Boston Student Advisory Council

The Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) is a body of selected high school student representatives from across the Boston Public Schools. Student leaders represent their respective high schools, serving as the primary vehicle for student voice and engagement within the Boston Public Schools district. The council works to amplify student voices across the city. The Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) works to bring students from all over the district to address these issues.

What schools does BSAC represent?

BSAC is comprised of 46 active members from across 20 BPS high schools: School Represented: 

ABCD High School, Boston Arts Academy, Boston Latin Academy, Boston Latin School, BCLA-McCormack, BInCA Community Academy, Dearborn STEM, English HS, Excel HS, Fenway HS, Henderson K-12, Horace Mann, JQUS, Lyon HS, Madison Park HS, McKinley South End Academy, Muniz Academy, O’Bryant Math & Science & Snowden International HS

Meet the BSAC Team:

Dennisse Rorie

Dennisse serves as the Director for the Office of Youth Leadership. Dennisse has been with the Boston Public Schools district since 2018 and previously served as Deputy Director in the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Racial Equity. As Director, life-long Bostonian and youth advocate, Dennisse strives to create spaces where youth are centered and their voices are leading the space. Through working to rebuild the Boston Student Advisory Council since 2021, Dennisse continues to build authentic relationships with young people and empower a space where young people can truly be themselves, while working to make BPS a more student centered and driven institution.  Dennisse is BPS alumni of Fenway High School, she holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies from UMass Boston and Graduate Certificate in Gender, Leadership and Public Policy, also from UMass Boston.                                                  

Tewahedo Haimanot

Tewahedo serves as the Youth Leadership Coordinator for the Office of Youth Leadership at Boston Public Schools. In his role, Tewahedo supports the ongoing activities and growth of the BSAC. It’s important to him to create an environment where students feel empowered to advocate for issues that affect themselves and their communities, while developing leadership qualities in the process. Tewahedo is a BPS alumni of Boston Latin Academy, and holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Umass Amherst.

Ahria Ilyas

Ahria serves as the Special Projects Manager for the Office of Youth Leadership in Boston Public Schools. Beginning in August of 2023, her role consists of brainstorming and uplifting projects that reflect the priorities of the BSAC youth throughout the district. She has the goals to ensure youth voices are validated within all realms of their work, and center their work through a lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Ahria is also a BPS Alumni of Boston Latin Academy, a BSAC alumni of 2019, and holds an Undergraduate Law degree from Suffolk University.