Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. It was the oldest public school in Buffalo that remained in its original building, a stone, brick and terra-cotta structure in the French Renaissance Revival style by architects August Esenwein and James A. Johnson. Although classes began off-site during construction of the school, the building was completed and graduated its first class in 1903. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1980. It is located in Buffalo's Upper West Side at 370 Lafayette Avenue.
The name 'Lafayette High School' was phased out beginning in 2015, graduating its final class in 2018, and was replaced by the name
Lafayette International High School
Lafayette International Community High School is a high school located in the Upper West Side, Buffalo, New York, West Side of Buffalo, New York. It serves students in Grades 9 through 12. The current principal is John Starkey.
History
Lafayette ...
and Newcomers Academy. Classes continue to be held in the historic building.
History
Lafayette High School was the third high school built in Buffalo, New York. It has fallen into recent struggles with academics and has been placed on New York State's Watch List of Persistently Underperforming Schools. After the 2010–2011 school year, the school re-opened as a multicultural school with a new principal. The school also began housing seventh and eighth graders from nearby International School 45. This arrangement continued until 2015.
Former principals
''Previous assignment and reason for departure denoted in parentheses''
*Mr. Arthur Detmers–1903-1906 (unknown, named Instructor of
The Hill School
The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO).
...
)
*Mr. Calvert King Mellen–1906-1934 (Math teacher - Buffalo Central High School, retired)
*Mr. Frank Gott–1934-1955 (Vice Principal - Lafayette High School, retired)
*Mr. Abraham Axelrod–1955-1958 (Assistant Principal - Kensington High School, died)
*Mr. Robert C. McGowan–1958-1968 (Assistant Principal - East High School, retired)
*Mr. Gerald S. Hare–1968-1972 (Assistant Principal - East High School, transferred to Buffalo Public Schools District Offices)
*Mr. Frederick D. Ganter–1972-1997 (Assistant Principal - East High School, retiredHeaney, J. (1997, June 23). Retirements, transfers may mean new principals for 10 city - schools. ''The Buffalo News'', p. B4.)
*Ms. Sharon A. Lanza–1997-2004 (Assistant Principal - Lafayette High School, retired)
*Mrs. Jacquelyn M. Baldwin–2004-2008 (Assistant Principal -
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 ...
McKinley Vocational High School
McKinley Vocational High School is a public high school in Buffalo, New York. The school is located at 1500 Elmwood Avenue, and serves about 1200 students from Grades 9 - 12.
History
McKinley was formed in 1910 as Black Rock Vocational Schoo ...
, named Principal of
Dr. Lydia T. Wright School of Excellence
Buffalo Public Schools serves approximately 34,000 students in Buffalo, New York, the second largest city in the state of New York (state), New York. It is located in Erie County, New York, Erie County of western New York and operates nearly 70 fa ...
Buffalo Public Schools (2011, September 14). Meeting of the Board of Education: Administrative Appointments '.)
*Mrs. Naomi R. Cerre–2011-2015 (Assistant Principal - McKinley High School, returned to McKinley)
*Mrs. Denise E. Clarke–2015-2017 (Principal -
Riverside Institute of Technology
Riverside Institute of Technology (formerly known as Riverside High School) was a public high school located in Buffalo, New York. It served Grades 9-12 and taught according to the Board of Regents. Riverside closed in June 2019 after years of low ...
