OWNERSHIP
CONDITIONS
CONTEXT
HISTORY
DESIGN ISSUES
SOCIAL ISSUES
PLANNING PROCESSES
TESTIMONIES

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OWNERSHIP:
Boston Public Schools

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CONDITIONS:
Jeremiah Burke High School is primarily in one main building with an asphalt courtyard. There were 671 students enrolled at the end of the 1999-2000 school year. The student population was 85.4% black, 1.3% white, 3.9% Asian, and 8.5% Hispanic.

Jeremiah Burke High School does not have sufficient athletic facilities for its students. Currently, Burke student athletes must travel to Washington Park, Ceylon Park, Ronan Park, Town Field, and White Stadium for practices. The Burke does, however, have an inside basketball court and a dilapidated half-court outside that local children use.

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CONTEXT:
Test results:
Between 1998 and 2000, Burke 10th graders made steady improvements on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test, but test results continue to be below the state average. In 1998, 1% of students passed the English section, in 1999 4% passed, and in 2000 9% passed. In 1998 0% passed the Mathematics section, in 1999 1% passed, and in 2000 9% passed.

Surrounding area:
Jeremiah Burke High School is located in the midst of a dense area of Grove Hall on the border of Roxbury and Dorchester. The front door of the school opens onto Washington Street (Dorchester), which is lined with apartment buildings (approximately 20). The back door of the street opens onto Geneva Avenue, which is characterized almost entirely by vacant lots and vacant buildings, at least six of which are now owned by the City of Boston through foreclosure. The lots are trash-strewn and appear to be going almost entirely unused. In the winter/ spring of 2002, the City of Boston demolished two of the buildings that it owned through foreclosure, including a run-down "recreation center." In May 2002, the lot is fenced but unused. Also, two of the lots are covered in gravel, visible from the Grove Hall Mecca, and strewn with trash and large large pieces of rubish. Another lot is a sprawling, grassy, open area that connects to the Oldfields wooded area described in a separate entry of the database.

Washington Street is a major thoroughfare. Twenty high-density apartment buildings on Washington and Wilder Streets comprise a dense apartment complex. On warm afternoons, young people hang out on the front steps of the apartment buildings or on the street. This section of Grove Hall was identified as a "hotspot" for violent crimes committed by youth in 2000.

According to some residents, Washington Street is a good location for the school because there are no strong turf allegiances in this area of Grove Hall. According to long-term resident Dan Richardson, because of its location, Burke High School can successfully draw kids from many neighborhoods.

Demographics of surrounding area:
US Census Tract 902, which extends northeast of Blue Hill Avenue and Washington Street (D) in the vicinity of the Jeremiah Burke High School, has 61% youth under the age of 18. The population is 68% African American and 31% Hispanic.

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HISTORY:
Jeremiah Edmund Burke High School was completed in January of 1934 and was named after the former superintendent of schools Jeremiah E. Burke (1867-1931).

According to The Boston Globe, gangs all but controlled the school in the 1980s. "The problem was so bad teachers locked themselves in classrooms, fearing gang turf wars, and there were frequent hallway stabbings" (Megan Tench, "Burke's past a lesson learned; parents vow they won't let school relive past neglect," The Boston Globe, March 9, 2002).

Under the guidance of headmaster Albert Holland, conditions at the Burke improved in the late 1980s, and by 1990 the Burke was considered an excellent school. Then the school budget was cut, test scores plummeted, and the Burke lost its accreditation from 1995 to 1998. The City invested $4.2 million in the Burke to bring the school up to minimum accreditation standards and the City used the school as a symbol of its commitment to public education in traditionally underserved minority neighborhoods. Mayor Thomas Menino delivered his 1996 State of the City address from the school, pledging to improve the system. The City invested extra resources in the school for five years.

Conditions in the school improved once again and test scores went up as well. In March 2002, in response to the district budget shortfall, Boston Public Schools planned to cut the budget of the Burke once again by $816,000, or 12%. This would mean a loss of 14 staff positions.

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DESIGN ISSUES:
As mentioned above, the back side of the Jeremiah Burke High School opens up onto a group of vacant, trashy lots and vacant buildings. This unproductive land is condusive to crime.

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SOCIAL ISSUES:
The Student Support Team (SST) serves as a prevention, intervention, and referral source for Jeremiah E. Burke High School students, parents, and staff. SST meets weekly to discuss students' needs, and to develop and implement action plans addressing those needs. Members of the SST provide initial assessment, services, and refer students to external medical and human service providers as needed.

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PLANNING PROCESSES:
Burke High School has been a major community focus in recent years, not only because of its loss of accreditation, but also because there are plans to build an athletic facility for the school that also serves as a community center.

In 1998, the City earmarked $2.5 million in the capital budget for planning and land acquisition for a community center facility behind the Burke School that would also be used by Burke students. In 2000, the cost of the community center/ school center was estimated at $36 million and there was hope that the State Department of Education would reimburse the City for most of the cost because the building would be attached to a school.

Then in May 2002, Mayor Thomas Menino shifted $24 million in City resources away from plans to build a new school in the Heart of the City to plans for renovating Burke High School.

In 2004 on Geneva Avenue in Grove Hall, a 7,000-square-foot temporary Grove Hall Community Center has been erected. The center, which is also known as "the bubble," is expected to be at the site for the next three years and includes a full-size basketball court, computer rooms, offices, and a multi-purpose room. It is also outfitted with a public address system. The structure is covered in vinyl supported by a metal frame and reinforced double-walls. Programs include a senior citizen exercise program, women's aerobics and step and community meetings. There are athletic activities available including badminton, volleyball, floor hockey, basketball, ping-pong and tennis; workshops, homework time and community meetings.

In September 2003, Mayor Thomas Menino and Archbishop Sean O'Malley unveiled a sign at 179 Columbia Road in Dorchester to announce the upcoming construction of the new Dorchester Community Service Center. The new service center will bring together the Haitian Multi-Service Center (HMSC), located at 12 Bicknell Street, with Catholic Charities' Greater Boston's Uphams Corner Community Center, located at 35 Bird Street. According to a release from the City of Boston, "The new facility, which is expected to improve service delivery in the area, will offer childcare, family counseling and support services, youth services, elder care, perinatal and youth parent services, AIDS counseling, vocational readiness, adult education and literacy services, and health education. The new Dorchester Community Service Center is expected to by open by spring 2005.

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TESTIMONIES:
"I'm afraid [the Burke] is going to go back to the way it was when the school lost its accreditation. We are not 'enjoying' these additional funds. We had to have extra funding because the school was in such bad shape" (John Young, parent of Burke student, from an article by Megan Tench, "Burke's past a lesson learned; parents vow they won't let school relive past neglect," The Boston Globe, March 9, 2002).

"For the right use, we'd be willing to give up our land. If its used for the school and for the youth in the community" (Walter Little, September 2002).

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