advancement | Mission & values
Your philanthropic support helps BB&N live our values every day—in and out of classrooms, on athletic fields, performing and visual arts stages and studios, and in the broader community. The stories below are just a few examples of how your generosity makes an impact on students, faculty, and staff across all our campuses.
Inquiry
We promote curiosity and critical thinking to inspire a lifelong love of learning.
Integrity
We strive to be honest, conscientious, and accountable in our actions even when no one is watching.
Belonging
We foster a culture of respect, well-being, and connection that values all individuals and empowers them to discover and be their authentic selves.
Kindness
We strengthen our communities by recognizing our common humanity and treating ourselves and others with respect and compassion.
inquiry
At the annual Middle School Science Knight in May, 8th grade students shared their spring science projects with the BB&N community. With questions about the effects of pollution on rainforests, how to make F1 racing more sustainable, sleep and the teenage brain, and more, students tackled today’s problems with vigor and dedication.
For about six weeks, every student group completed a large poster board and an interactive component by working in the Library Learning Center (LLC) during their E block. Their tireless efforts resulted in comprehensive findings that delighted even the younger members of the BB&N community at Science Knight.
integrity
Over the past year, Upper School English Teacher David Scrivner and several colleagues have incorporated new units on Digital Literacy for their English 10 students. As Scrivner shared, “This curriculum is influenced by a growing movement toward more collaborative, student-directed projects, supported in part by grants from the Teaching and Learning Office.”
At the end of the spring semester, following their own two-week study of the topic, Scrivner’s 10th graders designed a two-week unit that they recommend be taught to 9th graders at BB&N. Topics covered in their proposed unit included AI use, digital security, bias in news, cyberbullying, digital footprint, screen time, and mental health.
belonging
Now in its eighth year at BB&N, the Middle School’s Faith Traditions unit encourages students to explore religions and spiritual practices found in the community. This year, in addition to the usual offerings of Buddhism, Christianity/Catholicism, Humanism, Islam, and Judaism, some 8th graders studied Sikhism and visited their place of worship thanks to connections with a BB&N family.
kindness
In Social Studies this year, Kindergarten students engaged in multiple artist studies that built upon their knowledge of identity, justice, and community. This included the completion of their interdisciplinary project: The Shape of Me: Wire Self-Portraits, which was influenced by the work of Alexander Calder. After several drafts using various mediums, each child created a wire self-portrait sculpture that was displayed in a gallery during the Lower School Celebration of Learning.
Integrity
Continuing and expanding an important and much anticipated part of BB&N’s Global Education Program, Upper and Middle School students had the opportunity to travel to countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia over Spring Break 2025; while a number of MS and US students were able to attend student Round Square Global Conferences in Thailand and England. The generosity of a number of donors helps make these opportunities available to all students through our financial aid program.
Explore BB&N’s Global Education Program and the 2025 travel programs here.
inquiry
When students think about BB&N’s global programs, the first thing that comes to mind is study abroad programs, spring break trips, or even the Upper School’s Round Square club. Now, students can add the theater program to their list after the cast and crew of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow sojourned to Edinburgh, Scotland in August 2024 to participate in its world-renowned Fringe Festival.
Born from the plan of director and theater teacher Ross MacDonald in 2019, this take on the folk tale was written by MacDonald and students Amad Khalid ’26 and Hannah Brodsky ’25. In the words of MacDonald, the script incorporated “music, movement, and multiple performance storytelling styles.”
belonging
Community Day was back at the Upper School in February 2025, with the students perfectly exemplifying this year’s theme of “dream big, grow together.”
Following the opening assembly, students attended peer-led workshops with more than 70 unique offerings about everything from friendship bracelets and tea to discussions about AI and immigration. Whether the session involved hands-on engagement or meaningful conversations with peers, every student experienced a connected BB&N.
kindness
Launched in 2025, Building Bridges & Networks is BB&N’s flagship alumni engagement program and offers a meaningful framework for alumni across all generations to connect, contribute, and give back to the school community. Building Bridges & Networks invites alumni to share their post-BB&N experiences with current students and young alums through mentorship, internships, senior spring project opportunities, and/or as a classroom speaker.
“Connecting with a fellow alum (and from a younger generation) was a fantastic way to give back to the BB&N community. Her questions were very sharp and insightful — our conversation energized me and made me grateful for the power of the BB&N network.”
– Ariane Schwartz ’01
“I found the conversation with a fellow alum inspiring and enlightening—it prompted me to reflect on my own career journey and the path that led me here. Our network becomes stronger when we all take the time to engage with it.”
– Joelinda Coichy Johnson ’07, Trustee
belonging
In the second year of hosting a local trailblazer through the Class of 2023 Visiting Innovator program at BB&N, funded by the Class of 2023 senior gift, the Teaching and Learning Office (TLO) invited a local artist to work with the whole community. Rob ‘ProBlak’ Gibbs, a Roxbury-based visual artist, spent the 2024-2025 school year collaborating across all three BB&N campuses, culminating in a mural reveal at the biennial One School One World.
In 2024-2025, the program took a different approach to the more faculty-focused work from the prior year while still emphasizing the BB&N values of inquiry, integrity, belonging, and kindness. Through his art and words, ProBlak taught the community to express themselves through their craft while keeping an open mind.