Buffalo Rising Online

Class of '93. I had the same type of feelings when I attended.

The class room wing was typical 50's mundane cinderblock crap but walking over to the main mansion/mason buildings was always inspiring. Entering through the Big Blue Doors/Main Foyer always put a little shine on the start of the school day. Walking through modern day schools they are as sterile and inspring as a hospital wing. I think something can be said for the effect of one's surroundings on their learning.

The retro shots you linked to are great too. That the use as a school has saved these buildings is another blessing for Buffalo. The chances of buildings like this rising again are slim. Human sized details are gone from today's architecture. You look at it for 30 secs and you have seen everything be it a clean or whacky design. For all the assemblies I sat through I pry did not catch all of them in this auditorium. Add to that the travels down into the lower areas for the pool, wrestling room, weight room, or desecnding the spiral staircase into the computer lab and one's suroundings were never boring. I always felt like I was on a cool old college campus while inside.

My single mom busted her ass with three jobs to put me through grade/high school. One of many things she did that I feel I will never fully be able to show my gratitude for. My four years here were great from the buildings themslves to (most of) the teachers. Its great to see them expanding.

I played basketball at the gym here when I was at O'Hara. It has to be the most elegant gym I've ever played in.

I went there for two years and couldn't stand moving from the granduer of the old mansion to the cold (literally)prison-like shoebox. If I recall there were very very few classes held in the "nice" part.

girlinthebuff-you really don't want to get into that lame lament of the teachers' union "bleeding" the city dry, do you?

Galaxy, you seem like the ladies man with all your knowledge - you should know the answer to that questions bigshot

Cheesepuffs

nah - Cardinal O'Hara all the way ---

Galaxy - great comeback - I can see all that brain power at work

Speaking of St. Joes,

I little I did not include in the main story is the fact that Canisius' main rival school is St. Joe's. We not only took great pride in the fact that we beat them athletically, scholastically, and that we had a girls school just a block away (they did not) :) but, we also beat them architecturally (big time). St. Joe's, a fine school, is unfortunately housed in a quite banal yellow brick box.

Crusaders '06

Girlinthebuff - the major campaign that "The High School" (no need to mention the name) is undertaking is privately funded; no state or federal aid.

It's all too easy to sit back and point to Buffalo Schools for under performing.

The underlying factor will always be that the Buffalo City school district is over burdened with children from poor and broken homes. These students as a whole will under perform, especially when all put into one school district. Multiple studies have shown that funding and the physical school has a much smaller effect on a schools performance than other factors, such as the one above that the district must contend with (I wish I could find the links right now)

The major problem with the school desegregation in Buffalo is that it stopped at the city school district. Families were no longer able to pick city neighborhoods to be in a good school. Their only option was moving outside the city to a different school district. The initial flight made things instantly worse and subsequent flight as only made the percentage of these children greater. Those in these areas who do make it just move out too following the precedent of everyone before them. It has become a self perpetuating snowball that no amount of tax money will fix. (among all the other problems it has caused)

Other school districts will knock higher performing Buffalo Schools such as City Honors by saying that they are not able to "select students" like that. They may not directly pick them, but they are set by the class of families able to afford to live in that district. Sadly the same circumstances that initially worked for these other districts in time will drain them the same way the city was. As the wave of disinvestment moves outward the inner suburban school districts will gain a greater and greater amount of these students continuing the wave. I guess at that time we can just point fingers at how they just became magically dysfunctional too. If the Buffalo School District were able to perform on the same level, as say WIlliamsville, the BSD would have accomplished an exponentially larger feat.

As Steel's signature line on the linked site says: "In America we don't solve social problems, we move away from them." So simply stated yet right to the point. We move away and point fingers like we have no part in the problem or its continuance or growth. I guess whatever makes you feel better about yourself.

As stated: my mom worked three jobs to send me to this high school. I hardly call that "white privilege".

And secondly we are somewhat in agreement, you are proving my point in a way. Of coarse a poorer student will do better in a higher class district. The concentration is skewed to the positive side. Show me that Williamsville does better with the same (or close) percentage of children from poor and broken homes and I will concede victory. Your point goes to prove that if these children were spread out around all the districts they would fare better as a whole.

