The historic school building at 155 Delaware Road is no longer Kenmore Middle School. It is now Kenmore Junior/Senior High School, and the 2023-24 school year will mark it's return as an independent school of the Ken-Ton School District.
In June, New York State approved the district's application to designate the building as an independent school for the first time since 2016 with Kenmore Junior/Senior High as its new name.
It is the oldest building owned and operated by the district. It originally opened in 1924 to accommodate significant growth in the district, especially in and around the Village of Kenmore. It replaced the original Kenmore High School, which still stands today across from the Municipal Building where Spot Coffee is located.
The Kenmore Junior/Senior High School Football Team was undefeated the year the school opened. Crosby Field was also constructed during this time and named after Lt. Harry E. Crosby, a Kenmore resident who died fighting in World War I. Kenmore Junior/Senior High was also home to the Ken-Ton School District administrative offices until the construction of the Administration Building in 1956.
As enrollment continued to increase during the Roaring Twenties, Kenmore Junior/Senior High School underwent significant expansion, doubling its size. It became Kenmore Junior High School when the new senior high school building, now Kenmore West, opened up the street in 1940.
It became Kenmore Middle School in the 1980s when 6th grade was added and 9th grade moved to the high schools. It closed as an independent school at the end of the 2015-16 school year but continued as the site of the innovative Big Picture Program, a non-traditional high school program that has been extremely successful guiding students to graduation. It also became home to adult and community education programs, the Board of Education community room, Staff Development Center, and other district programs/services.
Now that Big Picture has expanded to 7th grade, the building is a junior/senior high school once again just as it was when it first opened in 1924. This year, it will also house new alternative education programming which consists of the Crossroads Academy and Virtual Homebound Instruction Academy as well.
Next year, the building will celebrate its 100th anniversary.