School #81 Officially Reopens After $18.7 Million Expansion and Renovation

I miss the hole in the fence from when I was in Kindergarten there - of course, that was 55 years ago... :)

Beautifully restored buildings with 21st Century additions in an age where even the majority of the parents cannot fathom using a rotary telephone or, God forbid, not have access to the internet.

But yet, the drop-out rate hovers around 40%-50% and parents protest suspending their children because it is a pipeline to jail without even questioning why their little darlings are being suspended in the first place.

I total support renovation and education but what is the point when you have a select group of students who simply do not want to learn?

Sadly, the students who suffer are the students who seek education but are overlooked as they attempt to melt into the background hoping not to be notced.

This is a great school and I love what they done, especially the cool play ground in the back and the extension you sort of can see in the first picture. However as someone who lives close by and is forced to look at this on a regular basis there are two minor details that have really bothered me and residents. First off the color of the windows, they used to be brown, now they don't even come close to matching the brick. I'm not the only resident who has commented on that so I don't feel like I'm nitpicking. The other issue is baffling and a legitimate issue. This street has been paved so many times over that there's no curbs unless you live close enough to Delaware Ave. When they added new sidewalks on either side of the school bus entrance/exit they didn't extend that another 30ish feet in front of the school. So basically you have a proper sized curb that goes a few feet then angles down in the center to a few inches. It's not for drainage either and makes it dangerous for students because idiot parents hop the curb to drop their kids off which isn't the intended purpose.

Did anyone notice in the second picture that all the black people are standing on one side and all the white people are on the other.....just sayin'.

Sending your children to private schools in the city is the only way to go. Seriously.

Not true, the city offers many choices for those willing to make an effort, all my children have attended city schools and all received a quality education.

......and by many you mean 5 of 30?

Two of my three sons went to school #81 and they had wonderful, caring teachers. The principal, Mr. Clemons, has promoted a family friendly atmosphere and was always responsive to our needs. We moved from the suburbs back to Buffalo in 2001 and planned to send our children to private school. We were very disappointed in our experience with administration in the private school setting and we "settled" for School #81. Mr. Clemons and his faculty were a blessing. Don't diss all city schools based on the numbers. #81 is a jewel in the rough and I am glad they have a beautiful building to support their program.

School #81 is an excellent school! Mr. Clemens is a great principal. His school has great discipline that ensures a strong learning environment for students.