Kenmore West Senior High School

Infobox School
name = Kenmore West Senior High School
district = Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District
established = 1940
type = Public
principal = Karen Geelan
enrollment = 1550
grades = 9-12
colors = Blue and White
mascot = Blue Devil
location = 33 Highland Pkwy.
Town of Tonawanda, NY 14223
website = [http://www.kenton.k12.ny.us/kentonkwhs/site/default.asp Link]

Kenmore West Senior High School is one of the Ken-Ton School District's two high schools, the other being Kenmore East Senior High School. It is located in the Town of Tonawanda, but is named after the nearby Village of Kenmore.

History [ [http://www.kenton.k12.ny.us/8412045112226680/site/default.asp] . "A Brief History of Kenmore West High School". Accessed July 16, 2006.]

Highland Parkway building

In 1938, a WPA grant of about $700,000 was received from the federal government toward the creation of a separate building for the senior high school on Highland Parkway, and the school district provided over $1M in additional funds. The twenty acre plot on which the school is situated cost $35,000. The school opened in the fall of 1940 with fifty faculty members and 1,250 pupils. In 1959, Kenmore East High School was opened as the district continued to grow. At that time, the Highland Parkway school officially became Kenmore West High School. Raymond S. Frazier was appointed to the position of principal of Kenmore West in 1952. The community continued to grow in the subsequent years, requiring a classroom addition to the west wing of school in 1967-68. The latest building project was the construction of the new library information center on the west lawn, and the athletic complex east of the original gymnasium. The additions were planned by Buffalo architects Duscherer Oberst Design, and completed at a cost of about $10M in the fall of 2000. The design for the library won an award for educational architecture in the summer of 2001.

Another notable architectural change to the building occurred after a fire in the cafeteria bay, causing a several month relocation of the student's cafeteria to the 'Old Gym' while a new cafeteria was erected, finally opening to a very appreciative student body. Kenmore West's enrollment grew steadily through about 1970, and reached its peak in 1969 with over 3000 students in grades 10, 11 and 12. Alan MacGamwell, a 1944 graduate of the school, was appointed its third principal in 1971, after serving as a teacher, coach and assistant principal in the Ken-Ton Schools. In that era, the school boasted large numbers of National Merit Scholarship winners. The varsity football team under coach Jules Yakopovich won the national championship in 1969. MacGamwell retired in 1980 and now serves the Ken-Ton District on the Board of Education. Another Kenmore graduate, Charles Kristich, class of 1955, succeeded him as principal that year. The Kenmore community, like the rest of western New York, lost population between 1970 and 1990. West's enrollment dipped to a low of under 1,400 students in the early 1990s, and many teachers were laid off. Despite the loss of population, however, Kenmore continued to be recognized for its achievements. In 1990-91, West won recognition as a New York State School of Excellence. The district was also honored with the Excelsior Award for Quality that same year. In 1997, school district voters narrowly approved a bond package that lead to the construction of the school's current gymnasium and library.

Notable Alumni

Currently, Kenmore West enrolls more than 1,900 students and has a full staff of over 175 people. The school's alumni include state and federal judges, nationally known scientists, authors, journalists, decorated military officers and local and state business leaders and humanitarians. They include:

*Wolf Blitzer, journalist and author
*Frank H. Easterbrook, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
*Gregg Easterbrook, author
*Edward Gibson, Skylab astronaut Douglas H. Smith is the school's fifth and current principal, succeeding Kristich, who retired in December 1994. Smith was joined by Mrs. Karen Geelan as co-principal in December 2005.

chool Colors & Mascot

The school's colors are blue and white, and the mascot is the Blue Devil. There are many different images used for the Blue Devil all throughout the school, and most have been designed by students. In recent years, the old mascot costume was replaced by a newer, more 'pumped-up' Blue Devil costume.

The Arts

Kenmore West also boasts a wonderful theatre program. In recent years they have performed such shows as Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Titanic the Musical.

Athletics

*Basketball
*Baseball
*Football
*Rugby- Nationally Ranked
*Volleyball
*Tennis
*Golf
*Hockey
*Field Hockey
*Swimming
*Wrestling

References

Further reading

*cite book | title=Settlement to Suburb: A History of the Town of Tonawanda | author=Silsby, Robert W. | publisher=Sterling C. Sommer, Inc. | year=1997
*cite book | title=Images of America: The Town of Tonawanda | author=Percy, John W. | publisher=Arcadia Press | year=1997
*cite book | title=Schoolbook: A Teacher's Memoir | author=Milner, John | year=1995