''Previous assignment and reason for departure denoted in parentheses''
*Mr. Charles E. Rhodes–1918-1925 (English Teacher - Lafayette High School, named Principal of Bennett High School)
*Mr. Frank Gott–1925-1934 (unknown, named Principal of Lafayette High School)
*Mr. Irvin H. Himmele–1934-1941, 1948-1951 (Social Studies teacher - Lafayette High School, placed on military leave)
*Mr. Carl S. Walz–1941-1948 (Math teacher - Lafayette High School, named Assistant Principal of East High School)
*Mr. Frank J. Kelly–1951-1955 (Assistant Principal - South Park High Annex, named Assistant Principal of Kensington High School)
*Dr. J. Norman Hayes–1955-1958 (Assistant Principal - School 87, named Principal of South Park High School)
*Mr. Martin J. O'Donnell–1958-1962 (Acting Assistant Principal - Kensington High School, named Principal of Grover Cleveland High School)
*Ms. Margaret V. Lombardi–1962-1966 (Guidance Counselor -
School 72
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
, named Principal of
Woodlawn Junior High School Woodlawn may refer to:
* ''Woodlawn'' (film), a 2015 film
* St John's College, Woodlawn, a school in New South Wales, Australia
Populated places Australia
* Woodlawn, Queensland, a neighbourhood in Moola, Western Downs region
Canada
* Woodlawn, ...
)
*Ms. Mary Elizabeth Dougherty–1966-1970 (Guidance Counselor - Lafayette High School, named Director of Business Education for Buffalo Public Schools)
*Mr. Chester J. Kryszczuk–1966-1969 (Assistant Principal -
School 59
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
, named Principal of
School 80
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...
)
*Mr. Salvatore J. Scamacca–1969-1990 (Instrumental Music teacher - Lafayette High School, retired)
*Mr. Gerald H. Hesson–1972-1974 (Social Studies teacher - South Park High School, named Principal of Fillmore Middle School)
*Dr. Daniel M. Kublitz–1974-1982 (Assistant Principal - Kensington High School, retired)
*Mr. Charles G. Erickson–1983-1987 (Coordinator of Student Affairs - Kensington High School, retired)
*Mr. Thomas P. Kopera–1987-1990 (Business teacher - Lafayette High School, named Principal of
Burgard Vocational High School
Burgard Vocational High School is a vocational high school located in Buffalo, New York, USA. It enrolls approximately 600 students from Grades 9 - 12 and teaches according to the Board of Regents. The current principal is Mr. Eric Johnson, and t ...
)
*Mr. Elzie B. Fisher–1990-1995 (Assistant Principal - Kensington High School, named Principal of
Buffalo Alternative High School
The Academy School 131 (also known as Alternative High School) is an alternative school
An alternative school is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional. Such schools offer a wide range of philosophie ...
)
*Ms. Patricia C. Kormash–1990-1994 (French teacher - Lafayette High School, named Assistant Principal of
North Tonawanda High School
North Tonawanda High School (NTHS) is a public high school located in North Tonawanda, New York. N.T.H.S. is the high school for the North Tonawanda City School District. The current principal is Bradley Rowles.
Academics Academies
North Tona ...
)
*Ms. Sharon Lanza–1994-1997 (Assistant Principal - Grover Cleveland High School, named Principal of Lafayette High School)
*Mr. Thomas M. Kalenik–1995-2004 (Social Studies teacher - Buffalo Public Schools, retired)
*Ms. Lisa K. Robinson–1997-2006 (Computer Science teacher -
Hutchinson Central Technical High School
Hutchinson Central Technical High School, informally known as Hutch-Tech, is a high school in the City of Buffalo, New York. Its founding on September 14, 1904 under the name ''Mechanics Arts High School'' marked the beginning of technical educatio ...
Shenendehowa High School
Shenendehowa High School (often shortened to Shen High School) is a public high school in Clifton Park, New York, United States. It is part of the Shenendehowa Central School District.
Students are separated between two buildings (East and Wes ...
Burgard Vocational High School
Burgard Vocational High School is a vocational high school located in Buffalo, New York, USA. It enrolls approximately 600 students from Grades 9 - 12 and teaches according to the Board of Regents. The current principal is Mr. Eric Johnson, and t ...
Lewiston-Porter High School
Lewiston-Porter Central School District, colloquially referred to as "Lew-Port", is a school district in the towns of Lewiston and Porter, New York, about from the city of Niagara Falls.
District
Lewiston-Porter educates students from Youngst ...
