Grover Cleveland High School was originally constructed in 1913 as the home to Buffalo State University,[1] then known as Buffalo Teacher's School. In 1931, Grover Cleveland High School was formed as a school serving the Lower West Side of Buffalo. The building was renovated in 1959, where an addition was built onto the northern end of the school that contained classrooms, a swimming pool, and a new gymnasium.[2] During the 1970s, Grover was designated as the school to serve foreign language-speaking students within the City of Buffalo.[3] In 2007, the building began housing two schools, Grover Cleveland High School, and the International Preparatory School, a math and science magnet affiliated with the College Board. In 2010, Grover Cleveland High School was closed to new due to low graduation rates and increasing incidents of student violence and possession of weapons.[4] The final class of seniors graduated in 2011.
From 2011 until June 2013, the building was renovated and re-opened to students at International Preparatory School and the new STAR Academy in Fall 2013.
Former principals
Previous assignment and reasons for departure listed in parentheses
Mr. Charles A. Kennedy–1931-1951 (Vice Principal - East High School, retired)
Mr. John F. Devine–1951-1962 (Vice Principal - Grover Cleveland High School, died)
Mr. Rocco A. Lamparelli–1979-1985 (Supervising Principal - South Buffalo Public Schools, named Acting Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education for Buffalo Public Schools[8])
Mr. John H. Davis–1985-1989 (Assistant Principal - Bennett High School, retired)
Mr. John Devine–1939-1951 (Principal - South Park Annex, named Principal of Grover Cleveland High School)
Mr. Charles J. Monan–1951-1954 (Teacher - South Park High School, died)
Dr. Louis T. Gitlin–1954-1958 (Assistant Principal - East High School, named Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services of Buffalo Public Schools)
Mr. Earl G. Beech–1958-1961 (Assistant Principal - School 44, died)
Mr. Angelo J. Gianturco–1961-1966 (Science teacher - Grover Cleveland High School, named Principal of Kensington High School)
Dr. John A. Demerly–1966-1967 (Assistant Principal - South Park High School, named Acting Principal of Grover Cleveland High School)
Mr. Daniel M. Kublitz–1966-1970 (English teacher - Bennett High School, named Interim Principal of Grover Cleveland High School)
Mrs. Doris H. Erickson-Gleason–1967-1968 (Science teacher - Riverside High School, named Assistant Principal of Southside Junior High School)
Dr. John Demerly–1968-1969 (Interim Principal - Grover Cleveland High School, retired)
Mr. Epifanio J. Saia–1969-1979 (Italian teacher - Grover Cleveland High School, died)
Mr. Daniel J. Manley [interim]–1970-1971 (Social Studies teacher - Grover Cleveland High School, returned to teaching)
Mr. J. Nelson Scott–1971-1972 (Assistant Principal - East High School, named Principal of Roosevelt Elementary School)
Mr. Daniel Manley–1972-1985 (Social Studies teacher - Grover Cleveland High School, named Assistant Principal of McKinley Vocational High School)
Mr. Stanley J. Wegrzynowski
Mr. Charles L. Sodaro–1979-1988 (Assistant Principal - Riverside High School, named Assistant Principal of Emerson Vocational High School)
Mr. David E. Baez–1985-1993 (Spanish teacher - Grover Cleveland High School, named Principal of Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy)
Mr. Daniel Manley–1988-? (Assistant Principal - McKinley Vocational High School, unknown)
Mr. Raymond D. Perreault–1989-1993 (English teacher - Grover Cleveland High School, named Principal of Buffalo Alternative High School[13])
Ms. Sharon A. Lanza–1990-1994 (Math teacher - Grover Cleveland High School, named Assistant Principal of Lafayette High School)
Mr. Jon G. Lyon–1993-1997 (Assistant Principal - Kensington High School, named Principal of Emerson Vocational High School[14])
Dr. Eileen H. Czarnecki–1999-2001 (Math teacher - Buffalo Public Schools, named Principal of Kensington High School[15])
Dr. Josephine Mayfield (Spanish teacher - Buffalo Public Schools, named Director of Foreign Languages of Buffalo Public Schools)
Ms. Robin L. Hahn–2000-2001 (SURR Coordinator - Grover Cleveland High School, named Assistant Principal of Leonardo da Vinci High School)
Mr. Albert T. Ventresca–2001-2004 (Business teacher - Grover Cleveland High School, retired)
Ms. Wendy L. Richards–2005-2007 (Assistant Principal - Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, named Principal of North Tonawanda Middle School)
Michael Masecchia – former teacher, and an identified associate of the Buffalo crime family. On August 23, 2019 FBI and HSI agents searched Grover Cleveland High School teacher Michael Masecchia’s home where they found homemade explosives, stolen firearms, and narcotics as part of an ongoing investigation into organized crime and public corruption. A criminal complaint identified Masecchia as a drug dealer who has a 20-year history of growing and distributing large amounts of marijuana.[19][20][21][22][23] On September 22, 2020 a grand jury indictment identified Masecchia as “member or associate of ‘Italian Organized Crime’” and indicated he had been described by law enforcement as “an associate and possibly a made member of the Buffalo LCN family.” At the center of the indictment is the allegation that Masecchia bribed DEA Agent Joseph Bongiovanni to block investigations into himself and others believed to be tied into the local mafia. Masecchia “was the target of several DEA investigations between 2008 and 2019 and yet was never arrested or charged while Bongiovanni was an agent.”[24][25][26] Michael married Bart T. Mazzara’s daughter, Krista.[27] Bart was alleged by prosecutors to be a made member of the Buffalo mob.[28] His wife Krista's uncles are Dan and Victor Sansanese.[29]
References
↑ Hammersley, M. (1993, October 1). Concern voiced for students at Grover officials act to curb unrest outside school. The Buffalo News
↑ John Demerly, retired Canisius professor. (1993, November 25). The Buffalo News, p. C10.
↑ Anderson, D. (1999, March 13). Daniel M. Kublitz, principal, broadcaster. The Buffalo News, p. B8.
↑ Dawson, D. (1993, August 18). 'Owego connection' links Ward, school chief Murphy. The Buffalo News
↑ Hammersley, M. (1990, March 27). Cleveland educator withdraws as candidate to head buffalo schools. The Buffalo News, p. TRK.
↑ Simon, P. (2004, February 3). Choosing retirement - the uncertainty of contract negotiations has teachers and administrators thinking about an early out. The Buffalo News, p. A1.
↑ Simon, P. (2004, August 11). New principals take over. The Buffalo News, p. B1.
↑ Simon, P. (2007, July 12). Williams fills two key posts. The Buffalo News, p. B3.
↑ Pasciak, M. B. (2010, August 26). New principals, assistants win board approval for city schools. The Buffalo News, p. B5.
↑ Simon, P. (1995, July 27). New principals named at 12 city schools. The Buffalo News, p. B5.
↑ Sapong, E. D. (2001, November 23). Kensington High blames principal for woes. The Buffalo News, p. C2.
↑ SanGeorge, Robert. "UN official". UN International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor. ghanaweb.com. Retrieved March 10, 2012.[permanent dead link]
↑ SanGeorge, Robert (November–December 2000). "UN Campaign Manager". Mother Jones Magazine. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
↑ SanGeorge, Robert (August 5, 2009). "Project Director". WAMU Public Radio Washington, DC. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
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