| West Roxbury Educational Complex | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
1205 V.F.W. Parkway , United States | |
| Coordinates | 42°16′54″N 71°10′33″W / 42.28167°N 71.17583°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public Secondary |
| School district | Boston Public Schools |
West Roxbury Educational Complex (formerly West Roxbury High School) was a high school complex within Boston Public Schools located in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. (1976 – 2019)
The School was located on a 14 acre site near the 19th Century site of Brook Farm, and in the watershed of the upper Charles River. The school was designed by architects Antonio DeCastro and Samuel Glaser. It was built by The Jackson Construction Company of Dedham.
The school location was built adjacent to a large wetland, Saint Joseph’s Cemetery, the former VFW Parkway Drive In and the former Gardner Street Landfill. The landfill was later capped and became Millennium Park. An island within the wetland is accessible by a boardwalk from the shore behind the school where the Boston Schoolyard Initiative built an Outdoor Classroom and science education site in collaboration with the Urban Science Academy.
Boston Mayor Kevin White announced plans to build a new high school in West Roxbury in 1973. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on January 7, 1974. The school opened to students in September 1976, and was followed by a semi-formal dedication ceremony on May 19, 1977.
In 1982, cracks appeared and bricks began falling of sections of the school. An investigation revealed an additive substance called Sarabond in the mortar used when the school was built was defective and causing the problem. A suit was filed against Dow Chemical Company, manufacturer of the masonry additive. The city won a 5.5. million settlement in July, 1987. Most of the money was used to repair the damage which changed the appearance of the school with a two brick-color exterior by 1989.
In the fall of 2005, West Roxbury High School was renamed West Roxbury Educational Complex,[1] and was divided into four schools: Media Communications Technology High School, Parkway Academy of Technology and Health, Urban Science Academy[2] and Brook Farm Business & Service Career Academy.[3] Funding was being provided by grants from the Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation.
In the fall of 2011, the West Roxbury Education Complex's four schools were merged into two schools. Brook Farm Academy & Media Communications Technology High School were merged into one school, West Roxbury Academy, while Urban Science Academy and parkway Academy of Technology and Health were merged into one school at the complex.
In December 2018, the Boston School Committee voted to close the school after Inspectional Services Department deemed the building unsafe. The schools’ student bodies were dispersed to other high schools throughout the district.[citation needed]