)
*Mrs. Julie L Horn–2008-2014 (Assistant Principal - Bennett High School, named Assistant Principal of Newcomers Academy @ Lafayette)
*Mr. Craig M. Brodnicki–2008-2016 (Assistant Principal - Campus West School, named Assistant Principal of McKinley Vocational High School)
*Ms. Yuldonna M. Middleton–2011-2015 (Assistant Principal -
International School
An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...
, retired)
*Mr. Rafael A. Mercado–2016-2017 (Assistant Principal - Emerson School of Hospitality, named Assistant Principal of
D'Youville Porter Campus School
Buffalo Public Schools serves approximately 34,000 students in Buffalo, New York, the second largest city in the state of New York. It is located in Erie County of western New York and operates nearly 70 facilities.
History
The Buffalo Public S ...
Lafayette High School currently serves as home to many Buffalo high school students learning
English as a second language
English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EF ...
.
Bell Schedule
Notable alumni
*
Gordon Bunshaft
Gordon Bunshaft, (May 9, 1909 – August 6, 1990), was an American architect, a leading proponent of modern design in the mid-twentieth century. A partner in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Bunshaft joined the firm in 1937 and remained with ...
(class of 1928), noted twentieth-century architect.
*
Robert J. Donovan
Robert John Donovan (August 21, 1912 – August 8, 2003) was a Washington correspondent, author and presidential historian. He died from complications from stroke.
Biography
Donovan attended Lafayette High School in Buffalo, New York, where he ...
(class of 1932), Washington Bureau Chief, ''New York Herald Tribune'' and ''Los Angeles Times''. President, White House Correspondents' Association. Author of 12 books including ''
PT-109 PT1 may refer to:
* 486958 Arrokoth (New Horizons PT1), a Kuiper belt object and selected target for a flyby of the New Horizons probe
* Pratt & Whitney PT1, a free-piston gas-turbine engine
* Consolidated PT-1 Trusty, a 1930s USAAS primary trainer ...
''. Only journalist to ever address a Joint Session of Congress.
* Liz Dribben (class of 1954), first female news anchor on Buffalo television, copy writer at
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
for
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. Rather began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurr ...
,
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
, and
Charles Kuralt
Charles Bishop Kuralt (September 10, 1934 – July 4, 1997) was an American television, newspaper and radio journalist and author. He is most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on '' The CBS Evenin ...
. Member of the
Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame
Buffalo most commonly refers to:
* Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo
* Bison, including the American buffalo
* Buffalo, New York
Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to:
Animals
* Bubalina, a subtribe of the t ...
.
*
Jeremiah Goodman
Jeremiah Goodman (October 22, 1922 – September 7, 2017) was an illustrator who signed his work with his first name only. Goodman used his unique painting style to create the essence of a building's interior. His painting interprets the plans of ...
(class of 1939), artist, known simply as "Jeremiah", painter of interior still lifes of famous residences.
* Cecil de Blaquiere Howard (class of 1903), noted sculptor who lived in Paris, France from 1905 to 1940, and in New York until his death in 1956.
*
Barney Lepper
Howard Emmett Lepper (February 19, 1898 – December 1, 1985) was a professional Buffalo All-Stars, which eventually became the city's first NFL team
*
Gary Mallaber
Gary Mallaber (born October 11, 1946 in Buffalo) is a Los Angeles session drummer, percussionist and singer. He attended Lafayette High School, where he and Bobby Militello, along with other musicians, were mentored by saxophonist Sam Scam ...
(class of 1964), Multiple platinum selling drummer and producer involved with acts such as The Steve Miller Band, Van Morrison and
Eddie Money
Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including "Baby Hold On", "Two Tickets to Parad ...
.
*
Fran Striker
Francis Hamilton "Fran" Striker (August 19, 1903 – September 4, 1962) was an American writer for radio and comics, best known for creating the characters the Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
Early life
Born in ...
(class of 1922), author, creator of the radio serial ''
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture.
He first appeared in 1933 in ...
''.
