Alumni of Madison Park Technical Vocational High School gathered Aug. 1 at Florian Hall in Dorchester to mark the school’s 50th anniversary at a reunion organized by Cardinal Alumni of Madison Park. The nonprofit known as CAMP formed last year to reconnect graduates and build intergenerational ties with the school and community.

CAMP founder and president Settenah Wright, a member of the class of 1987, estimated that about 100 people attended over the course of the reunion which included dinner, speeches and dancing. The organization expected closer to 300, given that Madison Park has approximately 50,000 alums. Many brought yearbooks and photographs to reminisce, discussed former classmates and spent time on the dance floor to the music of Crystal Waters and New Edition.

Evandro Carvalho, executive director and chairman of the city’s Office of Police Accountability and Transparency and member of the class of 1999, presented a proclamation from the city to CAMP, declaring Aug. 1, 2026, as Madison Park Technical Vocational High School 50th Anniversary Celebration Day.

Saturday’s reunion also included recognition of basketball coach Dennis Wilson, who worked at Madison Park for 40 years. Wright said CAMP wanted former teachers, administrators and staff included in the anniversary celebration and conducted outreach through the Boston Teachers Union, Classmates.com and LinkedIn.

Attendees represented classes from 1976 through 2003. Among them was Maria Kinch, class of 1977, who played volleyball at Madison Park when the school building was downtown.

Kinch recalled kind teachers and described reconnecting with classmates she had not seen since graduation 49 years ago as “incredible.”

Linda Watkins, also a 1977 graduate, had a different experience at the reunion.

“I didn’t see anyone that was in the year ‘77. I think the pandemic wiped a lot of us out. [Organizers] forgot about that,” Watkins said.

Widespread deaths among Madison Park’s 1977 graduates because of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been confirmed. Wright, however, said CAMP found graduates from the 1970s particularly difficult to locate.

At the organization’s July 2025 reunion, Wright said about six attendees were from the 1970s, leading CAMP to make increasing participation from the school’s earliest classes a priority for the anniversary gathering. Two alumni from the classes of 1978 and 1979 joined the anniversary planning committee and helped organizers reach more graduates from that decade, Wright said.

CAMP was established in February 2025 after Wright said an effort to revive an older, inactive alumni association did not succeed. Wright, who also worked at Madison Park for nine years as an English as a second language teacher and multilingual learner administrator, said she had repeatedly heard alumni ask for reunions and more regular communication. The organization’s email list has since grown to about 200 people.

The school opened its doors in September 1975. A Boston Teachers Union document from the period, preserved by the University of Massachusetts Boston, listed temporary Madison Park facilities at 100 Arlington St., the Sawyer Building and Lincoln School. The current Roxbury complex, designed by architect Marcel Breuer, opened in 1977. An additional building was completed in 1980 to accommodate vocational education, according to a Madison Park feasibility study.

Boston Public Schools identifies Madison Park as the city’s only technical vocational high school. The district lists 20 state-approved career and technical education programs, known as Chapter 74 programs, in five clusters: allied health, human services, communication and technology, transportation and construction trades.

Students in such programs receive more than 900 hours of technical training, according to BPS, and often earn industry certifications and credit toward college or apprenticeships while participating in co-ops or internships.

Career and vocational education have increased in popularity in recent decades as skilled industries have identified gaps in their workforce and as schools look for ways to keep students interested in career pathways or continued education.

The vocational careers Madison Park prepares students for are also more lucrative. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported median 2024 wages of $62,350 for electricians and $62,970 for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters, compared with an average $49,500 for all occupations.

Madison Park is now entering a new phase as city officials begin a facilities planning revamp. The Massachusetts School Building Authority invited Madison Park into its Core Program eligibility period in December 2025, and on July 22 this year, the Boston City Council unanimously approved $5 million for a feasibility study and schematic design.

District 7 City Councilor Miniard Culpepper told the Banner that the appropriation will begin the design process and allow the city to study possible sites, including Parcel 3, or P3, near Boston Police Department headquarters. The city says renovation, new construction on the existing campus and construction on part of P3 will be studied before an option is selected.

In June the city also announced $12.8 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies for a Skilled Trades Initiative based at Madison Park. The program is expected to connect at least 100 BPS students annually for three years with registered apprenticeships in construction trades and water utility management.

City officials cited labor market projections showing demand for skilled trades workers in Greater Boston growing 14.3% by 2033.

Culpepper said he wants to expand partnerships among Madison Park, Northeastern University and employers so students can gain work experience while in high school and move into jobs after graduation.

“I’m happy to see Madison Park around for 50 years and hopefully there’ll be 50 more,” Culpepper said.