Are there other broken things in Buffalo schools: yes. But the major ones are metropolitan social issues all crammed into one school district. These are the ones that have the east side vacant and schools under performing. These are the same issues that are now creeping over the city line because we as individuals are continually "solving" (perpetuating) problems with our feet instead of solving them with our minds and determination.

Or another challenge: I'd offer suburban teachers 10k-20k more than what they are making as a bonus to come prove that they could handle these circumstances up to the same standards as their current districts. But there would pry be other excuses to why they couldn't.

I don't blame people for playing the system. I least expect them to admit to what is going on in the grand scheme of things and that this system is one of the reasons this area is so fragile and continually sliding downward. Enjoy continually running to the the other end of a sinking ship instead of trying to stop it from sinking. Sooner or later you'll be forced to swim to another ship.

"I don't blame people for playing the system."

The system is rascist, sexist and homophobic. The extravagant architecture is very pretty but it only serves to exalt unethical practices.

It's interesting to note the difference in the arguments here. MJWorthington argues that BPS underperforms becuase it serves a different set of students than the private or suburban schools. This is a factual argument -- you can look up the numbers and see that it's true.

chiknlil argues that BPS underperforms because of "attitudes," "expectations," and other non-measurables. Unless ckiknlil has psychic powers and can see into the hearts of public school teachers, it's a bogus argument.

Canisius dropout '92.

not everyone is good enough to go to CHS.....there are other options for the less fortunate

"BRO is a cult for right white folks" --- I'm laughing my butt off right now. Yes I am "white" (whatever that means, I also say the same thing for "black"), since white and black are NOT races, but colors. Also, I'm sure that, as I am, there are MANY people that post here that are NOT rich.

As I have mentioned in the past, I went to Cardinal O'Hara, probably the most diverse private Catholic school in this area (at least when I went there 97-01). I had classmates from North Buffalo, the East Side, NT, Tona (City and Town), Amherst, GI, Niag. Falls, Kenmore and me from Pendleton. Possibly, I was intergrated into the City before I actually started living in the City. I loved the diversity of the student base, it was never boring. Unlike Canisius, St. Joes and Nardin among other schools, O'Hara is one of the last of the Buffalo Diocesian schools left. (Niag. Catholic, St. Mary's Lancaster, Notre Dame Batavia, also).

Anyone who is “stewing” over the insurance plan for the Buffalo teachers possesses a completely petty & myopic outlook. The insurance rider is called a perk and astronomically incomparable to the countless financial injustices that occur nearly daily in the bureaucratic mess of the city. If you are stewing over that you must be thoroughly well done considering the trillions that will ultimately be pilfered from our pockets & directed toward Iraq. Consider this, the city teachers are not the Politburo. They received a contract from a previous superintendent who was hired by the school board, who was in their turn voted into office by you, the citizens of the city. I am not a Buffalo teacher but have witnessed the insanity that they must deal with daily. Now forgive this cliched sentiment but spend a day working as a teacher, police officer, firefighter, or even garbage collector & you will understand that every benefit received is well deserved.

WOW, This is a hidden secret in Buffalo architecture! What a history. Does anyone know if they do tours when school isn't in session? If so please let me know. If not they should. This would make a great addition to our portfolio of architecture that we use to generate tourism to the area. STEEL, thanks for the story and pic's

It should be noted that Canisius has students from the entire metro area not just Buffalo's wealthy neighborhoods. It seems there are some suburban parents who fee that their own public schools don't come up to snuff.

Canisius does not discriminate on anything but academic ability. You do have to have some brain power to get in. They do have generous financial aid packages available (though a majority of their students can certainly be described as privledged.)

"Why would anyone chose to live in the city and send their children to a dysfunctional school system just to make a moral stand? People don't typically put their children's future in jeopardy if they can help it."

Isn't this what I basically said? My issue is with what we do to perpetuate this system. We love to point fingers at the symptoms instead of fixing the cause. The metropolitan/state system is set up to have to leave Buffalo (or substitute any other NYS city here). This creates large pockets of poverty and social ills that people try to move away from before it gets to them or their house loses value. This will not stop at city/town lines. We can see it creeping into the first ring suburbs finally and towns will not be able to stop it. We act as individuals. No matter what the towns do people will still pick up and leave "just incase" perpetuating the investment vacuum. The east side of Buffalo is a nice little history book of what is making its way outward.

