NHS Best BUDDIES & CLASS OF 2026

A couple weeks ago, Zoe & I had the honor of being invited to be the key note speakers at the Needham High Best Buddies Officer Installation Ceremony. This is an annual event for the Best Buddies student officers to welcome the new leadership team and thank those who are graduating - and a major theme of all the speeches and presentations was the impact of Best Buddies for both the general education students and the special education students. Zoe & I used our time to talk about all the many ways that being part of Best Buddies has been the cornerstone of Zoe’s social experience since she first joined at Pollard Middle School in 2015 and how it has given her friends and connections from the NHS graduation classes of 2018 all the way up to 2029!

(We should also mention that during the few years at the beginning of high school when Zoe went out of district, she continued to participate in Needham’s Best Buddies but also had a fantastic experience with the chapter at Lexington High School!)

Amazed to say that there are about 30 student officers which gives some perspective on just how committed NHS is to the Best Buddies program. In fact, Needham High’s Best Buddies was recently named as the Most Outstanding Chapter in Massachusetts for 2025. And the icing on the cake was the announcement that for their Senior Class Gift, the Needham High Class of 2026, chose to donate nearly $13,000 to renovate the classroom that serves as the hub for so much of the Best Buddies experience.

We were thrilled to once again be able to provide a Zo Much More item that each officer received during the ceremony. This year, Zoe made these key charms that blended the blue & gold of Needham High with the orange & yellow of Best Buddies’ leadership.

Thank you to Best Buddies, congratulations to the NHS Class of 2026 - and an extra dose of both thanks and congratulations to those graduating members of NHS Best Buddies Leadership!