The first public school in the Town of Pembroke was opened in Long’s Corners in 1820. By the 1860s, after Long’s Corners had been incorporated as the Village of Corfu, the schoolhouse was located in the village at 39 South Alleghany Road. James McGraw was a teacher, as well as the head of the Corfu school, in 1867. He married Mildred Whittlesey of Corfu and later moved to New York City. In 1885, he founded the McGraw Publishing Co., which later became the McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., one of the largest textbook publishing companies in the world. 

In 1881, graves were relocated from an old cemetery near the location of the current Intermediate School to make way for a new school building. This building was a two-story, wood-frame structure, with three classrooms on the first floor and a large room upstairs for the high school. In 1884, it had its first graduating class, consisting of four girls. 

In 1906, a two-story addition was added, housing a kindergarten classroom and a cloakroom downstairs, with another high school room and the principal’s office on the second floor. On June 13 of that year, the school became an accredited high school and was now known as the Corfu Union Free School District. The term Union Free School District refers to the union of several common school districts to operate a high school, which the individual common districts could not do themselves. 

Between 1913 and 1916, a teacher training class was conducted at the school for the purpose of supplying teachers for the area's rural grade schools. In 1930, a movable building was added to the rear of the school at a cost of $2,500. This was not in compliance with state regulations—a detail overlooked by the state Education Department. 

By May 1935, the Corfu Union Free School District’s Board of Education felt a completely new school building was needed to deal with the growing population and the need for new facilities. Architects Harbach and Kideney were contracted to produce plans for the new structure and a resolution was passed to apply for a loan and grant from the federal government. The cost of the new school came $156,363, with $70,363 coming from Public Works Administration funding and $86,000 from a bond issue.

The new school would be located directly behind the 1880s wooden school. The Batavia Daily News reported that ground was broken on January 15, 1936; however, due to inclement weather, actual work did not begin until March 1. The cornerstone of Indiana limestone was laid on July 30 and the school was completed on February 1, 1937. The old school was razed  shortly thereafter. The Daily News proudly reported that the new building was a “two-story fireproof structure of red brick trimmed with Indiana limestone, 158 feet wide across the front and 56 feet on the ends and one hundred feet deep in the center where the auditorium is located.” The new school would house 350 students. In 1940, a new auditorium was added to the school complex. 

Meanwhile, in early 1856, a few “interested and generous citizens” met after much deliberation and subscribed the sum of $3,413 toward the erection of a school in East Pembroke. In March of that year, 15 trustees were elected to oversee the running of the school and, on October 7, the Old Rural Seminary opened on the aptly named School Street in the hamlet of East Pembroke on an acre of land donated by the Rev. Daniel C. Houghton. 

The principal, I.A. McFarlane, received a yearly salary of $600. Helen Page, Elizabeth Rich and Helen A. Gould completed the staff. During the first year, $500 was spent for library and laboratory equipment. Incredibly, the trustees conducted the Regents examinations themselves during that first year. 

In 1893, the Old Rural Seminary became the East Pembroke Union Free School, which meant that the school could operate a high school program. A resolution was passed, giving the deed for the school to the trustees of District No. 9, which included parts of the towns of Batavia and Pembroke. This allowed Districts 7 and 9 to unite and form a new District No. 9. The new district trustees then disposed of the school buildings in their respective districts. The new district assumed and paid the $400 mortgage and repaired the school building at a cost of $600. In June 1897, the East Pembroke High School graduated its first class of one member, Leona Seamans.

The school was a two-story building with a cupola on top that contained a bell. To the left and right of the small entrance hallway were two separate sets of cloakrooms, toilets and stairs—boys to the left and girls to the right.

In 1938, the New York State Education Department required that rural district schools be consolidated into centralized districts. Corfu and East Pembroke each came up with their own plans, but the state decided that a Corfu-East Pembroke Centralized District would be formed with two school buildings. The existing Corfu building would gain an addition and would house grades K-12. A new building would then be built in East Pembroke to house grades K-9. Grades 10-12 at the existing East Pembroke School would be bused to Corfu. On September 7, 1938, the Corfu Union Free School and the East Pembroke Union Free School officially became centralized. The two schools, plus the 18 rural districts from the towns of Pembroke, Darien, Batavia and Alexander would make up the new Corfu-East Pembroke School District. This centralization process took place between 1938 and 1941 and made the new Corfu-East Pembroke district the first in Genesee County with more than one building.

The Batavia Daily News reported on September 30, 1938, that “controversy over school centralization in the Town of Pembroke appeared ended today with the approval of a $340,000 bond issue for construction of a combination junior high and grade school at East Pembroke and an addition to the present Corfu High School.” The article went on to say that the Public Works Administration would assist with the construction. The $340,000 bond issue represented only 55 percent of the total cost, the remaining 45 percent was to be furnished by the PWA. The proposition also called for construction of a school and bus garage; purchase of school equipment and acquiring land for the school and athletic field on West Avenue in East Pembroke. The Corfu school would receive its addition, while funds were allocated for the purchase of land there for an athletic field as well.

On December 27, 1938, construction of the East Pembroke school was given a “chilly, blustery send-off,” with a handful of officials and townspeople huddled together at the site on the western outskirts of the hamlet for the groundbreaking ceremonies. The ceremony’s principal speaker was District Superintendent of Rural Schools George A. Barber. The master of ceremonies was the principal of East Pembroke High School, Laurence B. Lane.

