As we close this year, we should celebrate the amazing work of our community! A recap of the last few weeks: Our Leadership team with Multiplying Good, Senior Prom, Graduation and Zona de Logros were all truly beautiful capstone events. We all beamed with pride as our seniors became graduates. I saw many big smiles as students presented their work in Zona.

Prizewinning Relationship with Multiplying Good

At the beginning of the school year, ten students came together in a Leadership Club, part of the new initiative for 11th Grade Crews to focus on clubs once a week. Initially, the Leadership Club began by learning about collaboration and service to others. As they dug into their work, they found that the greatest need in their student community was to improve the quality and quantity of food that they were served at their school.

Multiplying Good, a non-profit organization, heard the students’ concerns and gave them a platform to express their voices, enhance their public speaking abilities and exercise their leadership skills.

The work began in earnest in November, 2023. The group created and distributed a survey around the school. They compared and contrasted menus from surrounding schools, they analyzed the data, worked on a plan to solve the inequality of the food and address it as a social justice issue.

Finally, they devised a plan for contacting BPS administration and political figures involved with education affairs to address their problem.

In May, 2024, this group of ten leaders decided to compete in the 2024 End-of-Year Reflection, part of Multiplying Good’s program, culminating in an event, where students build on their presentation skills and public speaking skills to show others the impact of their community service projects.

This took place at the Museum of Science and included 7 other Student in Action teams. The Muñiz Academy gave a stunning presentation that won them the Gold Banner from Multiplying Good!!!

The students who participated were: Gabriellis Arroyo Alvarez, Aylin Avalo Perez, Gig Diaz German, Yoelin Guerrero, Asanli Husbands, Axel Garcia Ramirez, Keysi Peguero Romero, Brittany Perez, Rafael Soto, Ricardo Ventura Ducluc. The teacher leading this group is Ms. Alice Viera-Rodriguez. These ten young leaders have also been invited to attend the Awards Ceremony in New York City on September 22–24.

On May 16th, the Tirrell Room was the setting for the 2024 Senior Prom. Once again, the girls were splendidly dressed, as were the boys. The evening provided an opportunity for keepsake pictures to be taken as well as lots of fun dancing to music from a variety of cultures. The teachers present enjoyed the evening as well, making note of the journey taken with the students over the last four years.

We received great news from Gabe Diaz, our Alumni Success Coordinator. Fourteen of our Alums graduated this spring from ten of the colleges in the area: Northeastern, UMass, UMASS Lowell, UMASS Amherst, Emerson College, Centre College, Wentworth Institute, Salem State, Lasell University and Mass Bay Community College. One of these alumni received a Master’s.

Blessed with perfect weather, the Muñiz Academy celebrated its Graduation Ceremony once again in the enchanting gardens of the historic Loring-Greenough House in Jamaica Plain. The garden, where the ceremony took place, was a picturesque scene filled with shades of lavender, purple, and soft pink, all surrounded by the lush greenery of trees that bordered the area.

Hundreds of parents gathered, adding to the colorful display with bouquets of balloons and flowers.

The keynote address was delivered by Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, Executive Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights. His inspiring message, “Be who you are in the best possible way, take your place in this City, and achieve your dreams,” resonated deeply with the audience. Ivan’s speech, along with those from students and other speakers, was delivered in both English and Spanish, reflecting the bilingual nature of the event. The Margarita Muñiz Academy holds the distinction of being the only dual-language (English/Spanish) public high school in New England.

Pride radiated from the families of the graduates, who celebrated this significant milestone with visible joy and admiration.

Zona de Logros is a tradition at the Muñiz Academy that celebrates Muñiz students’ learning and high-quality work. This event brings together our Qualities of a Muñiz Scholar to life through the students’ achievements. This years students have presented two classes at Zona de Logros at the end of each quarter in order to present an excellent Zona in June. That was certainly the case this year as the students gave their presentations in the 9th grade quad to small groups of captive audiences that were both constructively critical and supportive.

When you give to Margarita Muñiz Academy, you provide resources that enable our Boston youth to experience the power of playing a musical instrument, finding the intellectual thrill of solving a math equation or writing a poem and becoming a leader in the community.