BOSTON -- The late Sen. Ted Kennedy was honored at a ceremony Sunday in Boston with the renaming of a local high school.

The senator’s widow, Vicki Kennedy, joined Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Boston Superintendent Carol R. Johnson as the Health Careers Academy was officially renamed the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers.

Vicki Kennedy accepted a plaque to commemorate her late husband’s honor.

“I am so grateful to all of you today for being here, and the kindness that you have extended to us, by associating Teddy’s name with the great work that’s being doing here at the Edward M. Kennedy for Health Careers,” said Kennedy.

The academy, located on Northeastern University, is a Horace Mann charter high school that operates within the Boston Public Schools. More than 200 students exploring careers in health professions in grades 9-12 attend the academy.

Menino sent a letter to the school’s headmaster and board of trustees suggesting the name change shortly after Kennedy’s death in August 2009. He chose the school to honor Kennedy’s lifelong commitment to health care and public education and because of the school’s high standards and high test scores.

The Boston School Committee accepted and unanimously passed the proposal in September. The name change was made official by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.