In Buffalo, Seeking to Keep Condemned Schools Afloat

As Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes made her way to the podium in the auditorium of Lafayette High School a call and response chant filled the air of the cavernous space.

“Whose schools?” the crowd, called out, holding placards and banners. “Our schools!”

The assemblywoman stood flanked by students, educators, parents and alumni of Lafayette, one of four schools in the Buffalo Public Schools system being phased out according to state education department guidelines, as she called on the newly appointed education commissioner MaryEllen Elia to hear their plea.

Peoples-Stokes said she and Assemblyman Sean Ryan have sent a letter to Elia, suggesting that the schools be taken off the list so they might be eligible for a share of a pot of $75 million in state money set aside for schools designated as “failing.”

“The dollars are there,” she said. “The effort needs to be to reach out and get it.”

Peoples-Stokes, who spent much of this past legislative session working on issues related to education, said she rejects the state’s designation of “failing” and “out of time,” arguing that state education department policy, insufficient resources and instability in state leadership are as much to blame for the poor achievement on state tests as any of the educators, parents or administrators at the schools. 

“They are not out of time,” Peoples-Stokes said. “They still have great students in them. They still have great parents in them. They have a lot of community support around them and they need to be given the time to do what’s proper for the students that are enrolled in them.”

Lafayette has had particular challenges in recent years. The high school has gained a reputation as a de facto community school for newcomer students, the children of refugees and immigrants arriving in Buffalo.

The Queen City has become a hub for refugee resettlement over the last decade, with around 1,500 people resettling in Erie County each year, whether directly from refugee camps or from other U.S. cities.

This creates a disproportionate number of English language learners—known as ELLs in the district—many who know little or no English when first enrolling in the school system.

These students are expected to take the same tests as every other public school student in the state, and the scores count toward the evaluation of each school.

Last year, Lafayette’s graduation rate was just 16 percent, though educators there say this year’s class jumped to 32 percent, a sign that the school is headed in the right direction.

Buffalo Common Council Member David Rivera, whose Niagara district includes Lafayette, said the parents are some of the most engaged in the district, but that they are also set against unrealistic obstacles in trying to adjust to their new surroundings while learning English and being held to the same standards as families who have lived their entire life in the city.

“The problems we’re suffering are systemic,” Rivera said. “They’re sending students from all over the world to Lafayette High School with the expectation that they can achieve like any other high school. I would challenge any school district board member to go to Burma, to go to other countries and take exams in their languages and see how they fare.”

Henreh Too, a junior at the school who came to Buffalo as a refugee from Burma, took the podium to explain why his parents sought refugee status, his voice breaking as he searched for the English words to match his meaning.

“In refugee camp some people cannot read and write,” Too said. “So they just come here to make a better life and make better education for our families.”