This has been a year of transition in the country at large and at Latin specifically. We were not spared from the fallout of interrupted and unfinished learning, COVID outbreaks, shifts in work preferences, and larger social and political tensions. Yet, in the midst of all of this, Mr. Kelly stepped into the role of Principal, and with the support of a new leadership team, helped us to navigate the return to in-person learning. We secured a temporary site for our new middle school and named that school in honor of African American educator and classicist, Dr. Anna Julia Cooper. And we celebrated our 16th year as a school.
That we were able to open our doors and keep them open all year in itself was a triumph. But to maintain an average daily attendance that surpassed 90% – one of the highest in the city — was remarkable. Our enrollment swelled to its largest number ever – 755 students at one point this year. We also welcomed four international students to our community: Benedetto and Jacopo from Italy, Alp from Turkey, and Luisa from Germany. We will miss them as they return to their respective countries.
We hired a few faculty members who will be a part of the founding team at the Cooper Campus next school year. We partnered with the Public Allies program to bring on more people to provide tutoring and other support; members who worked with us in this program were all Latin alumni. We continued our partnership with NYU, adding two more resident teachers. Still, we had trouble filling some positions and we had more mid-year departures than in a typical year. We are deeply grateful to Matthew Dean who returned to the community in the second semester to help teach middle school Latin. And we send well wishes to those who will retire, change careers, move out of the area, or go on a sabbatical at the end of this year.
While we faced challenges in helping students to reacclimate to all of the expectations of being in school, we still had a strong year. The merit scholarship awards for our senior class were the most in the history of the school, both in the aggregate and per student. New colleges enrolling Latin students include Agnes Scott College in Georgia, Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, and Emerson College in Massachusetts. Additionally, Latin students will attend a range of schools from the American University of Paris, Berklee School of Music, Parsons School of Design, Dartmouth, and University of Michigan. We are so grateful to our fantastic college counseling team.
This was a banner year for us in arts and athletics. We had in-person concerts and arts shows and staged Our Town in the fall and Pippin as the spring musical. Our middle school and varsity teams won championships in multiple sports. After an eight-year hiatus, not only did we bring back varsity baseball, but we also won the charter school championship and beat Dunbar High School in the playoffs. One of our students was named the DCSAA Wrestler of the Year. We put on a successful prom. And we were able to offer a wide variety of clubs and field trip experiences, for both middle school and high school, including overnight trips.
Valete!
Peter T. Anderson
Head of School