On June 15, 2001 The Boston Arts Academy graduated its first senior class. Mayor Thomas Menino, Superintendent Thomas Payzant, and commencement speaker Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart addressed the 51 seniors at the Shubert Theater. The Boston Arts Academy is proud to report that eighty-eight percent of the school’s first graduating class is going on to college. Two percent of graduates have chosen to pursue career training. Fifty percent of Arts Academy graduates have expressed a strong interest in continuing their studies in the visual and performing arts. Many Boston Arts Academy graduates received full scholarships to continue their study in the arts. The members of Class of 2001 are attending a variety of colleges and universities - including Smith College, Berklee College of Music, Northeastern University, Rochester Institute of Technology, DePauw University, Emerson College, University of Massachusetts, University of New Hampshire, and Massachusetts College of Art.