BUFFALO ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS

Set in BUFFALO, New York, BUFFALO ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS is a medium-sized high school, operated by BUFFALO CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. It hosts 617 students across grades 5 through 12.

Within BUFFALO CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, which oversees 61 schools and 29,425 students, BUFFALO ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS is one campus in the system.

Demographically, BUFFALO ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS shows that the most-represented group is Black (46%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 21% White, 20% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 2% Asian. By comparison, Erie County as a whole is about 13% Black, so the school skews considerably more Black than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 70 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 8.8:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 11.0:1, putting BUFFALO ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 69% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is above Erie County's rate of about 51%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), BUFFALO ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 49.5%; this one delivers 40.9%.

In the area at large, census data for Erie County shows the typical household earns roughly $72,839 per year, roughly 38% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. In all, Erie County runs 226 public schools (combined enrollment of about 122,519 students), of which BUFFALO ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS is one.

The closest other public school is LEONARDO DA VINCI HIGH SCHOOL, roughly 0.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around BUFFALO ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts BUFFALO ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS at 5th of 9; the average score across the group is 36.7%.

The campus sits in a downtown setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 17%: 742 students in 2018 compared to 617 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment edged down from 60% to 46% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 11.3:1 in 2018 to 8.8:1 today.

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