Ms. Arnold

Ms. Catherine Arnold is saying goodbye after almost 25 years of teaching history at Boston Latin School.
Before earning her position at BLS, Ms. Arnold had various jobs, including working as an addictions counselor for teens, as a waitress and as part of a competitive swimwear family business. She then attended college later in her life, graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 1995 and Harvard Divinity School in 1999. In September of 2000, after finding out that she would have to teach science at an alternative school despite her history background, she received a job offer at BLS and accepted it immediately.
Throughout her time at BLS, Ms. Arnold’s favorite memories include the extraordinary opportunities to travel and connect with people. She gives her love to the Youth Climate Action Network for having so many achievements, such as being awarded tens of thousands of dollars to better the environment and earning international recognition in places like Paris and Tokyo. Her students’ passion and youthfulness are contagious and have motivated her to continue working hard these past years.
After such an eventful time at BLS, Ms. Arnold is ready to move on. She is spurred to leave and spend time with her aging mother, and she is excited to take on a new adventure and showcase her love for art and creativity.
As a final message to her students, Ms. Arnold says, “It’s not about finding the right and perfect situation. It’s about bring[ing] your right and perfect self.”

Mr. Barry

After 32 years of teaching at BLS, Mr. Kamissa Barry has decided to move on to a new chapter of his life.
Mr. Barry has worked as an English teacher since 1990, but being a teacher was not his original plan; he intended to go to medical school. After abandoning this goal due to financial reasons, he attended Cambridge University to study economics.
In the summer of 1990, he was working at Phillips Academy in Andover to make some money when his boss convinced him that teaching might be a potential career for him. As a result, Mr. Barry deferred his program at Cambridge and worked at Phillips Academy that year. He eventually got his master’s degree in education and completed his practicum at BLS.
When discussing the best part about teaching, Mr. Barry comments, “The most exciting thing is to see a student learn and activate what they know and get them excited.”
Teaching, however, was not always easy for him. In his first few years at BLS, Mr. Barry had difficulty adjusting to his teaching life. He notes that the English curriculum was literature-heavy and focused more on displaying a teacher’s knowledge than helping students absorb information. To improve, he worked on having a more open mind, inviting professionals to watch him and provide feedback.
For the future, Mr. Barry is ready to live his life to the fullest extent. He leaves this message for his students: “There’s no miracle. The only miracle is that you work hard.”

Mr. Bilodeau

Mr. Gerald Bilodeau is ready to relax after almost 24 years in the BLS math department.
Mr. Bilodeau began teaching as a graduate school assistant. He then taught at Boston College High School for 17 years, where he became Director of Technology and Head of the Math Department. Starting in 2001, he taught math at BLS and became the Math Program Director in 2015. Mr. Bilodeau is also the BLS Math Team club advisor and organizes middle and high school competitions.
The hardworking community around him shaped the start of his career. He specifically acknowledges his first precalculus class, where he was amazed by his students’ willingness to learn. He also appreciates the colleagues who helped him in his teaching career.
One of Mr. Bilodeau’s favorite memories from BLS is going viral on a video that one of his classes posted recently, earning over 2.5 million views on Instagram. He comments, “Showing up every day to a class where I’m happy to see them, and they’re happy to see me — [that sense] of joy — that’s an amazing memory.”
When asked about his future, Mr. Bilodeau shares that it will be hard to leave, but he has always wished to leave when he was still teaching at his best. He plans to continue working part-time at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, travel with his wife and explore new activities.
To conclude, he tells his students, “Keep at it. Keep working. Keep thinking. Keep being who you are.”

