Buffalo Alternative High School
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.
| Academy Programs @ 4 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
425 South Park First Ward Buffalo , Erie , New York 14204 | |
| Information | |
| School number | 131 |
| Principal | Casey Young-Welch |
| Assistant Principals | Naomi R. Cerre Jamie L. St. John |
| Grades | 7-12 |
| Website | Academy School |
History
Buffalo Alternative was created in 1975 to house students who were disruptive, chronically suspended, young parents, 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. In Fall 2017, Grades 7 and 8 moved to the former School 18 Annex on the City's West Side.
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 (Superintendent - West Valley Central 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,[1] returned to position[2])
- Mr. Gregory D. Mott–2006-2010 (Assistant Principal - Lafayette High School,[3] 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,[4] named Principal of East High School[5])
- Mr. Michael J. Mogavero–2011-2016 (Director of Athletics - Buffalo Public Schools, named Instructional Specialist of Buffalo Public Schools)
- Ms. Adriann T. Johnson-Cofield–2016-2019 (Assistant Principal - Alternative High @ 44, named Principal of East Community High School)
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[6])
- Ms. Denise McMichael-Houston–2006-2008 (Director of Recruitment/Diversity - Buffalo Public Schools,[7] named Assistant Principal of Buffalo Elementary School of Technology)
- Mr. Michael T. Morris–2006-2010 (Assistant Principal - Opportunity Center at Fulton,[8] named Assistant Principal of South Park High School[4])
- 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)
- Ms. Janice M. Bowden–2016-2019 (Acting Principal - East High School, named Assistant Principal of East Community High School)
Former administrators
| Year | Superintendent | Principal | Assistant Principal | 40/171 Principal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-1978 | Eugene Reville | Tom Giordano | |||
| 1978-1979 | Eugene Reville | Tom Giordano | |||
| 1979-1980 | Eugene Reville | Tom Giordano | |||
| 1980-1981 | Eugene Reville | Tom Giordano | |||
| 1981-1982 | Eugene Reville | Tom Giordano | |||
| 1982-1983 | Eugene Reville | Tom Giordano | |||
| 1983-1984 | Eugene Reville | Tom Giordano | |||
| 1984-1985 | Eugene Reville | Tom Giordano | |||
| 1985-1986 | Eugene Reville | John Hanlon | |||
| 1986-1987 | Eugene Reville | John Hanlon | Bill Riley | ||
| 1987-1988 | Eugene Reville | Gerald Hesson | Bill Riley | Bill Bell | |
| 1988-1989 | Albert Thompson* | Ben Randle | Frank Weitz | ||
| 1989-1990 | Albert Thompson* | Ben Randle | Frank Weitz | ||
| 1990-1991 | Albert Thompson | Bob Barton | Dan Geary | ||
| 1991-1992 | Albert Thompson | Bob Barton | Dan Geary | ||
| 1992-1993 | Albert Thompson | Bob Barton | Dan Geary | ||
| 1993-1994 | Albert Thompson | Ray Perrault | Dan Geary | ||
| 1994-1995 | Albert Thompson | Ray Perrault | Dan Geary | ||
| 1995-1996 | Albert Thompson | Elzie Fisher | Tom Aquino | ||
| 1996-1997 | Jim Harris | Elzie Fisher | Tom Aquino | ||
| 1997-1998 | Jim Harris | Elzie Fisher | Tom Aquino | ||
| 1998-1999 | Jim Harris | Elzie Fisher | Tom Aquino | ||
| 1999-2000 | Jim Harris | Elzie Fisher | Tom Aquino | ||
| 2000-2001 | Marion Canedo | Elzie Fisher | Tom Aquino | ||
| 2001-2002 | Marion Canedo | Elzie Fisher | Tom Aquino | ||
| 2002-2003 | Marion Canedo | Elzie Fisher | |||
| 2006-2007 | James Williams | Baines/Mott | Covington/Morris | Denise Houston | |
| 2007-2008 | James Williams | Greg Mott | Mike Morris | Denise Houston | |
| 2008-2009 | James Williams | Greg Mott | Mike Morris | ||
| 2009-2010 | James Williams | Greg Mott | Mike Morris | Elzie Fisher | |
| 2010-2011 | James Williams | Casey Young | Rafael Mercado | Elzie Fisher | |
| 2011-2012 | Amber Dixon* | Mike Mogavero | Rafael Mercado | Elzie Fisher | |
| 2012-2013 | Pam Brown | Mike Mogavero | Rafael Mercado | Elzie Fisher | |
| 2013-2014 | Pam Brown | Mike Mogavero | Rafael Mercado | Elzie Fisher | |
| 2014-2015 | Don Oligive* | Mike Mogavero | Rafael Mercado | Elzie Fisher | |
| 2015-2016 | Kriner Cash | Mike Mogavero | Traci Cofield | Nate McCrea | |
| 2016-2017 | Kriner Cash | Traci Cofield* | Janice Bowden | Nate McCrea | |
| 2017-2018 | Kriner Cash | Traci Cofield | Janice Bowden | Bert Stevenson | Nate McCrea |
| 2018-2019 | Kriner Cash | Traci Cofield | Janice Bowden | Bert Stevenson | Nate McCrea |
| 2019-2020 | Kriner Cash | Casey Young | Jamie St. John | Naomi Cerre | |
Gallery
School 13, where Buffalo Alternative was housed from 1975-2003.
School 142, where the Fulton Bilingual/Junior High programs were housed.
School 171, where Academy School was housed from 2009-2011.
320 Porter Avenue, where the City-As-School program was housed.
School 44, where the Academy Program was housed from 2006-2013.
School 40, where the Academy Program was housed from 2011-2015.
References
- Buffalo Public Schools (2006, July 12). Meeting of the Board of Education: Administrative Appointments.
- Buffalo Public Schools (2007, January 10). Meeting of the Board of Education: Principal Transfers.
- Buffalo Public Schools (2006, October 23). Meeting of the Board of Education: Administrative Appointments.
- Buffalo Public Schools (2010, August 25). Meeting of the Board of Education: Administrative Appointments.
- Buffalo Public Schools (2011, September 14). Meeting of the Board of Education: Administrative Appointments.
- Buffalo Public Schools (2006, November 1). Meeting of the Board of Education: Administrative Appointments.
- Buffalo Public Schools (2006, December 6). Meeting of the Board of Education: Administrative Appointments.
- Buffalo Public Schools (2006, August 23). Meeting of the Board of Education: Administrative Appointments.