School 87 is a public school building located near Downtown Buffalo, New York, located at 333 Clinton Street. The building served as home of Hutchinson Central Technical High School and the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts as well as a junior high school and a swing school building for other Buffalo Public Schools that were being reconstructed from 2007 to 2013. It most recently housed the Middle Early College High School.

School 87
Address
Map
333 Clinton Street


Buffalo
,
Erie
,
New York
14204
Coordinates42°52′58″N 78°51′45″W / 42.8828°N 78.8624°W / 42.8828; -78.8624
Information
Opened1914
Closed1976
School number87
Grades5-9

History

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School 87 was constructed in 1915 to house Technical High School, which had previously been housed at 102 Elm Street in School 11. The building was unique in that it was the only public school in Buffalo history to provide its own power and electricity by way of steam generations powered by high pressure boilers. These boilers provided electricity not only for Technical High, but for School 32, located across the street from the building.[1] In 1954, Technical High School merged with Hutchinson Central High School and moved across town.

The old Technical High building was then designated as School 87 and re-opened as Clinton Junior High School (or Clinton Center School), making it one of the first junior high schools in the city and the only one to house grades seven and eight exclusively.[2] Clinton Junior High was one of the most segregated schools in the City of Buffalo with a very high minority enrollment and along with other East Side high schools, was a frequent site of gang and racial violence during the 1960s and 1970s.[3] In 1976, the school was converted to the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts as part of Buffalo's desegregation plan. Beginning with Clinton's original student body, the newly renumbered School 187 eventually became a magnet school that enrolled students from all areas of the city.

In 2007, the Arts Academy moved to a new, renovated location at 450 Masten Avenue. School 87 housed South Park High School (2007-2009), Southside Elementary School (2009-2011), and The International Preparatory School (2011-2013) while those school's regular buildings were being renovated. After being vacant for the 2013–2014 school year, the building housed Middle Early College High School for one year. Currently, the school houses Buffalo Public Schools' Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment.

Former principals

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Name Dates Previous assignment Reason for departure
Mr. Arthur S. Lord 1954-1962 Principal - School 47 retired
Mr. Thomas J. Connors 1962-1964 Assistant Principal - South Park High School named Principal of South Park High School[4]
Mr. Robert S. Wilson 1964-1965[5] Assistant Principal - Genesee-Humboldt Junior High School,[6] named Assistant Principal of South Park High School
Mr. Paul A. Parinello 1965-1967 Vice Principal - Woodlawn Junior High School[5] named Principal of Madison Township School
Mr. Alonzo W. Thompson 1967-1969 Vice Principal - Woodlawn Junior High School[7] named Principal of East High School
Mr. Joseph T. Murray 1969-1976 Vice Principal - Clinton Junior High School named Associate Superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools

References

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  1. ^ Weed, G. M. (2001). School days of yesterday: Buffalo public school history. (p. 43). Buffalo: Allied Printing.
  2. ^ Smith, M. K. (1961, July 9). Buffalo slow to adopt junior high. Buffalo Courier-Express. Retrieved from http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers 21/Buffalo NY Courier Express/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1961/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1961 a - 8073.pdf
  3. ^ Board warns against attacks on teachers. (1965, May 13). Buffalo Courier Express. Retrieved from http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers 21/Buffalo NY Courier Express/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1965/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1965 - 6510.pdf
  4. ^ T.j. connors appointed principal at south park. (1964, August 27). Buffalo Courier Express. Retrieved from http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers 21/Buffalo NY Courier Express/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1964/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1964 - 9568.pdf
  5. ^ a b David hansen named principal of school 6. (1965, July 15). Buffalo Courier Express. Retrieved from http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers 21/Buffalo NY Courier Express/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1965/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1965 - 9742.pdf
  6. ^ Principal is named. (1964, September 10). Buffalo Courier Express. Retrieved from http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers 21/Buffalo NY Courier Express/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1964/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1964 b - 0196.pdf
  7. ^ Negro appointed clinton principal. (1967, July 13). Buffalo Courier-Express. Retrieved from http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers21/Buffalo NY Courier Express/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1967/Buffalo NY Courier Express 1967 a - 0578.pdf