St. Dominic Savio Preparatory High School, formerly St. Dominic Savio High School, was a

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located in the

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. The school was founded in 1958 and closed in 2007.

History

The school was founded as an all-boys school in 1958 by the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

, a Catholic religious order. Alumnus Paul Abbott recalled a day when the student body voted on whether the school should add football or hockey as a new sport:

It was 1970, the Bobby Orr era in Boston, so we chose hockey.

In 1993, the Salesians of Don Bosco closed Savio, but an alumni group led by Peter J. Bagley redesigned an education strategy, convert to a coeducational preparatory school and leased a portion of the property.

New direction

From 1995 to 2005, Savio Prep's enrollment grew to over 400 co-ed students. In 2003, a former athletic director pleaded guilty to molesting three female athletes, and in 2006 a former wrestling coach pleaded guilty to raping two students and hazing three others. Enrollment declined and finances became tight.

School closed

At the end of the 2006–2007 school year, the Salesian owners of the building did not renew the lease, citing the deteriorating condition of the building and lack of funds to repair it. Concerned parents and alumni began meeting to discuss ways to keep the school open. The group called themselves "Save Our Savio," but could never muster enough funding or support to find the school a new location. It was clear that 2006–2007 had been the last St. Dominic Savio school year. The building now houses the Edward W. Brooke Charter School. An addition has been built on the site of the former Salesian residence.

Demographics

Heads of school

Notable alumni

* Carlo Basile, member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

* Eddie Palladino,

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

public address announcer *

Robert Travaglini Robert Edward Travaglini (born July 20, 1952 in Massachusetts) is an American politician and lobbyist. From 2003 to 2007, Travaglini served as President of the Massachusetts Senate. He represented the first Middlesex and Suffolk senate distri ...

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2003–2007 *

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, political scientist

References

{{authority control High schools in Boston Defunct Catholic secondary schools in Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1958 Educational institutions disestablished in 2007 East Boston Salesian secondary schools 1958 establishments in Massachusetts