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.
Former principals Previous assignment and reason for departure denoted in parentheses • Samuel F. King, 1923-1934 (principal of Black Rock Vocational School, retired) • Robert S. Hoole, 1934-1953 (vice principal of
Seneca Vocational High School, retired) • Ferdinand E. Kampreth, 1953-1965 (vice principal of McKinley Vocational High School, retired) • Albert B. Buck, 1965-1972 (vice principal of
Emerson Vocational High School, retired) • James F. Harmon–1972-1984 (principal of Woodlawn Junior High School and of
Burgard Vocational High School) • Ronald J. Meer, 1984-1987 (central office administrator at Buffalo Public Schools, principal of
Leonardo da Vinci High School) • Crystal A. Boling-Barton, 1987-2017 (assistant principal of South Park High School, placed on leave) • Marck E. Abraham [interim], 2017-2020 (assistant principal of McKinley Vocational High School, resigned) • Naomi R. Cerre [interim], 2020-2021 (assistant principal of Academy School 131 @ 4, retired) • Carmelita Burgin [interim], 2021-2022 (assistant principal of East Community High School) • Mustafa Khalil, 2022-2023 (principal of Lackawanna Middle School) ==Academics==