It is named for former U.S. president and Buffalo mayor Grover Cleveland and generally housed students from Grades 9 - 12, teaching according to the Board of Regents.

The building was renovated in 1959, where an addition was built onto the northern end of the school that contained classrooms, a swimming pool, and a new gymnasium.

[2] During the 1970s, Grover was designated as the school to serve foreign language-speaking students within the City of Buffalo.

In 2010, Grover Cleveland High School was closed to new due to low graduation rates and increasing incidents of student violence and possession of weapons.

From 2011 until June 2013, the building was renovated and re-opened to students at International Preparatory School and the new STAR Academy in Fall 2013.