Congratulations to Orin Gutlerner, BBCS's new Executive Director!

On December 20th, the Bridge Boston School officially voted Orin Gutlerner to become our next Executive Director!

Congratulations, OG!

Orin has served as the Interim Executive Director at Bridge since Spring 2023. Before that, Orin was BBCS’s Chief Academic Officer from August 2021 until June 2023. And even before his time at Bridge, Orin worked in Community Psychiatry at Mass General, the Possible Project, the Shah Family Foundation, Match Education, and many, many more youth education organizations. We’re confident Orin is the perfect fit for the role and for Bridge.

The Bridge Boston Board of Trustees was informed by their internal Executive Director Review Committee, or EDRC. The EDRC held a widely-attended Town Hall meeting in November where Bridge staff, families, and community members were invited to share their feedback about Orin’s performance and share their voices with the Board.

In his Town Hall presentation, Orin shared his top 3 priorities for staff, students, and our BBCS families. He discussed Bridge’s progress so far and upcoming areas for growth.

Orin's Long-Term Vision:

Bridge is a world-class learning institution that is focused on enabling economic liberty for its students, staff and families.

Orin's Theory of Change:

If we can deliver meaningful growth opportunities to our staff and families, then they will help us build a powerful learning community for our students. 

BBCS is excited to have an accomplished education professional and a friendly face serve our community as our next Executive Director.

Join BBCS online in welcoming our new Executive Director! On February 15th from 6-7, hear from OG about his philosophies on teaching & learning, his visions for the future of Bridge, and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Bridging the Gap to Food Security

According to the Department of Transitional Assistance for MA, Roxbury is considered to be a "food desert" (2008). This means that the residents of our community live further than a half mile from a medium or large grocery store supplying healthy options like fruit and vegetables. 

Bridge Boston knows our students likely struggle with food security at home. That's one of the reasons we elect to cook with unprocessed ingredients. Through a Federal Government grant, we purchase all of our ingredients from a 100-mile radius of our school. We support and value our local farmer community through our partnership with Gaining Ground Farms, who provides us produce from June through November. Gaining Ground is a nonprofit organic farm in Concord, Massachusetts supported by volunteers committed to fighting food insecurity in Massachusetts.

In the fall The 74, a non-profit independent news organization focused on education in America, produced a mini-documentary on food insecurity in New England. Here, they highlighted Bridge’s partnership with Gaining Ground.

Bridge Boston self-operates our full-service kitchen, staffed by our incredible Food Service Director and diverse Kitchen Staff. While 69% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch through DESE's Community Eligibility Program, 98% of our students opt-in to receive 2 free meals and 1 nutritious snack each day. Bridge is proud to support our students with the resources and nutrients they need to stay focused and learn all day long.