Pictures of the Year International

TITLE- The Last Middle School SUMMARY- The Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School, Boston Public Schools’ last middle school, closed its doors in June having served it’s final students. Standalone campuses for grades 6-8 are becoming rarer across the country.⁠ Without middle schools, the district will face the challenge of educating students in new ways. Young adolescents have intense need for belonging but also demand independence which calls for more structure than traditional high schools but less than elementary schools. There’s nothing essential about the separate buildings, but middle grade students need supports they often miss in schools dominated by younger or older students.  CAPTION- Eighth-graders Alexis Pierre and Cyrus Dorzelma arrived for the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School promotion ceremony as they move on to high school in Boston, MA on June 18, 2025. The pair joined their classmates and families for the city’s last middle school promotion ceremony — graduating the final Frederick eighth grade class.