McKinley Vocational High School is a public high school in Buffalo, New York. The school is at 1500 Elmwood Avenue, and serves about 1200 students in grades 9 through 12.
McKinley was formed in 1910 as Black Rock Vocational School. It moved into its current address on Elmwood in 1923, which formerly had housed the Buffalo Orphan's Asylum. The current building was built in 1966. The school is named for former United States President William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901; he was shot and mortally wounded just a few blocks from the school.
In 2010, the building began undergoing extensive renovations to add more classroom space and expand its vocational programs. Ninth-graders were housed at the former School 56 until renovations were completed on the McKinley building. McKinley reopened to all students in fall 2012.
On February 9, 2022, a fight after school turned violent; 14-year-old Sirgio Jeter was stabbed 10 times in his colon, diaphragm, and kidneys, and Brad Walker, a 27-year-old security guard attempting to break up the fight, was shot in the leg. Both survived. A 17-year-old who went to the school was picked up as a suspect and charged. Another 17-year-old was taken into custody.
In March 2023, a painting of James Benjamin Parker, the man who attempted to stop President McKinley's assassination was unveiled at McKinley Vocational High School by Reverend William Cobb Jr.
Previous assignment and reason for departure denoted in parentheses
McKinley offers Regents level courses as required by New York State. Its curriculum includes a career and technical component in classes such as Advertising Art, Aquatic Ecology, Horticulture, Machine Tool Technology, Printing, and four Building Trades: Electrical Technology, Carpentry, Plumbing, and Sheet Metal Technology.