FREDERICK OLMSTED #156

FREDERICK OLMSTED #156 is one of the moderately sized secondary schools in BUFFALO, New York, overseen by BUFFALO CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, with 928 students on its rolls from grades 5 through 12. Compared to the state average of about 668 students per school, that is 39% larger than typical.

Across the 61 schools in BUFFALO CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (29,425 students total), FREDERICK OLMSTED #156 accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, FREDERICK OLMSTED #156 logs that the most-represented group is White (29%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 28% Black, 24% Asian, 13% Hispanic, 5% multiracial. That is visibly less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 74%.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 79 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.8:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 11.0:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 61% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Erie County runs at roughly 51%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, FREDERICK OLMSTED #156 tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 52.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 59.2%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Erie County indicate median household income runs about $72,839, roughly 38% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Erie County's 226 public schools (combined enrollment of about 122,519 students), FREDERICK OLMSTED #156 is one campus in the mix.

RONALD PEOPLES SCHOOL OF SCHOLARS (THE) is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), FREDERICK OLMSTED #156 ranks 1st on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 26.4%.

The campus sits in a metropolitan setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count rose 12%: 826 students in 2018 compared to 928 in 2025. Over the same period, the Asian share expanded from 9% to 24%.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.