By 2014, the Boston Arts Academy will be a recognized leader and advocate for the arts and their integration with academics in the national education reform movement. Viewed as the "Center for the Arts" within the Boston Public Schools, the BAA will be known nationally and internationally for successfully educating a diverse array of Boston public school learners in all aspects of the arts.

We envision a Boston Arts Academy that continues to be small, student-centered and reflective of the diversity of Boston’s neighborhoods and public schools becoming a school that:

• Offers year-round experiences through expanded summer arts and academic programming.

Our students will become desired, disciplined, well trained creative artists and scholars who are aware of the world and of their responsibility to engage in it. In ten years time, we expect to see a strong and active alumni program that involves graduates as donors, mentors, recruiters, board members and active participants in exhibitions and performances.

The Academy’s faculty, reflective of the student body, will be comprised of leaders, scholars and practicing artists, a mix of both generalists and specialists. It will be guided by continued strong leadership, inspired by a shared vision of artistic and academic excellence and sustained by thoughtful and well-developed systems of support. Adjuncts of distinction and visiting scholars will regularly extend the school’s offering to its students.

A visionary and diverse group of Trustees who are passionate about the arts, public education, and our students will contribute their professional expertise, wisdom, and broad ranging connections to help secure the human and financial resources to fully sustain the enterprise and make this vision a reality. The board will be inclusive of parents, who will be engaged, informed and connected to one another, as well as of our emerging young alumni. The school’s important connections to its founding institutions, the ProArts Consortium, will be maintained through the board as well as through programmatic and placement opportunities for Academy students and graduates.

Students, families and friends of the school often hear an ongoing refrain throughout the Arts Academy: how does my work connect to the Habits of the Graduate? These habits are akin to the "Habits of Mind" described by the educational philosopher John Dewey—the orientation towards learning that we wish our graduates to demonstrate. These habits also form an intellectual framework that our students and staff use in every academic and arts classroom. They represent the best aspects of both the artistic and academic processes. We refer to them by the acronym RICO: Refine, Invent, Connect, and Own.

At the end of each school year, each student completes a RICO Review. The purpose of the RICO Review is for the student to mark progress—out loud, in front of an advisor, parents, and teachers—toward the habits of the graduate. Each student prepares a portfolio containing work that represents that progress, and each student makes a formal presentation of that portfolio. These RICO Reviews are a major part of the student’s seminar grade, and the student should leave the experience knowing what he or she has achieved and where he or she needs to grow. Questions include the following:

It is not enough to have high standards for arts and academics. Boston Arts Academy also sets high standards for how students approach their work in these areas. In order to develop the appropriate orientation towards learning the Habits of a Graduate, students must learn to take their own education seriously. Seriousness of Purpose is a phrase we use to help students understand the set of behaviors we expect to do this.

Successful graduates understand that their education is a personal responsibility: students must learn to be focused, engaged learners who are accountable to the school community.

We also know, that the sooner students acquire these traits, the more successful they will become as BAA students, especially in an environment where they are asked to balance personal wellness with a large workload across arts and academics. We also know once learned well, these can be lifelong strengths.

As an arts high school within the Coalition of Essential Schools, we promote and engender:

2. To increase students’ access to critical conversations by supporting their functional and cultural literacy.