Neha Patil (Editor)

Buffalo Alternative High School

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
School number
  
131

Grades
  
7-12

Phone
  
+1 716-816-3270

Asst. Principal
  
Janice M. Bowden

Website
  
Academy School

Buffalo Alternative High School

Principal
  
Nathaniel McCrea (7-8) Traci Cofield (9-12)

Address
  
280 Oak St, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA

Buffalo Alternative High School is an alternative school located in Buffalo, New York. It has gone through two separate eras, and was located at 268 Oak Street in Downtown Buffalo. The original Buffalo Alternative was closed in 2003 due to budget cuts, with a new alternative high school program being re-opened in Buffalo in 2006.

Contents

History

Buffalo Alternative was created in 1975 to house students who were disruptive, chronically suspended, otherwise unsuccessful in the traditional school setting. The main campus (or "Center School") was at 280 Oak Street (formerly the home to Boys Vocational High School), along with several satellite sites were established in instances of overcrowding and also to offer more specialized programs. The satellite sites included the "City-As-School" program at 320 Porter Avenue, home of an internship program for Alternative High students, the Fulton Bilingual Program at 220 Fulton Street for bilingual students, and the Fulton Junior High Program for junior high school students. Students who met criterion were allowed to either return to the traditional high school setting or graduate from Alternative High.

The school's facilities were lacking due to budgetary reasons, and the school was finally closed in 2003. Academy School 131 was created in 2006 to serve as the alternative program in Buffalo. Currently, the Oak Street campus serves as a combination of office space for the City of Buffalo as well as residential apartments.

The new alternative program (known as The Academy School) began in 2006 and was originally operated through a firm called Resultech and was located at former School 44 1369 Broadway. The Resultech partnership was dissolved in 2008 due to backlash from administrators and students.

The school began with two campuses, one at Public School 44 at 1369 Broadway Street for grades 9-12, and the other at 1409 East Delevan Avenue for grades 1-8. In 2011, the elementary program was moved to School 40 in Babcock. The high school program was moved to School 4 on South Park Avenue in 2014, with grades 1-8 moving in shortly thereafter.

Former principals

Previous assignment and reasons for departure listed in parentheses

  • Mr. Thomas Giordano–?-1985
  • Mr. John P. Hanlon–1985-1987 (unknown, died)
  • Mr. Gerald H. Hesson–1987-1988 (Principal - Buffalo Vocational Technical Center, assigned to Central Office)
  • Mr. Benjamin L. Randle, Jr.–1988-1990 (Principal - Campus West School, named Principal of Grover Cleveland High School)
  • Mr. Robert M. Barton–1990-1993 (Assistant Principal - Bennett High School, named Principal of Kensington High School)
  • Mr. Raymond D. Perrault–1993-1995 (Assistant Principal - Grover Cleveland High School, named Principal of South Park High School)
  • Mr. Elzie B. Fisher–1995-2003 (Assistant Principal - Lafayette High School, school closed)
  • Mrs. Lisa R. Daniels Baines–2006 (Director of Adult Education - Buffalo Public Schools, returned to position)
  • Mr. Gregory D. Mott–2006-2010 (Assistant Principal - Lafayette High School, named Principal of Campus West School)
  • Mr. Elzie B. Fisher–2009-2015 (Principal - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Multicultural Institute, retired)
  • Dr. Casey M. Young Welch–2010-2011 (Principal - Grover Cleveland High School, named Principal of East High School)
  • Mr. Michael J. Mogavero–2011-2016 (Director of Athletics - Buffalo Public Schools, named Instructional Specialist of Buffalo Public Schools)

    • Selected former assistant principals

    Previous assignment and reasons for departure listed in parentheses

  • Mr. William J. Bell–1987-? (Assistant Principal - South Park High School, unknown)
  • Mr. William F. Riley–1986-1988 (Program Coordinator - Buffalo Alternative High School, named Assistant Principal of McKinley Vocational High School)
  • Mr. Franklin R. Weitz–1988-1990 (Assistant Principal - South Park Prep, retired)
  • Mr. Daniel J. Geary–1990-1995 (Assistant Principal - South Park High School, named Assistant Principal of Hutchinson Central Technical High School)
  • Mr. Thomas C. Aquino–1995-2002 (Supervisor of Teacher Aides - Buffalo Public Schools, named Assistant Principal of Seneca Vocational High School)
  • Ms. Jody M. Covington–2006 (Assistant Principal - McKinley Vocational High School, named Assistant Principal of Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts)
  • Ms. Denise McMichael-Houston–2006-2008 (Director of Recruitment/Diversity - Buffalo Public Schools, named Assistant Principal of Buffalo Elementary School of Technology)
  • Mr. Michael T. Morris–2006-2010 (Assistant Principal - Opportunity Center at Fulton, named Assistant Principal of South Park High School)
  • Mr. Rafael A. Mercado–2010-2015 (Assistant Principal - Grover Cleveland High School, named Assistant Principal of Emerson School of Hospitality)
  • Ms. Adriann T. Johnson-Cofield–2015-2016 (Dean of Students - BUILD Academy, named Acting Principal of Buffalo Academy School)

    • References

    Buffalo Alternative High School Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA