Boston came together again in Mel King’s South End neighborhood to extend his legacy, renaming the McKinley South End Academy the Melvin H. King South End Academy and promising a renewed commitment to the institution.

“Today we’re very excited to reaffirm that the William McKinley schools will become the Melvin H. King South End Academy,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “The names we choose to elevate matter — whose stories we tell, whose legacies inspire our young people.”

City leadership and the school community held a renaming ceremony in the auditorium of the now-Melvin H. King South End Academy — a collection of four schools serving students with disabilities — on Wednesday morning, announcing the change and remembering King’s legacy and work. The South End-native activist, politician, educator and artist died in late March at the age of 94.

The ceremony reflected on Mel’s commitment to education — among many other academic pursuits, King taught high school math, created the Community Fellows Program at MIT and established the South End Technology Center — and heralded changes to the school tied to the renaming.

The mayor emphasized the importance of correcting the long history of “deferred and deprioritized maintenance” at the schools and announced the academy’s renovation will move through the design phase in the coming year.

“We will do this once and will do it right,” said BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper. “And we will make sure that the Melvin H. King South End Academy has what it needs in resources, in staffing, in support to do right by the students. And so today, not only is this a celebration of Mel’s life and work and the school, but it’s a commitment.”

Joyce King, the wife of Mel King, also spoke at the ceremony, emphasizing her late husband’s persistent love and devotion to the South End and serving the community.

“He believes so much in education, all kinds of education, and this particular program, this particular time is a special to me,” said Joyce King. “Because people come together. We come together with all of our differences that are in this room as I can see and all of the different things we bring to whatever we do, which makes this an important part of Melvin’s life. He really believed that we could all live and work and learn and play together.”