Bennett High School was an American high school located in the
University Heights section of
Buffalo, New York. It was named after Lewis J. Bennett, who donated the land for the school and for
All High Stadium. Bennett High School formerly was a
magnet school with three
college prep programs: the Academy of International Law (similar to
pre-law), Business and Computers (similar to
information systems), and Education and the Arts.[1]
History
Bennett High School was built in 1923. It has four stories with 270,000 square feet (25,000 m2). It is named after Lewis J. Bennett, who donated the land for the school and for
All High Stadium. Portions of the 1984 movie The Natural were filmed in All High Stadium, although it was filmed as Wrigley Field.
The school was renovated in the summer of 2005 and the summer of 2006. During this time, some students were housed at Bennett while others were housed at nearby School 63 on Minnesota Avenue.
In 2014, the alumni association and the Buffalo Board of Education worked cooperatively to bring a dramatic change to the curriculum at Bennett. In 2017, the last class of students in the original Bennett programs graduated. At the same time a new program was put into place, the
Lewis J. Bennett High School of Innovative Technology. Its first graduating class was in 2020.
Notable alumni
Michael Bennett (1943 – 1987), who wrote the Broadway musical A Chorus Line dropped his last name, DiFiglia, when he went to Broadway.
Karla F.C. Holloway (b. 1949), James B. Duke Professor of English, Professor of Law, Duke University. Dean, Humanities & Social Sciences. Was Karla Clapp at Bennett, led debate team to statewide championship.