Boston public school revamp would move diverse exam school to city outskirts
BOSTON - Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced an ambitious plan Tuesday to revamp two high schools in the city.
"Renovating and expanding Madison Park across this entire campus, and building a state-of-the-art STEM campus, and building a John D. O'Bryant school of their very own at the West Roxbury Education Complex," said Mayor Wu.
The aging Madison Park Technical Vocational High School's major facelift would allow for updated job training, catering to modern industries. The adjoining O'Bryant School of Math and Science, the city's most diverse exam school, would look like a sprawling complex that has some students excited.
"Our school's really old, so I think it's a good thing. We have a really old building," said student Jasmin Garvin.
But there's a catch.
"I get on at Haymarket, so I have to go to Forest Hills and take a bus," said student Adrian Patel. "I looked at Google maps from my house to the new location. It would take, like, an hour and 20 minutes," he said.
The school would move from the heart of the inner city to the predominantly white neighborhood of West Roxbury. "It's not really accessible for people that rely on public transportation," said student Grace Hammack.
Boston School Superintendent Mary Skipper vows to keep the very same diversity in the new location, which is the site of the now-shuttered West Roxbury High School. The building is in such disrepair, officials say it would have to be gutted.
"There's really only so many places that you can put the equivalent of 2,000 students, so this allows us to expand our seats," said Skipper. The city plans to expand the O'Bryant school to start at seventh grade.
Wu's announcement also includes opportunities for other schools. Charlestown High School will become the city's first open enrollment high school to offer early college through a partnership with Bunker Hill Community College. Also, the dual language Margarita Muniz Academy in Jamaica Plain will expand to start in seventh grade.