The Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts (BAVPA) is a

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performing arts

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and part of Buffalo, New York's public school system. It serves grades 5-12 and requires students to apply in the field of their desired major concentration. Majors taught in the school are Dance, Media, Music, Technical Theater, Theater Arts, and Visual Arts. BAVPA is affiliated with several community arts/performance organizations and colleges, including Hallwalls,

WKBW-TV WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter on Center Stree ...

Buffalo State College The State University of New York College at Buffalo (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State College, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State) is a public college in Buffalo, New York. It is part of the State University of New ...

, and the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

History

BAVPA was founded in 1977 as a magnet school, based on a recent court order demanding that Buffalo desegregate its schools. It was originally located at School 87 (then known as Clinton Junior High School) located 333 Clinton Street in the Lower East Side of Buffalo. Due to size constraints, the school moved to its current location in 2007. The new building, located at 450 Masten Avenue in Buffalo, is the former home to

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and

Buffalo Traditional School Buffalo Traditional High School is a former magnet school in Buffalo, New York. It served Grades 5 through 12 and was located at 450 Masten Avenue in the city's East Side. It closed in 2005. History The building was constructed in 1962 on the fo ...

. Prior to that, it was the site of

Offermann Stadium Offermann Stadium was an outdoor baseball and football stadium in Buffalo, New York. Opened in 1924 as Bison Stadium, it was home to the Buffalo Bisons ( IL), Buffalo Bisons/Rangers ( NFL) and Indianapolis Clowns (NAL). The stadium hosted notab ...

Former Principals

''Previous assignment and reason for departure denoted in parentheses'' *Philip Lafornara–1977-1978 (Principal - unknown, died) *Elmer J. Schamber–1978-1985 (Principal - City Honors School, retired) *David W. Hess–1985-1991 (Assistant Principal - Riverside High School, named Acting Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education for Buffalo Public Schools) *Barbara A. Schnell–1991-1992 (Principal - Kensington Prep, named Principal of

Buffalo Vocational Technical Center East High School was a comprehensive high school located in the East Side of Buffalo, New York. It operated from 1927 until 1977, reopened in 2005 and closed again in 2018 due to low academic performance. East High began phasing out in 2015 and wa ...

) *Ronald L. Meer–1992-1996 (Principal - Leonardo da Vinci High School, retired) *Deborah A. Smith–1996-2000 (Program Coordinator - Buffalo Public Schools, named Principal of

) *Kevin E. Kazmierczak–2000-2008 (Director of Instrumental Music Programs - Buffalo Public Schools, named Principal of Tonawanda High School) *Darren J. Brown–2008-2011 (Principal - Community School 53, named Executive Director for Human Resources for Buffalo Public Schools)

Notable alumni

* Ani DiFranco (Class of 1986) * Jesse L. Martin (Class of 1987) * Robert Paterson (Class of 1988) *

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Alexis Spight Alexis Spight (born July 3, 1993) is an American urban contemporary gospel musician, and runner-up on season five of the BET singing competition, ''Sunday Best''. She started her music career, in 2012, with the single, "Imagine Me", and the so ...

* Sir John Barnett (Class of 2000)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo Academy For Visual And Performing Arts Magnet schools in New York (state) Magnet schools in Buffalo, New York Public high schools in New York (state) High schools in Buffalo, New York Public middle schools in New York (state)