BOSTON -- A Boston school wants to be renamed in honor of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died last week after a battle with brain cancer.

Officials from Health Careers Academy plan to come before the Boston School Committee on Wednesday to seek approval for renaming the school the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers: A Horace Mann Public Charter School.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino sent a letter to the school’s headmaster and Board of Trustees on Friday, suggesting a name change in his memory.

"As the author of more than 2,500 pieces of legislation, Sen. Kennedy fought tirelessly for the needy, the disabled, the immigrant, the less advantaged. He was particularly passionate about education, health care and public service. I have thought long and hard about the most appropriate way to honor the life and work of one of our nation’s most influential and accomplished leaders. I can think of no more fitting tribute than to name a school in Ted Kennedy’s honor," Menino wrote.

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol R. Johnson will recommend the name change to the School Committee.

"Sen. Kennedy touched the lives of so many people here in Massachusetts and throughout this country," Johnson said. “We look forward to paying tribute to his remarkable legacy by renaming an outstanding public high school in his honor.”

Health Careers Academy is a Horace Mann charter high school that operates within the Boston Public Schools. It is located on the campus of Northeastern University and serves more than 200 students in grades 9-12.

Two other Boston Public Schools are named after members of the Kennedy family: the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Jamaica Plain, named after the former president, and the Patrick J. Kennedy Elementary School in East Boston, named after his grandfather.