Work progressed, and the East Pembroke school was opened to students for the 1940 school year. As planned, the new East Pembroke building opened to grades K-9, as opposed to formerly going to grade 12, while the Corfu school held K-12. In 1958, the schools were realigned and East Pembroke became a K-6 building while Corfu maintained its K-12 status. In the early 1960s, overcrowding resulted in the Corfu and East Pembroke granges being used for the 6th grade classes. The growing student enrollment also meant that regular school hours had to be adjusted. The Corfu high school went on split sessions during the 1960s. Grades 9-12 attended school sessions from 7:55 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. and grades 6-8 attended classes from 12:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Centralization not only brought changes in locations and names, it meant big changes for the pupils who had been attending the earlier district schools. They were suddenly in a room with 25 to 30 students of the same grade, instead of all grades being located in one or two rooms. Morning and afternoon recess, when all students went outdoors to play games and get exercise, was replaced by going to the gymnasium for supervised games and drills. Other opportunities included art and music classes taught by specialized teachers. Boys in 7th and 8th grades were able to attend shop classes; girls participated in homemaking classes. 

Other changes included the opportunity to buy a hot lunch prepared in the new kitchen and served in the cafeteria right at school, as opposed to students bringing their lunches to school or walking home for lunch. They now had the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and join the band, and there was a clinic where students could go when they didn’t feel well. Students who typically walked to school–some of them a mile or more–were now picked up at their door by bus and then dropped off at home again after school. 

Increasing student population in the early 1960s brought a proposal for a new junior-senior high school, to be located at Brick House Corners at the junction of Routes 5 and 77. The district purchased the property, which included an historic inn. Unfortunately, the inn was razed because the district did not have the resources to restore it. Ground was broken for the new Pembroke Central School, part of the Corfu-East Pembroke Central School District, on August 21, 1962, and it officially opened on January 6, 1964. The architects and engineers for the project were Kideney, Smith and Fitzgerald and the General Contractor was B.A.W. Construction Company. The district principal (today, called superintendent) was Laurence B. Lane. The Pembroke Central School became a grade 7-12 building with a capacity of 800 students and the existing Corfu and East Pembroke buildings each became K-6 schools. “FIRST CLASS GIVEN DIPLOMAS IN NEW PEMBROKE CENTRAL WITH 72 IN COMMENCEMENT,” blared the headline of the Daily News on June 25, 1964, when reporting on the new high school’s first graduation.

The late 1960s saw numerous other improvements in the district. In 1965, voters approved an addition to the East Pembroke School, which opened for use in 1967, and major construction occurred at the high school between 1969 and 1970. A large lecture hall was built (eventually called the “Round Room”) at the latter, along with 17 instructional classrooms (the 500 Wing), a swimming pool, library research center and added guidance, cafeteria and kitchen space. 

The fall of 1971 brought about a radical change in the elementary schools. Superintendent Richard Nealon and the Board of Education decided students would be better served by transforming the East Pembroke School from a K-6 building to a K-2 building, after which it became the Pembroke Primary School. The Corfu building, which had also been a K-6 building, would now house grades 3-6 and become the Pembroke Intermediate School.  The change was not popular with many, including long-time teachers who were suddenly forced to move to another location, encouraging some to retire. 

Additional improvements were made in the 1970s.  In 1972, the Wilson Choate Outdoor Education Area was dedicated at the high school, honoring a long-time teacher and principal in the district.  A new football field named in honor of long-time teacher and coach, Kip Mantor, was built and work was done on the now-Intermediate School in Corfu.

A later addition, this one to the front of the high school, came about due to a horrible tragedy. On June 10, 1987, three Pembroke students and their driver education teacher were killed in a DWI crash. The following year, Pembroke’s Redesign Team (through the Art Department) created a memorial sign to be placed in front of the school, facing Route 77. The Pembroke Community Rainbow Memorial Committee, a coalition of students, school and community members, came together to construct this memorial. Completed in 1988, it serves today as a reminder of the tragedy as well as a marquee for school events.

The next major renovation came in 2008, when taxpayers passed a $25 million bond issue to upgrade the three buildings in the district. In the two-year process, infrastructure upgrades were made to the primary and intermediate schools, including: heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, electrical and lighting updates, along with plumbing and driveway repairs. The high school got most of the updates. The old turquoise tiles were replaced and the building received new ceilings, lighting and floors. New boilers were also installed, while the technology and home economics rooms were remodeled. The “Round Room” was turned into an art and music area, the auditorium was air conditioned, new offices were built and a new library complex was constructed.

The old Corfu-East Pembroke Central School District, which became the Pembroke Central School District, has had a rich and varied history, and the district’s evolution can be taken as largely representative of what many rural school districts experienced through the centralization process across Western New York. The community, teachers, administrators and students have met numerous challenges along the way and have risen to the occasion to help create one of the finest schools in Western New York. As of 2011, Pembroke’s test scores, athletic teams, buildings and positive educational atmosphere have been the envy of neighboring districts. The district has come a long way from the one-room schoolhouses, the Old Rural Seminary and the Corfu High School.