Beacon Academy

About Institution

Beacon Academy was founded in July 2004 by Cindy Laba, Head of School, and Marsha Feinberg, who served as the Chair of the Board, to provide an opportunity for a small group of smart, motivated-but-under-educated, Boston area eighth graders to spend a “jump year” preparing for admission to and success in competitive independent and public exam high schools. It is the only school of its kind in the nation.
Cindy had the idea for an extra year between 8th and 9th grades after she served (2004-2005) as Vice President of City on a Hill Charter School in Boston. She saw how challenging it was to provide a first rate education in the urban setting and was struck by the stark contrast to the superb education provided by local independent schools. She was also motivated to start Beacon Academy because she believed that children who were fortunate enough to attend independent schools would be enriched by a more racially and socio-economically diverse group of students who could do the work as well as contribute their perspectives.
Beacon Academy welcomed its Founding Class in July of 2005. Nineteen students began, and 15 students graduated 14 months later-all of them off to competitive high schools. Since 2005, Beacon Academy has graduated 147 students who have earned over $29 million in high school and college scholarships.