About Greater Boston Academy
MISSION & VISION
Preparing children for growth beyond grades in a traditional, Christ-centered environment designed to foster academic excellence and personal spiritual growth by putting God first. With its inclusive, nurturing approach, Greater Boston Academy helps students experience vital Christian values in action every day and equips them for a future lived with intention.
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Greater Boston Academy was founded and operates upon the belief that God created humanity to enjoy continuous development of the mental, physical, spiritual and social powers, and that the Creator is vitally interested in the destiny of all people. This institution accepts as true the Biblical record of creation, the account of the fall of man, and the subsequent plan of redemption.
ACCREDITATION
We are accredited by the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges and Universitiesand Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
The School Community
Greater Boston Academy is a Seventh-day Adventist Christian School, situated in a residential community in the town of Stoneham. GBA has a diverse student population varying in economic, ethnic, geographic, and religious backgrounds. Situated between the urban and the rural, the school attracts students from many areas. Both students and faculty enjoy the mixture of cultures and backgrounds. Encouraging students to develop tolerance and appreciation for a different point of view is an educational goal that GBA meets through its diversity.
There are many characteristics that make this PreS-8 school a special place. The first of these is the spiritual environment and atmosphere of the campus. Together the staff and students work to provide an atmosphere of acceptance and understanding. It is important on a day-to-day basis that each be treated with Christian love and respect. In addition, specific programs are designed to encourage involvement in such things as community service, youth church, and mission trips.
Facilities
Greater Boston Academy campus is situated on 4 acres of land in a quiet residential area of Stoneham, MA. We currently have one main building, one modular building, a large playground area and a small playing field.
We are currently in the early planning phase of a $2 million dollar capital campaign to add a new addition (serving the high school), state of the art science lab, a full cafeteria, and expand our gymnasium to full size to accommodate our high school athletics programs.
SCHOOL HISTORY
In the fall of 1914 the Everett church school began with thirteen students in the basement of the Universalist Church, on Broadway, Everett, MA.
In 1916 the school was not able to continue in its present location and so another piece of property was searched for. A large house at 25 Parker Street, Malden, was found. Enrollment had increased to twenty-eight.
By 1920 attendance had grown to fifty nine as reported by the principal Wilber Armstrong. Previously, the school was operated by the Malden and Everett Churches which had recently merged, but by then practically all of the churches in the greater Boston area had taken an active interest in the school and its improvement, so it was renamed the ‘Greater Boston Intermediate School’. Grades nine and ten were added this year which had made necessary an increase in the faculty. Three teachers were now employed.
In 1924 the Boston Intermediate School was moved to the Boston Temple Church, and was held in two large rooms in the church, located at that time on the corner of Warren Avenue and W. Canton St.
In 1940 the Boston Temple Church was sold and the school was moved to 325 Harvard St., Cambridge, in a large house converted to classrooms.
In 1944, under the leadership of pastor Norval F. Pease, the Boston Temple Junior Academy, as it had become known, became a senior academy with the name Greater Boston Academy. Richard J. Hammond was its first principal. The high school enrollment during its first year as a 12 grade school was 39, and was served by a faculty of four.
In 1946 the school was again moved, this time to 415 Newberry St., Boston. Grades one through eight became the Robert W. Hall School.
In 1965 Greater Boston Academy moved to Stoneham on the grounds of Boston Regional Medical Center (BRMC). After the bankruptcy of BRMC the school was forced to move.
In June 2000 the academy relocated to the grounds of Edgewood Elementary at 108 Pond Street in Stoneham MA where it is currently located.
In February 2009 the combined Edgewood School/Greater Boston Academy was voted to be now known as Greater Boston Academy.