Welcome from the Head of School

Dear Friends:

In 2026-27, Nichols School celebrates its 135th year, evidence of a school that has changed and evolved while remaining consistent in its relevance to the world in which it exists, and to the future for which we are preparing students.  We prepare our students to enter a world whose confines can now only be approximated. 

The words of our school mission remain our lodestar: “Our aim is to train minds, bodies, and hearts for the work of life, and to carry into all we do the highest ideals of character and service.” These words, written by Nichols’ second Headmaster Joseph Allen over a century ago, could not be more relevant today.

A fellow educator recently described Nichols to me as the “jewel” of independent schools in Western New York. It has remained so because we adapt, grapple honestly with the challenges of education, and attract some of the most talented students and faculty in Buffalo and its environs.

Today's Nichols community centers everything we do on the needs of our students, and we make a promise: each student here, grades 5-12, will be known, cared for, challenged, and loved. It is a community that welcomes members of diverse backgrounds – a place where every student matters and belongs.

Gifted faculty of enormous talent, interesting people who inspire their students, are at the heart of Nichols and embody our school’s mission. Their experience, commitment, and clarity of purpose show up in the classrooms, art studios, stages, gymnasiums, and fields.

Our program is both challenging and fun, and we hold all members of our community to high standards: excellence in all we do; integrity and high character; honoring tradition while always leading change; offering a rigorous academic program, yet one that seeks balance in the lives of students; and a community where everyone belongs and can be who they truly are.

Innovation and the liberal arts and sciences, embracing the challenges of artificial intelligence and new technologies, leading lives of service to one another: these are among the many values that brought me out of retirement to lead this remarkable school.

As you read these pages, look for these themes. Better yet, visit Nichols’ beautiful campus overlooking Delaware Park in  Buffalo, meet our admissions staff, students, and faculty, and see for yourself what makes Nichols unique.

I hope to see you on campus soon.

Scott R. Reisinger

Interim Head of School