Buffalo Academy For The Visual & Performing Arts

Buffalo Academy For The Visual & Performing Arts is a public high school serving grades 5-12 in the Buffalo City School District, with 575 students. While the school outperforms the district average on many state assessments, particularly in English Language Arts and Global History, it struggles in math and has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New York high schools over the past decade.

The school's four-year graduation rate has fluctuated between 70.3% and 88.1%, which is generally on par with or slightly below the district average. However, its dropout rate, ranging from 4.3% to 11.0%, is higher than the district's 4.5% to 9.7% range. A major concern is the school's extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, significantly above the district average, which likely contribute to its overall academic challenges.

The school's performance varies greatly by student subgroup, with African American and Hispanic students performing relatively well, while White students, English Language Learners, special education, and low-socioeconomic status students struggle. This uneven subgroup performance suggests the school may need to implement more targeted, equitable support and interventions. Interestingly, City Honors School, one of the top-performing high schools in the state, is located less than a mile from Buffalo Academy For The Visual & Performing Arts, highlighting the stark contrast in academic outcomes between the two schools within the same district.