Until we as a county decide to put the effort in to fix things as a whole nothing will change. Lancaster's development boom didn't come before Cheektowaga's. Cheektowaga's didn't come before the east side. Once a town’s land is fully developed and starts to age people will just take the easier route of moving further out instead of rebuilding. It's the way we set things up. We are like termites eating out way outward leaving a mess in our wake. Those with money leave first and then point fingers back when those of lesser means emulate their moves. It’s ridiculous and it’s why our metropolitan area is a hollowed out mess.

This is not a socialist country. There should be competition, there should be those with more than others based on what they set out to accomplish. But there should not be a system set up to make it more difficult for those in poverty to break the cycle and in the long run create a weak metropolitan area on a perpetual downside with huge tax subsidies and wasted infrastructure. Instead of trying to make it more obtainable for them to become citizens contributing to the tax base we are content to try to restrict them to one area and feel how the effects multiply and spiral out of control.

I recognized this in grade school and would ask family members questions etc. Even as a kid it made no since in its self defeating/perpetuating ways. No one had answers beyond they were going to stay ahead of it all by moving and it was not their fault/nothing they could do about it. 25 years later the only thing to have changed is the mess is bigger.

We subsidize these conditions to try to keep any hint of them out of our own backyards. I'd have some respect if people would just man up to it. Instead we point fingers at our mess and complain about our taxes that are used in trying to control it. We run like rats while everything falls behind us and pray for jobs etc to magically appear from politicians that are supposed to pull a magic wand out of their ass or something. Even religious denominations are class segregating themselves from those that their religions supposedly place the highest value on. Don't want to drive for an hour to worship with them nor have affordable housing for them near their current church.

I realize I’m ranting but it’s frustrating to watch everybody bitch and moan about having things change for the better while not pushing for the changes necessary or willing to take the couple “steps back” to move forward. Let us keep infighting over the diminishing scraps we have instead of teaming up to bring more in for everyone. We see where it has gotten us and we must be content with it.

I'll hop on board: Buffalo Sucks and whatever town is currently on the edge of outward development is the greatest thing ever! They should really turn themselves around to be like us.

But if you think about it, it's exactly what they are doing.....

-----------------------------------------------

Yes Canisius is just one example. Buffalo is full of phenominal churches, schools, etc that we are content to leave behind. Buildings from a time when they were built to last instead of being built to return investment in 5 years before everyone decides to leave the area behind.

"Canisius does not discriminate on anything but academic ability." and gender

Class of 99' - Canisius is not for the wealthy elite, it is for the intellectual elite. Canisius deprives NO ONE the opportunity to attend this prestigious high school because of financial means. They offer an array of scholarships, financial aid, work study, etc. to accommodate ALL. I know because I fell into this category and received the best education a person can get. Canisius is more than just about academics, its about tradition, values, discipline, becoming a well-rounded person. At Canisius, we use phrases like "Pursue Excellence" and "Be a Man for Others." These principles are the foundation of who we are. It is no coincidence that Canisius' colors are blue and gold: blue symbolizing Loyalty and gold symbolizing Excellence. It is a privilege to be a part of the Canisius Tradition and every member of the Canisius Family recognizes that, so you're right Canisius isn't for everyone.

P.S. The reason why the aud seats are maroon is because Fr. Kelly left Canisius on a bitter note and as an FU to the school he ordered the seats that way.

we could do with some more tradition and values in all our schools. Maybe we should bring back the nun and rulers... kids today don't care about education and the sad truth is no matter how many benefits, or billions of dollars you pour into the system it will remain broken as long as the family and social support structure outside of the school remains broken.

sbrof - bring back the nuns? What nuns, there are NONE (very few). O'Hara had 4 Sisters - 3 Felicians and 1 Franciscan Sister of the Divine Child, after my freshman year the Felicians left, after my sophomore year the Franciscan Sister left for Villa Maria Academy. Currently O'Hara is lucky to have 1 Felicians sister in the Religion Dept.

