Helen Y. Davis, left, with Jacqueline Kennedy in an undated photo.

A Dorchester charter school has a new name for the start of the new academic year: Smith Leadership Academy on Leonard Street— founded in 2003— is now known as the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy to honor the late community leader.

Davis, the longtime proprietor of the Davis Funeral Homes in Roxbury and Mattapan, passed away in 2008. She was a highly regarded role model and business leader who empowered area youth and donated countless hours to the Freedom House, the Harriet Tubman House and the United Way of Eastern Massachusetts.

“Through her life’s work, Helen Y. Davis embodied the school’s core values,” said Karmala Sherwood, the Leadership Academy’s Executive Director. Sherwood said that Mrs. Davis exemplified what the school hopes to teach about community, citizenship and compassion.

Davis became the sole-operator of Davis Funeral Home in 1967, after her husband, Norris G. Davis, passed away. Mr. Davis founded Davis Funeral Home in 1935 and his wife ran the business’ two locations on Walnut Avenue in Roxbury and Cummins Highway in Mattapan until she retired at 90 years old in 2001.

Sherwood added that the renaming is “a way to keep our ancestor’s name alive, acknowledge the success of one of our unsung community leaders, and pay homage to their legacy.”

For the past two years, the former Smith Leadership Academy has been performing as a level one school and has been commended by Governor Deval Patrick for closing achievement gaps.

“We will continue that work on trying to get better and helping our students develop a sense of leadership,” said Sherwood.

In addition to the name change, the Board of Trustees aims to expand the academy in order to give students a “know-thy-self” education through their elementary-secondary school years. In the future they are planning on relocating and developing a state-of-the-art campus to accommodate the school’s expansion.

Sherwood says, “We spend a lot of time on making sure our students have a strong sense of who they are so that they know who they can become.” She added, “We want to be able to develop a sense of learning today so that students can be leaders tomorrow.”

There will be an official ribbon cutting and naming ceremony on Helen Y. Davis’ birthday, Friday, November 14.