Kenmore West Senior High School (nicknamed Ken-West) is one of two public

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 ...

s in the

Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District The Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District, also called the Ken-Ton School District, or simply Ken-Ton Schools, serves Kenmore and a majority of the Town of Tonawanda in New York State. It is one of the largest in Western New York ...

. The other is Kenmore East Senior High School.

History

Founding

In 1938, a

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grant of about $700,000 was received from the federal

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

toward the creation of a separate building for the senior high school on Highland Parkway, and the school district provided over $1M in additional funds. The plot on which the school is situated cost $35,000. The school opened in the fall of 1940 with fifty faculty members and 1,250 pupils. In 1959, Kenmore East High School was opened as the district continued to grow. At that time, the Highland Parkway school officially became Kenmore West High School. Raymond Stewart Frazier (1901–1998) was appointed of principal of Kenmore West in 1952.

History of the land

The plot is part of what used to be the Philip Pirson homestead, a 75-acre farm.
The Town of Tonawanda
'' by John W. Percy,

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publi ...

(1997), pg. 27

Building expansion and additions

The community continued to grow in the subsequent years, requiring a classroom addition to the west wing of school in 1967–1968. In the late 1990s, the school district proposed building a new library information center on the west lawn and an athletic complex east of the original gymnasium. Voters narrowly approved funding for the projects in 1997. The additions were designed by Duchscherer Oberst Design, P.C., an architectural firm in Buffalo. Joseph L. Kopec was the lead architect. The library was completed at a cost of about $10 million in the fall of 2000. The design won an award for educational architecture in the summer of 2001. Another capital enhancement to the building occurred after a May 2002 fire in the cafeteria bay, causing a multi-month relocation of the cafeteria to the Old Gym while a new cafeteria was erected, opening January 31, 2003, to an appreciative student body.

Enrollment and leadership

Kenmore West's enrollment grew steadily through about 1970, and reached its peak in 1969 with over 3000 students in grades 10, 11 and 12. Alan Hammon MacGamwell (1926–2004), a 1944 graduate of the school, was appointed its third principal in 1971, after serving as a teacher, coach and assistant principal in the Ken-Ton Schools. In that era, the school boasted large numbers of

National Merit Scholarship The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...

winners. In 1969, Kenmore West, under coach Jules Yakapovich, won the Niagara Frontier League Football Championship and drew national attention as theoretical national champions, determined statistically by a computer match-up with a Florida high school team. MacGamwell retired in 1980 and served the Ken-Ton District on the Board of Education. Another Kenmore graduate, Charles Kristich, class of 1955, succeeded him as principal that year. Douglas H. Smith became Principal in December 1994 and led the 9–12 school building until December 2005. Karen Geelan, former Assistant Principal in the West Seneca School district, was hired as the Principal of grades 9 and 10, and Smith would continue to lead grades 11 and 12. In 2007, Geelan became Lead Principal of the building under Smith's tutelage until he transferred to Benjamin Franklin Middle School in 2008 where he was Principal until his retirement in 2010. Geelan earned an educational doctorate from the

University of 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 1846 ...

in 2011 and left Kenmore West in June of that year to become the Superintendent of Allegheny Limestone Central Schools. Dean R. Johnson, who had been a Kenmore West Assistant Principal from 2008 to 2011, succeeded Geelan in 2011 as principal of Kenmore West. Kayla Capuccio, Kelly Lambert, and Denise Grandits are currently assistant principals. Ken Belote is the schools Athletic Coordinator.

Declining population

The Kenmore community, like the rest of

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...

, lost population between 1970 and 1990. Enrollment of Kenmore West dipped to a low of under 1,400 students in the early 1990s, and many teachers were laid off. Despite the loss of population, however, Kenmore West continued to be recognized for its achievements. The Ken-Ton population continues to drop, and teachers and support staff continue to be laid off as the district economic climate changes. In the 2016–2017 school year, after the consolidation of Kenmore Middle School, Kenmore West now houses eighth graders as well as ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders.

Academics

In 2013, Kenmore West Senior High School was ranked 74th out of 135

high schools in terms of academic performance.

