For years, former Boston Latin School Algebra 1 teacher Mrs. Monica Gribaudo’s sixie homeroom did the Pledge of Allegiance. Now that she is retired, the job has fallen to Henry Guscott (V) and Darian Santos (V), along with their supervisor, BLS math teacher Mr. Jeremy Jackson. Each morning, one of these two students goes up to the main office, turns on the intercom, reads the Pledge and then reads a brief snippet of an important historical figure relevant to the month.
For Santos, standing before the microphone each morning is more than just a routine task — it’s an opportunity to “be that voice that others can depend on,” as he puts it.
Santos further elaborates, saying that, “[it makes] me the school’s American spirit.”
Santos started doing the pledge in his sixie year when he was in Mrs. Gribaudo’s homeroom. The first time he did the pledge, he felt that he had a natural talent for it. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning from then on, he would arrive at the main office three minutes before the homeroom bell, pull out his Chromebook and start saying the pledge.
Despite doing the same routine day after day, Santos is not bored with it. “I enjoy doing the pledge,” he says, adding that, “I feel happy doing [it] because it’s fun and gets me ready for the day.” He plans to recite the pledge until his senior year.
Santos is involved in many other creative pursuits. His email signatures always end with “Rapper/Pledge Announcer/Writer.” He rapped on the intercom on the last day of school last year. Under the moniker “Regret,” he uploads his music on Soundcloud. Santos has also rapped to others in his grade, trying to persuade them to “do the pledge.” Sheldon Bol (V), who has seen him rap before, shares, “[It] was funny, [and] people’s reactions were positive. My ELA teacher last year said that Darian [could] become a really good artist down the road.”
Guscott also began reciting the pledge in sixie year, though he wasn’t in Mrs. Gribaudo’s homeroom like Santos. Inspired by the call for more volunteers, Guscott sought out the opportunity.
“I just remember one morning hearing that Mrs. Gribaudo was looking for more people to do [the pledge],” Guscott states, “So, I got in touch with my homeroom teacher, I talked with Mrs. Gribaudo, we made some plans and I did the pledge.”
Guscott does the pledge on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the same reasons that Santos does it. Guscott explains, “I wanted to be another voice in the morning, [and] I really respect our tradition of the pledge.”
Santos also shares a friendly rivalry with Guscott. “Henry’s a great guy,” Santos affirms. “Overall, he does an outstanding job. He gives it his all and he’s willing to do what he needs to do. I hope he’ll continue to do it with me.”
For many years, Mrs. Gribaudo had her homeroom do the pledge. After she retired, Mr. Jackson took on the role of overseeing the morning announcements.
“[At] first, I wasn’t formally assigned the role,” Mr. Jackson explains, “But I noticed Darian was always the one doing the pledge, […] [and] I saw his diligence and care for the daily responsibility and was a bit inspired by it. I set out to find him more permanent support and develop a team in eighth grade. A handful expressed interest, but not everyone continued.”
Each morning, these two students also share brief overviews of historical figures related to the month. February was Black History Month, so they spotlighted special Black American historical figures like Fredrick Douglas or Bessie Coleman, with help from BLS Black Leaders Aspiring for Change and Knowledge. March was Women’s History Month, so Guscott organized a list of women and highlighted one of them in the announcements each day. He shares, “Me and Darian […] thought that we could acknowledge some influential people who did important things.”
Santos encourages other students to showcase their voices on the intercom: “Do the pledge. It’s fun, and it will boost your spirits. You don’t have to act like you’re on stage. And I can assure you, it’ll be a great experience.”