Ms. Elliott

After 22 years of teaching in the history department, Ms. Meredith Elliott will be leaving BLS.
Before working at BLS, Ms. Elliott interned at the White House in 1997 and began teaching AP U.S. History and English in West Valley City, Utah. Having been born and raised in the suburbs of Boston, she looked forward to returning when BLS had an opening for her in 2003.
During her first year at BLS, Ms. Elliott taught ninth graders and tenth graders world history and began teaching AP U.S. History in her second year. She started teaching AP U.S. Government in 2008 and AP Comparative Government in 2017.
One of Ms. Elliott’s favorite memories was made while teaching at BLS: a political convention in 2004. She also shares, “It’s really fun to see where all [of my] students end up in the workforce, and it’s really fun to see how students grow at different paces while they’re here.”
Despite retiring, Ms. Elliot plans to stay politically engaged. “I want to stay involved in politics, […] so I’m going to look for opportunities in my community to preserve democracy,” she explains.
Ms. Elliott is also looking forward to spending time away from work with her spouse and focusing on her hobbies.
She shares a parting message: “Try the things that scare you because you don’t know what you might be able to do.”

Ms. Kelley

Program Director of the Modern Foreign Language Department and AP Spanish teacher Ms. Christine Kelley is retiring after almost 20 years at BLS.
Before working at BLS, she taught kids with learning disabilities at all grade levels. She began working at BLS in 2005 after a few years of teaching Spanish at other schools in the Boston area.
Ms. Kelley explains that she never wanted to be a teacher but was assigned to work with students in the sixth grade at a different school. She remarks, “[I] fell in love with watching things click for them […] and being able to be creative and play games but also teach them at the same time.”
She also acknowledges that there are many memories she made while working with kids that make her laugh, and that there are many opportunities at BLS that don’t exist in other schools when it comes to teaching kids.
Ms. Kelley shares some of the best parts about being a teacher: “[I enjoy] working with the other Spanish teachers and getting to know them outside of the classroom as well.”
Retiring this coming year, Ms. Kelley feels that it is time to try something different. She plans to travel, teach part-time and just see how things go.
Ms. Kelley shares, “Get outside your comfort zone, definitely […] experience new things and meet new people.”

Mr. Njoku

Mr. Alexander Njoku is departing after nearly 14 years of teaching science.
Prior to working at BLS, Mr. Njoku spent three years as an engineer with Procter & Gamble after graduating from Boston University. He then switched over to education, working at various schools including Boston Latin Academy, Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School and Boston Arts Academy. In 2011, he ended up at BLS.
Mr. Njoku’s family is filled with educators. He shares that both his mother and his father used to be Heads of School, and five out of his ten siblings, in fact, have taught before.
When discussing his early years at BLS, Mr. Njoku gives his appreciation to his friendly peers and hard-working students. He is especially grateful to Mr. Jesse Southwick and Mr. Aaron Osowiecki for pushing him to be the teacher that he is today. He also recalls an amusing memory of when he gave a large amount of homework, not expecting that all of his students would complete it, leaving him with a huge stack of papers to grade by the end of the day.
Mr. Njoku’s favorite memories throughout his time at BLS revolve around his students’ reflections at the end of each year. He treasures his students and maintains contact with many.
As a final word of advice, Mr. Njoku remarks, “Anywhere you go in life, honesty is key. As long as you’re honest, your future will be very bright.”

Mrs. O’Donnell

Mrs. Tracy O’Donnell will be making her departure from BLS after more than 11 years of teaching in the math department.
After graduating from BLS in 1981, Mrs. O’Donnell worked in financial services for around 25 years before going back to graduate school and transitioning into her teaching career.
Mrs. O’Donnell has always liked teaching — from helping her classmates as a student in math to tutoring in college. Despite doing well in her career in financial services, she says, “[I] really wanted to give teaching a shot.”
Mrs. O’Donnell began teaching at BLS as a long-term substitute in 2014.
She shares, “[It was] overwhelming to suddenly make a career change,” and that it was tricky to figure out her teaching strategies as a brand-new teacher. She has taught geometry, AP Computer Science and pre-calculus during her career at BLS.
Looking to the future, her plans involve traveling, spending time with her family and being able to visit friends and family who do not live close by.
“I love BLS,” Mrs. O’Donnell reflects, “I love what it represents, and I love the opportunity it gave me as a city kid whose parents couldn’t afford to send me to private school, […] and it’s still [like] that for so many people.”