*
Bruce Shanks
Bruce McKinley Shanks (January 29, 1908 – April 12, 1980)''Florida Death Index, 1877-1998'' was an American editorial cartoonist who worked for the ''Buffalo Evening News'' during the middle of the 20th century. There he won the annual Pulitz ...
(class of 1927), Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist.
*
Winifred C. Stanley
Winifred Claire Stanley (August 14, 1909 – February 29, 1996) was an American politician and attorney from New York affiliated with the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Stanley is known for her vigorous women's rights advoc ...
(class of 1927), attorney and first member of congress to introduce legislation prohibiting discrimination in pay on account of sex
*
Frank Kelly Freas
Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was an American science fiction and fantasy artist with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the second artist inducted by ...
(class of 1938), famed science-fiction cover artist.
*
The Modernaires
The Modernaires was an American vocal group, best known for performing in the 1940s alongside Glenn Miller.
Career
The Modernaires began in 1934 as "Don Juan, Two and Three," a trio of schoolmates from Lafayette High School in Buffalo, New Y ...
(Hal Dickinson, Chuck Goldstein, and Bill Conway, late 1930s), the popular harmony group renowned for its performances on record and motion pictures with the
Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and com ...
.
* Tedd Lewin (class of 1953), artist, author and illustrator of children's books.
* Angelo Coniglio (class of 1954), first Civil Engineering graduate of 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 1846 ...
, engineer, professor of engineering, genealogist, author of the historical novella ''
The Lady of the Wheel
''The Lady of the Wheel (La Ruotaia)'' is a 2012 historical fiction novel by Sicilian American author Angelo F. Coniglio. The book follows the life of a girl who was abandoned as an infant, with the major themes of the book including poverty, expl ...
'' and archivist of the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
.
*
Edward C. Lawson
Edward C. Lawson was an African American civil rights activist, who was the plaintiff in the case of '' Kolender v. Lawson'', , in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that a California statute authorizing a police officer to arrest a perso ...
(class of 1964), Edward won a landmark Supreme Court victory over racism and arbitrary stop and seizure practices by California police by defending himself before the Supreme Court of the US. awson v. Kolender, 658 F.2d 1362 (9th Cir. 1981) October 15, 1981 et seq. Few Lafayette graduates have ever shown such personal triumph over injustice.
* Charles Reidpath Olympic gold medalist
*
Bobby Militello
Robert Philip Militello a.k.a. Bobby M. (born 25 March 1950) is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Career
During the 1970s, Militello went on tour with Maynard Ferguson. He returned to Buffa ...
jazz saxophonist
Shanks (1927) and Lewin (1953), and all the art students in between were influenced by Elizabeth Weiffenbach, who taught art at the school for over forty years. These included Jack Smart (class of 1922), an artist who also played '' The Fat Man'' on 1940s radio; and Irving
Jeremiah
Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...
Goodman (class of 1939), a contemporary artist specializing in room still lifes. Turner rowed for the U.S. in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, was executive editor of The Buffalo Courier-Express, and is a member of the exclusive Gridiron Club in Washington, D.C.
The public school is supported by the private ''Lafayette High School Alumni Association''. In 1999, the association restored the building's landmark ''lantern'' or ''"cupola"'', which had deteriorated and been demolished for safety reasons in the 1970s. In May 2003, the association sponsored and ran a 100th Anniversary Celebration, attended by over 1,700 alumni and their guests, raising $30,000 for the school. The funds will establish the Ramsi P. Tick media room in memory of entrepreneur Tick, an LHS alumnus and philanthropist. The association also awards several annual grants and scholarships for worthy causes and students, and on Sunday, August 4, 2013 is holding a free All-Class Reunion to celebrate the school's one hundred and tenth year.
As their logos, the school and the Association use the LHS Triangle (Lafayette High School; Loyalty, Honor, Service), and the Lafayette Angel.
Gallery
Image:PostcardLHS.png, Lafayette High School, ca. 1901
Image:Lafayette High School Entrance Dec 09.JPG, Lafayette High School, Entrance Detail, December 2009