Savio Preparatory High School

St. Dominic Savio Preparatory High School, formerly St. Dominic Savio High School, was a Roman Catholic high school located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1958 and closed in 2007.

St. Dominic Savio Preparatory High School
Address
145 Byron Street East Boston , Massachusetts 02128 United States
Information
School type	High school
Motto	Potius Mori Quam Foedari (Death before Dishonor)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic, Salesians of Don Bosco
Patron saint(s)	St. Dominic Savio
Established	1958
Founder	Fr. Joseph Caselli, S.D.B.
Status	Defunct
Closed	2007
School district	Archdiocese of Boston
Principal	Anders Peterson (2007)
Grades	9–12
Gender	Male only (1958–1993), coeducational (1993–2007)
Student to teacher ratio	1:14 (2001)
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Red and White     followed by Maroon and gold
Sports	Football, Baseball, Cross Country, Basketball, Hockey, Track
Nickname	Dom Savio
Team name	Spartans
Newspaper	The Spartan Forum
Yearbook	The Spartan
Website	http://www.savioprep.org/ [dead link]

History

The school was founded as an all-boys school in 1958 by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a Catholic religious order.^[1][2] 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

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.^[3] Concerned parents and alumni began meeting to discuss ways to keep the school open. The group called themselves "Save Our Savio,"^[3] 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.^[4]

Demographics

Year	Enrollment	Religious Employees	Lay Employees	Total Employees
1970s–1980s	440	9	n/a	n/a
2000	381[5]	4	39	43
2001	400[6]	4	45	49
2002	392[3]	n/a	n/a	n/a
2003	n/a	3	n/a	n/a
2004	n/a	1	n/a	n/a
2007	165[3]	1	n/a	n/a

Heads of school

Director	Years	Headmaster/Principal	Years
Fr. Joseph Caselli, S.D.B.[1]	1958–?	unknown	1958–74
unknown	?–1969
Fr. Albert Sofia, S.D.B.[7]	1969–72
Fr. Albert Sofia, S.D.B.	1971–73	Fr. Joseph Santa Bibiana, S.D.B.	1971–73
unknown	1974	Fr. Donald Zarkoski, S.D.B.	1974–81
Fr. Earl R. Bissonnette, S.D.B.	1975-1980
Fr. Jonathan D. Parks, S.D.B[8]	1981–98
		unknown	1993–2000
Edward Minor[6]	2000–01	William P. Sullivan[6]	2000–01
unknown	2001–07	unknown	2001–06
		Anders Peterson[2]	2006–07

Notable alumni

• Carlo Basile, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
• Eddie Palladino, Boston Celtics public address announcer
• Robert Travaglini, President of the Massachusetts Senate 2003–2007
• Ian Bremmer, political scientist