Davvid

I stand corrected

Well anyway...How'bout that Canisius architecture?

I actually have one on tap in the near future. We will work on the others.

1 off post comment- Bufarchitect. Kenmore Tonawanda is not unionized. Not that it is relevant. Great post, look forward to seeing more on the schools.

Ho, it’s that plastic surgery thing again. Its an 8 dollar a month rider on you health insurance .04 an hour. Most large insurance companies offer it. As being in the trucking industry with good heath insurance it was available to us but, none of us need a boob job or tummy tuck. Well, ok the tummy tuck maybe that could be useful. Anyways, we didn’t opt for it. As for the teachers or any other government employee it was negotiated in lue of some other form of compensation many years ago. So if you have any control of you’re your health benefits and want to kick in 8 bucks a month you to can have a free boob job or laser surgery.

1. Becker -- of course there are minorities and poor people in the suburbs. But the point remains -- kids in city schools are very different than those in suburban/private schools. This is a knowable, measurable fact, unlike claims that BPS teachers "don't care," etc.

2. Canisius does discriminate against poor students. Unless they're willing to allow anyone who qualifies to go for free -- and this wasn't the case when I was there 90-92 -- there are going to be lots of kids who simply can't go there, no matter how many scholarships or work study grants are available.

galaxy -- The fact is, if you can't pay the tuition, you can't go to the school. Canisius discriminates (ie, chooses) based on economics, among other factors. I know this for a fact -- I went there! Unless they admit everyone who passes the entrance exam, regardless of income, then they do discriminate. I'm sure the same is true of Nichols as well, except that the tuition there is like 4 times higher.

Colin wrote:

The fact is, if you can't pay the tuition, you can't go to the school.

...and McGowan wrote:

CHS has one of the largest Student Aid programs in the region - there aren't too many private schools that have attempted to reach out to the community more than this one. When I attended, close to 90% of students received aid of some fashion. I worked for four out of my four years - one year working my entire tuition off... and by working, I mean stripping the wax off the floors, replacing tile, painting, earning my education and learning quite a bit while doing it.

and Suds wrote:

Canisius deprives NO ONE the opportunity to attend this prestigious high school because of financial means. They offer an array of scholarships, financial aid, work study, etc. to accommodate ALL. I know because I fell into this category and received the best education a person can get.

So Colin - Are you saying McGowan and Suds are lying or misinformed? If so, can you offer any proof?

BROKEEPSBLOCKINGME - you are one smart mo fo

As for gender: it's a boy's school. Life gets a little ridiculous when every institution has to be everything to everyone. Are you female? Go to the girl's school one block away. I actually found school so much more tolerable without everybody posturing and trying to impress girls all day. It was a lot less stressful not worrying about how you looked/what you did/etc because there were no girls in your classes. Before or after school you would go down the street if you want to practice your moves.

As for the financial: does Tops discriminate against people because it does not give its food away? DO the even charge food prices based on income? As stated above the school goes a long way to ensuring that financial help - either in aid/grants/work study are available to those in need. Just like City Honors it takes talented students to help them further excel. But it is private and has to pay its way unlike a public school that is already "paid" for through our tax dollars. If some families are willing to pay extra (in addition to their public school taxes) to send their children elsewhere who is to say it is wrong or discriminatory, especially when the school does a lot to bridge the gap that may exist in affordability?

If anywhere, the basis for discrimination on class would be at the public school levels. Should each kid in a metropolitan area be allowed to get the same education as a kid on the other side of the municipal line? Buffalo's neighborhood schools were torn apart in the name of desegregation, yet it magically stops at the city line. Looking for inequalities? Look first at the system we all have to pay for, that is run by all of us (through gov't policies) and is supposed to be there for all of us before blindly criticizing a private institution that shows it reaches beyond financial on place of residence borders.

Atwater -- sure. Canisius can and does provide all sorts of scholarships and work study grants. But even if someone gets 90% of their bill taken care of in this way, they're still on the hook for that other 10%.

When I went there, I had a 1/4 scholarship based on exam results. We were still on the hookfor the other 3/4. When we were late with a payment, they let us know. They weren't willing to let it slide.

If you can't pay, you can't attend.