Greetings Buffalo Public School Families and Community Members,
As the homegrown superintendent of the second-largest school district in New York State, I am proud of the fact that the Buffalo Public School District has children and families that are so full of promise and profound resiliency. Our families and students value what a high-quality education can do to impact a child’s life. For many, it has the possibility to change the trajectory of their lives and the lives of future generations. Education is the great equalizer.
In the words of one of my absolute favorite poets, Ms. Marianne Williamson, in her poem “Our Deepest Fear,” We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? We must instill this in all of our children every waking moment of every day.
As we begin this 2024–25 school year, achieving equity for all throughout the Buffalo Public Schools will mean making certain that each and every one of our children has the full opportunity to develop, flourish, and benefit from receiving a high-quality education. This is why we will be focused on continuing to improve the reading scores of our students. Reading well is a civil right! Becoming a proficient reader will allow all of our children, regardless of their challenges, to excel both inside and outside of the classroom and set them up for a lifetime of success!
One of the goals that our district set last year was to improve students reading and math skills. I am thrilled to report that, based on the June 2024 DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment scores, we exceeded our intended goal of 39% for economically disadvantaged grade three students and hit 40%!! That is a huge jump of 6% from the prior-year results. While we still have more to accomplish, we should all feel proud to be witnessing remarkable progress in such a very short amount of time. Thank you to our dedicated and committed staff and families.
The gains for our math goal were even greater! We saw a whopping 8% increase on the iREADY assessment tool for our economically disadvantaged third graders this last school year. Our third graders who are economically disadvantaged went from 13% to 21% in just one year. Outstanding!
This is our year for implementing "knowledge-infused love instructional teaching" for all of our children as well as for one another. We must love the children before we can teach them. As we all know, students who read at or above grade level succeed significantly better in all subject areas, including mathematics. My objective for this year has not changed: I want to see every single one of our children develop a love of reading and learning while doing so in a safe and caring learning environment.
Finally, as you all know safety is a priority. I want to again express my gratitude to all of the parents, caregivers, school and district staff, and community partners who support our children every day. Let’s continue working together as we build for better tomorrows, today. Thank you!
The best is yet to come,
Dr. Tonja M. Williams Knight, Superintendent of Schools