As an independent school, SEM is not confined by the guidelines established by the New York State Board of Regents.

The school was originally named The Buffalo Female Academy and has maintained an all-female student body.

Its original mission was to provide an exceptional education for young women, to prepare them to engage productively with the world.

[1] one of the oldest private women's clubs in the United States, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

[2] In 2008 SEM reestablished boarding which has expanded into a campus of five renovated historic homes next to the school building.

The teams are named the Red-Tailed Hawks for a bird commonly spotted in Western New York, and soaring over the school's field.

At a Harkness table teachers facilitate and mediate topics and discussion, no student is not seen, and everyone has the duty and opportunity to speak.