AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — Williamsville East High School claimed the top spot among public high schools in Western New York, according to Buffalo Business First's 2026 School Guide, which has been released.
The annual guide ranks the best public schools in the region in partnership with Niche, a national company that evaluates schools using a range of statistics and data, including:
- Academic performance
- Extracurricular activities
- Campus diversity
- Student and teacher data
Williamsville Schools Superintendent Dr. Darren Brown-Hall tells me the district's performance reflects the work happening inside its classrooms.
"We remain excited every year when the rankings come out," Brown-Hall said. "We are a district that consistently performs high, and we see it reflected in the rankings."
Brown-Hall noted the recognition extended beyond the high school level.
"Transit Middle School, the top middle school, Dodge Elementary is the top elementary school," Brown-Hall said.
Brown-Hall credited the district's teachers and students for sustaining high academic standards.
"We have phenomenal students that come to school every day, ready to learn, and our teachers, who excel at what they do, are able to pull the best out of our kids. They're able to ensure that the rigor in our classroom remains top-notch, and our students live up to those expectations that are set," Brown-Hall said.
WATCH: 'We have phenomenal students': Williamsville East tops WNY's 2026 school rankings
Brown-Hall also pointed to strong parental involvement as a key factor contributing to student success.
"I can't say enough about the parental involvement in our district, our PTAs, our PTSAs, having parental involvement is just so strong in our district, and it makes a difference,"Brown-Hall said.
I asked whether Williamsville benefits from being a more affluent district. Brown-Hall said the quality of instruction is what drives results.
"When our students get here, our teachers do a phenomenal job with educating them, right? So, you can have a great school district, but if we don't have the phenomenal teaching and learning going on in our classrooms, the schools and the students will not perform," Brown-Hall said.
Buffalo Public Schools also earned high marks in this year's guide. City Honors ranked second among the best public high schools, Da Vinci ranked fifth, and Hutch Tech ranked 12th.
Brown-Hall, a 1991 Hutch Tech graduate, said Buffalo's schools are making strides.
"Being a 1991 Hutch Tech grad, we expect that of Hutch Tech, right? A lot of the competitive admission schools do well in Buffalo, and we see some of the other schools that are not competitive admissions moving up the ranks also, so Buffalo...they're doing their work also," Brown-Hall said.
Rounding out the top 10 best public high schools in Western New York are 6th-place East Aurora, 7th-place Orchard Park, and 8th Amherst Central High.
Here's the full list of top public high schools published by Buffalo Business First:
Best public high schools
- Williamsville East High School, East Amherst
- P.S. 195 - City Honors School, Buffalo
- Clarence Senior High School, Clarence
- Williamsville North High School, Williamsville
- P.S. 212 - Leonardo da Vinci High School, Buffalo
- East Aurora High School, East Aurora
- Orchard Park High School, Orchard Park
- Amherst Central High School, Amherst
- P.S. 156 - Frederick Law Olmsted, Buffalo
- Williamsville South High School, Williamsville
- Grand Island Senior High School, Grand Island
- P.S. 304 - Hutchinson Central Technical High School, Buffalo
- Lancaster High School, Lancaster
- Cleveland Hill High School, Cheektowaga
- Depew High School, Depew
- Lockport High School, Lockport
- Niagara-Wheatfield Senior High School, Sanborn
- Research Laboratory High School-Bioinformatic, Buffalo
- Starpoint High School, Lockport
- Maryvale High School, Cheektowaga
- Hamburg High School, Hamburg
- West Seneca West Senior High School, West Seneca
- Lafayette International School, Buffalo
- Lackawanna High School, Lackawanna
- Cheektowaga High School, Cheektowaga
- Middle Early College High School, Buffalo
- West Seneca East Senior High School, West Seneca
- Frontier Senior High School, Hamburg
- Lake Shore Senior High School, Angola
- P.S. 206 - South Park High School, Buffalo
- Iroquois Senior High School, Elma
- Kenmore East Senior High School, Tonawanda
- John F. Kennedy Senior High School, Cheektowaga
- Kenmore West Senior High School, Buffalo
- Buffalo School of Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management, Buffalo
- Lewis J. Bennett High School of Innovative Technology, Buffalo
- East Community High School, Buffalo
- Health Sciences Charter School, Buffalo
- Niagara Falls High School, Niagara Falls
- P.S. 198 - International Preparatory School, Buffalo
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