International Baccalaureate Program

In January 2011, Kenmore West was designated as an International Baccalaureate (IB) School. They were the second public school in Western New York with this distinction. As of 2016, only two other high schools in Erie County offered the program:

Kenmore East High School Kenmore East High School (nicknamed Ken-East; also Kenmore East Senior High School) is a high school in the Town of Tonawanda, New York. Its name refers to the Village of Kenmore in New York. The school's mascot is a bulldog. The school was foun ...

and

City Honors School City Honors School at Fosdick-Masten Park, known colloquially as City Honors, or CHS, is a college preparatory school in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is part of the Buffalo Public Schools system. The school was founded in 1975 for acade ...

. By 2015, about 18% of Kenmore West students participate in the IB Diploma Program.

Notable alumni

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, internet celebrity with

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, CNN journalist and author (who sent a video to the Class of 2009 graduation and visited Kenmore West on 4/9/10 to speak with the school) *

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, guitarist in the band

Cute Is What We Aim For Cute Is What We Aim For is an American rock band from Buffalo, New York. The band formed in 2005 and has since released two albums: '' The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch'' and ''Rotation''. The band was previously signed with record label ...

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, Chief Judge of the

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, author and journalist *

Geoffrey Gatza Geoffrey C. Gatza (born 1970) is an American poet and editor and the publisher of BlazeVOX ooks an independent press based in Buffalo, New York. Early life and education Gatza grew up in Kenmore in Erie County, New York and attended four scho ...

, editor, publisher, poet *

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astronaut (who spoke to the student body at the 2010 Homecoming rally) *

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, musicians and theatrical group *

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, two-term mayor of

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, and U.S. congressional candidate *

Dan McFall Daniel B. McFall (born April 8, 1963 in Kenmore, New York and raised in Buffalo, New York) is an American retired professional ice hockey player who played nine games in the National Hockey League between 1985 and 1986 with the Winnipeg Jets ...

, NHL hockey player * Jim McNally, former

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

coach in the

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(1966–1979) and in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

(1980–2008) *

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Class of '73, former talk host at WGR and WBEN. Nationally Syndicated Talk Host, "Red Eye Radio" * Neal Smatresk, marine biologist, former president of the

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(2009–2014), current president of the

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(2014–present) * Bob Smith, comedian and author * Richard Kermode, keyboardist who played with

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, and

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. * Zachary Patton, class of 2009, designer and creative entrepreneur. Founder of Cretaceous Clothing, Bxllion Brands, Attractive Stranger and co-founder of software development company Atlas Digital Group. * Kyle Sobon, USPA Powerlifter and NYS Men's raw Junior 18-19 82.5 kg squat record holder, World Record holder for most 100 pound conventional deadlifts in one minute

School colors and mascot

The school's colors are royal blue and white, and the mascot is the Blue Devil. There are many different images used for the Blue Devil all throughout the school, and most have been designed by students. In recent years, the old mascot costume was replaced by a newer, more 'pumped-up' Blue Devil costume.

Athletics

The Blue Devils compete in the Niagara Frontier League (NFL) in most sports. Exceptions include the football team which competes in the Class AA North division and the gymnastics team which competes in the Erie County Interscholastic Conference (ECIC) Division I. The school's sports teams have produced numerous championships throughout the school's 60-year history. The Blue Devils have a long-standing cross-town rivalry with

. Sports offered are: Basketball * Boys' basketball :: 1978: Advanced to the New York State Basketball Championship final game * Girls' basketball Football :* Voted #1 in New York by the

New York State Sportswriters Association The New York State Sportswriters Association (NYSSWA), founded in 1967, is a source of reference information and statistics about scholastic athletics in the state. Begun by sportswriters Larry Serrell of the Schenectady Daily Gazette and Chuck Ko ...

in 1969 :* New York state champions: 1969 :* Cited as "National Champions" in 1969 by a computer calculation operated by the Junior Super Bowl Soccer * Boys' soccer * Girls' soccer Track and field * Cross country * Indoor track Tennis * Boys' tennis * Girls' tennis Volleyball * Boys' volleyball * Girls' volleyball Other * Golf * Gymnastics * Boys' Ice hockey * Girls Ice Hockey * Field hockey * Rugby * Softball :* New York state champions: 2002 * Girls and Boys Swimming * Wrestling

Notes

References

External links

*
Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District
{{authority control Public high schools in New York (state) High schools in Erie County, New York 1938 establishments in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1938