith, teachers Janelle Hoffman and Nicole Piatelli and student Samantha Amarro.
Leader-to-Leader Program: The Academy hosts individuals representing a variety of professions including law, finance, bio-technology, high-technology, education and politics in the for-profit, nonprofit and governmental sectors of the community. These professionals range from state legislators to prominent sports figures to corporate executives who engage in an interactive and reflective dialogue with students to help them understand the possibilities for their future.
Rites of Passage: Each year, at every grade level, students undergo a "rite of passage" through events emphasizing the importance of "stretching" oneself to do his/her own personal best while helping peers work toward academic and social success. This program helps integrate pride about their cultural heritage into building a caring, supportive school community.
Science Exhibitions: The Academy's Science Department holds two exhibits of students' work in conjunction with the conclusion of the first two trimester units.
- First Trimester exhibit in December: Invention Convention, Grades 6-8.
- Second Trimester exhibit in March: Community Showcase, Grades 6 & 7; Science Fair, Grade 8.
Sports: The Academy has competitive basketball and track teams for both boys and girls. The Academy plays teams from other charter schools as well as the Boston Public School. Some of these athletes go on to play sports in high school.
