Grand Island Senior High School is a public high school located at 1100 Ransom Road in Grand Island, New York, serving over 800 students in grades 9–12. The school follows the New York State Regents Board curriculum. Advanced Placement classes are offered in 16 subjects, including Biology, Calculus, Physics C: Mechanics and Electricity/Magnetism, and US History. Many students participate in a BOCES program, which allows them to experience many occupations before pursuing them and gain useful training and certifications. Students' averages are calculated using a percentage based scale.
The school is under the jurisdiction of the Grand Island Central School District.
History The current high school building on Ransom Road was constructed in 1963, replacing earlier facilities that had housed the district's secondary students. Its cornerstone was laid in June 1963, and the building opened to students that September.
Between 2013 and 2017, the Grand Island Central School District carried out a $58 million capital improvement project affecting all of its buildings. Work at the high school included new academic wings, upgraded lighting and air conditioning, auditorium and gymnasium improvements, and expanded wireless network coverage.
Principals + Principals of Grand Island Senior High School Name Term Notes Clyde O. Eidens 1963–1967 Left to become assistant superintendent of the Scotia-Glenville Central School District Howard K. Fuller 1967–1976 Previously supervising principal, Wilson Central School District James E. Walline 1976–1993 Later principal of Cardinal O'Hara High School S. Augustus Young (interim) 1993–1994 John E. Essler II 1994–1996 Previously principal, Lockport High School Gerald F. Hale (interim) 1996 James H. Dempsey 1996–2006 Previously assistant principal, Kenmore West High School Sandra K. Anzalone 2006–2013 Later superintendent, Eden Central School District James H. Dempsey (interim) 2013 Returned from retirement; previously director of academics, Sacred Heart Academy Daniel J. Quartley 2014–2016 Later principal, Bolivar-Richburg Middle/High School Michael Lauria 2016–2024 Hillary Kretz-Harvey 2024–present
Academics In 2009, Grand Island Senior High School was ranked 2 out of 131 Western New York high schools in terms of academics. The school is the only high school in the Grand Island Central School District. Its Advanced Placement participation rate is 44 percent. Minority enrollment is 14 percent, and 29 percent of students are classified as economically disadvantaged.
Athletics Grand Island's athletic teams are known as the Vikings and compete in the Niagara Frontier League within Section VI of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The school fields teams in sports including football, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, swimming, track and field, lacrosse, ice hockey, wrestling, and volleyball.
In 2026, the boys' basketball team won the Section VI Class A1 championship, its first sectional title since 1993, after finishing as Niagara Frontier League regular-season champion. The boys' soccer team won the Niagara Frontier League championship in 2020, having previously won three consecutive league titles through 2017.
Music In 2012, the Grand Island Central School District was named one of the Best Communities for Music Education in the United States by the NAMM Foundation, one of 176 districts recognized nationally that year. The district received the designation again in subsequent years through 2016.
Notable alumni Jimmy Arias, professional tennis player and broadcaster Dale Brown (1974), novelist Stacy Clark (1998), singer-songwriter Carlin Hartman (1990), college basketball coach William Houston, politician Brett Kern (2004), NFL punter
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