Boston College High School will add sixth grade to its middle school starting in fall 2027, easing the transition from public elementary schools into the all-male Jesuit Catholic preparatory school in Dorchester.
By doing so, school officials said it will better serve the suburbs surrounding Boston, where an increasing number of its students come from over the past two decades.
The middle school, known as the Arrupe Division, was established in 2007.
Robert Hamblet, head of the Arrupe Division and one of the founding educators of BC High’s middle school, said sixth grade was not added to the school at that time partially because of concerns about space.
“The high school was pretty large, and they wanted to make sure we were going to have enough space for the seventh and eighth grade,” Hamblet said.
Hamblet said school officials at the time also thought most of the students that would attend the Arrupe Division would come from Boston.
“There weren’t a whole lot of schools that had a big entry point in sixth grade,” he said. “I don’t think at the time they thought that we were going to have as big an enrollment from all the suburban schools that we draw from now.”
More public elementary schools outside of Boston tend to end in the fifth grade, whereas many of the elementary schools in the city go through sixth grade.
As a result, a enrollment from outside Boston has grown, Hamblet said that “a lot of families did not like the idea of having to do three schools in three years: fifth grade in the public elementary school, sixth grade in the public middle school and then seventh grade here [Boston College High School],” he said. “They were looking for one transition.”
The move also aims to strengthen the school’s approach to student formation by connecting with boys at a pivotal point in their development, helping students grow academically and socially within the Jesuit tradition.
“At BC High, our commitment to cura personalis, the care for the whole person, calls us to meet students earlier in their development,” said President Grace Cotter Regan in a statement. “Beginning in sixth grade allows us to more fully accompany our students and support their formation during one of the most important stages of their growth.”
Hamblet said school officials conducted more than 18 months of research, and two things stood out upon meeting with other Jesuit middle schools across the country that start with sixth grade.
“One, the rigorous academics, and I think what we see is the ability to really build a strong foundation in our sixth graders,” he said. “The other piece of a Jesuit education is the formation of the individual, the formation of character, the formation of a person and the importance of starting that formation in sixth grade.”
The Board of Trustees voted in January to move forward with creating a sixth grade.
“This decision reflects thoughtful planning and a clear understanding of where education is headed,” said Board Chair Paul Donato. “By expanding to sixth grade, BC High is strengthening its ability to serve young men and ensuring the long-term vitality of our mission.”
Hamblet said they want to ensure that the sixth grade experience is different from the seventh and eighth grade experience.
“We are going to investigate the different types of models and figure out what works best for us,” he said. “I think one of the things we’ll be looking at, too, is how do we make sure that each grade – sixth, seventh, and eighth grade – has its own unique ideas, events and traditions.”
The school will spend the next year developing the curriculum and structure for the new grade. The school will also appoint an assistant head of the Arrupe Division to oversee the implementation.
