Last night, in the Finance & Ops Work Session, the BOE was provided an update on the First Student Transportation crisis. Since First Student put in place its corrective action plan on October 23, there have been 236 driver applicants (an 800% increase), new drivers and monitors have been hired, including 7 former drivers rehired on the signing bonus and wage increase, and 14 out of state drivers have been assigned to Buffalo. There has been 100% coverage for morning buses an

On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, Associate Superintendent Tonja Williams gave a presentation on Restorative Practices in Buffalo Public Schools to the Board of Education. Click here to view this presentation. This presentation was followed by a presentation by Executive Director of Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition Dina Thompson, School 43 Principal Orniece Hill, and School 43 Staff on the implementation of restorative practices at Lovejoy Discovery School 43. Click

On July 17, 2019, a very informative and constructive dialogue on Central Registration reform was held with parents. A shared value in growing greater Access, Equity, Opportunity, and Quality (AEOQ) across the system was evident in the room. A presentation by Associate Superintendent Eric Rosser included the complexities for Central Registration unique to an urban district like Buffalo, such as school choice, criterion-based schools, and annual demand of processing about 20,0

June 18, 2019 Dear Senators Andrea Stewart-Cousins & Tim Kennedy: The Buffalo News Editorial Board and outgoing School Board Member Larry Quinn have made declarations to rid the city of Buffalo of an elected School Board and replace it with a mayoral and/or state appointed board. Last week, the NYS Assembly approved a bill to change the School Board Election from May to November. All WNY Assembly Members voted against it, except one. The bill is now before the NYS Senate. Lan

On July 1, at 4:00 p.m., I will be sworn in as a Board of Education At-Large Member for Buffalo Public Schools, in City Hall Common Council Chambers. At this annual reorganization meeting of the BOE, we will vote on a new BOE President. With current President, Dr. Barbara Seals-Nevergold retiring from the BOE, this is a significant first order of business for the new BOE. Dr. Seals-Nevergold has provided remarkable leadership accompanied with grace, thoughtfulness, and persev

Toward the end of the campaign, I sometimes pondered that I could write a book on the experience- on the good, the bad, and the crazy. For the most part, it was positive and gratifying, but, it no doubt became stressful and bizarre at times and impacted life and relationships in such a multidimensional way. When people, no matter who they are, turn on you or launch personal attacks and spew false information about you and people you are close to, it affects you. When people c

I’ve been meaning to write this since we were victorious on Election Night. I have finally caught my breadth and reestablished some normalcy in my life, but, I have been plunged into orienting and preparing to become an At-Large Member on the Buffalo Board of Education faster than expected. I must appreciate and reflect before moving onward. As I began writing last week, I found that I have a lot to appreciate and reflect on; therefore, I breaking this down into several blogs

Community Leaders Pat Burke- Assembly Member District 142 Sean Ryan- Assembly Member, District 149 Mark Poloncarz, Erie County Executive April N.M. Baskin- Majority Leader, Erie County Legislator District 2 Peter J. Savage- Erie County Legislator District 3, Chair Person David A. Rivera- Common Council Majority Leader, Niagara District Joel Feroleto- Common Council, Delaware District Barbara Seals-Nevergold- President, Buffalo Board of Education & Chair of Big 5 School Distri

Last Wednesday, I met with leaders of the Buffalo Immigrant Leadership Team (BILT). It was a real and deep dialogue on the needs and challenges of our immigrant students and families in Buffalo Public Schools. BPS has well over 5,000 English Language Learners (ELLs), speaking 84 different languages and coming from 97 countries. The prevailing message was advocating for increased state funding, training, and certification of bilingual teachers, beyond Spanish, to include Arabi

On Tuesday night, I attended the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) monthly meeting with parents, teachers, and BPS Administrators. There was a great deal of meaningful conversation on dyslexia, acceptance and understanding for students with disabilities, restrictive class scheduling, adequate staffing and programming to intervene with students who have reading disabilities, and restorative practices. I left there feeling very informed on concerns and needs o

WKBW: Parents bring up concerns with un-enforcable speed limits in school zones (click to watch news story)

On Monday, December 3, 2018, I visited the Central Registration Center on Ash St. and met with Associate Superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams and new Director of the CRC Ms. Anne Henry. I was impressed with the welcoming environment when I entered the building. Before taking a tour, Ms. Henry and I dialogued for some time on changes and ongoing concerns. Ms. Henry was very willing and prepared to answer some hard questions. Though she just began as the new Director in August, it

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit School 17 Early Childhood Center and meet with parents, students, and staff. I was extremely impressed with my experience at School 17. It was a very welcoming atmosphere and intimate setting with only grades pre-k to 4. Hearing from four 4th grade students was most enlightening. They each seemed to view their school favorably. Frequent physical education in the gym, student clubs, science experiments, daily recess, and afterschoool p

Social-emotional wellness, mental health, and real alternatives to suspension, are priorities of mine. Today, I had the opportunity to meet with Mickey Vertino and Dina Thompson (President of Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition). ECRJC currently has a contract with Buffalo Public Schools and, among a few responsibilities, they are working closely with School 43 to implement restorative practices. It was an insightful and collaborative conversation about growing the work

Tour of First Student On Thursday, November 8, I had the opportunity to meet with First Student General Manager Sean McCabe and other First Student staff. I toured their Training & Recruitment Center and two of five First Student locations which provide transportation for Buffalo Public Schools. It was an educational and eye opening experience. I observed a vast system and complex operation. I appreciated the managers taking the time to show me some of the moving parts and an

I had great time tonight talking with parents and teachers from the Bennett Park Montessori Community Association. I heard loud and clear that parents and teachers want a District and BOE that embraces and supports the Montessori approach at Bennett Park. I look forward to learning more while touring the school in December with Parent Engagement Liaison Ti Markle and seeing the Montessori approach in action. Thank you to K H Steilen for arranging the meet and greet!

I attended the VOICE Buffalo and Buffalo Immigrant Leadership Team public meeting on moving the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities to the city of Buffalo and on the education of our Multilingual and New American Families. From my estimate, there were over 200 in attendance, including BOE Member Jen Mecozzi, Chief of BPS Will Keresztes, and Associate Superintendent for Multilingual Dept Nadia Nashir. I left with feeling a strong sense of collaboration between th

I had a great time meeting with Parents at Olmsted 64 today. I heard a consistent theme of support for educating the whole child- recess, limited screen time, physical activity, restorative practices, less emphasis on behavior charts and tangible rewards, etc... Thank you for coordinating Parent Engagement Liaison Erin Feurstein!

BUFFALO -- Standing in front of Buffalo’s newest community school, longtime parent activist Larry Scott announced his candidacy for an at-large seat in the May 2019 Buffalo Board of Education race. In May 2019, all nine school seats on the Buffalo Board of Education, including six district and three at-large positions, are up for reelection. Highlighting the progress and changes that have made in Buffalo Public Schools over the past several years, Larry Scott announced his ca

My Story My name is Larry Scott. I’m running for an at-large seat on the Buffalo Board of Education. I’ve been a parent activist in the district for the past 5 years. I live in North Buffalo and I was one of the founders of a parent group called the Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization (BPTO). I’m a proud, involved father of two boys at public school #81 and a baseball coach for North Park Youth Baseball League. I am a school psychologist in a neighboring school district, curr