Our Mission
The Park School engages the whole student in a diverse and creative community that nurtures the joy and responsibility of active learning in all, from our youngest learners to our graduates, who leave with the skills essential to college success and the confidence to serve and lead.
our motto
VERITAS ET GAUDIUM
Meaning, "Truth & Joy."
History
Park was founded in 1912 by a group of parents dissatisfied with traditional teaching methods of the era. After consulting with the educational reformer and philosopher John Dewey, they hired his student, Mary Hammett Lewis, who was at the time a teacher at the Horace Mann School at Columbia University.
The School opened its doors in the fall of 1912 with 27 students (Kindergarten – Grade 4) and four teachers in a house on Bird Avenue near Delaware Avenue. Within a year, growing enrollment required more space, and Park moved to the corner of Main Street and Jewett Parkway, expanding to Grade 6 (boys) and Grade 8 (girls). The School moved to its current location in 1920, when the Upper School was added. The campus was the country estate of Chauncey and Emily Hamlin and their family. Mr. Hamlin was one of the founders of the Buffalo Museum of Science, and his vast, personal collection of artifacts first lived in the Stone House at the entrance to the School.
Park celebrated its centennial in October 2012. Western New York's premier institution of progressive education remains an oasis for students from prekindergarten through Grade 12. The Park School, anchored by a mission barely altered since its opening, stands poised to commence a second century of active lifelong learning.
CAMPUS
Park is tucked away on a serene, 34-acre campus in Amherst, NY.
Our close proximity to Interstate 290 allows for a convenient commute for our families, who come from 44 different zip codes in the Buffalo/Niagara region. Boasting 14 building, three playing fields, a pond, a stream, a marsh and nature trails, our campus allows our students to engage in experiential learning as it is intended. Intentionally designed so that our classrooms and the outdoors integrate seamlessly, inspiration is limitless as curriculum knows no boundaries and isn’t confined to four walls.
Our Core Values
RESPECT
RESPONSIBILITY
HONESTY
KINDNESS
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, & BELONGING
PARK'S DEIB Statement
The Park School of Buffalo strives to create a diverse community that cultivates a deep sense of belonging in all of its members and ensures that all of those members feel respected, celebrated, and valued by the school. This work is ingrained in our very mission, which promises to engage the whole student and nurture the joy and responsibility of active learning in all. Diversity in itself, however, is not enough; we must also foster a just, equitable, and inclusive learning environment so that all–regardless of dis/ability, ethnicity, family structure, gender identity, gender expression, immigration status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status–are affirmed in their individual identities and their place in our larger community.
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