BC High is a school that is constantly evolving and changing, with new buildings and renovations being done constantly. Given this incredible rate of change, what can we expect BC High to look like in 50-some-odd years? What does the future hold for this school, and how did it get there? And perhaps most importantly, what can we do now to ensure the preservation of the history and the future of this school? 

For starters, in 50 years most of what we remember BC High as looking like is gone. McElroy (or whatever the name will be changed to) has almost certainly been torn down, another fatality of the high building standards of the 2070’s that made it cheaper to build an entirely new building than to bring McElroy up to code. In its place stands a gleaming monument of glass and steel, with the name of a student most likely enrolled in BC High right now emblazoned on its front doors. The cross from the original building was preserved out of sentimental value, but apart from that the building itself is unrecognizable from its predecessor, a testament to the changes in architecture and design.

McElroy is not the only building to undergo major changes, as Loyola has taken a significant amount of renovations. It is more environmentally sustainable and incorporates new learning technologies in the teachers’ offices, like augmented reality viewing stations for students and new digital learning labs with the latest in technology. Speaking of the environment, the entirety of the football stadium, soccer fields, and parts of the Eagle’s nest playground have been raised by up to 3 feet to accommodate the constant flooding and severe storms on Morrissey Boulevard. Some days the entirety of the parking lot is under 2-3 inches of water, with the storm drains struggling to keep up with the constant snow and torrential rain.

After the construction of the Cadigan Fitness center, BC High has tried to strive for LEED certification on all of it’s buildings, (presently only one is), and to allow for greener methods of transportation, like electric car chargers (which we really should already have, just saying) and better bike parking. As the urban sprawl of the city of Boston continues across Dorchester, more and more students are commuting from closer to BC High, often from the new high rise apartments going up across the rapidly expanding city. To accommodate an influx of international students, several small dormitories have been built for visiting Jesuits and for exchange students to use whilst visiting.

Long gone are the iPads and Macbooks of today, replaced instead by Apple Augmented Reality Glasses (due to be announced this year). Also gone are the cleaning and maintenance staff, with the latest wave of janitorial robots having taken on their duties given that now even the most basic of Roombas can ascend stairs, navigate people, and more. But rather than focusing on what we will lose, it is better to look at what the future will gain for BC High.

Admissions will rise given the additional students living in the areas around the school with the urbanization of Dorchester, and the school will have gained a sprawling new campus if these trends of large alumni donations continue. But the real question to be answered is what is the future of the Catholic base of this school? With church membership dropping below the majority of people in 2020, down 20% from 1999, the question remains of whether or not BC High will have to sacrifice its Jesuit Values in exchange for greater admissions from an increasingly less religious base of the United States. In any case, the future of BC High is truly up for us to determine, with our generosity to this school and our commitment to supporting it throughout the future.