D’Youville College has agreed to
partner up with the West Buffalo Charter School.
Located at 320 Porter Ave.,
D’Youville College helped with funding to get the old apartment building on 114
Lafayette Ave. converted into the West Buffalo Charter School.
Phillip Piotrowski, assistant
professor of the education department at D’Youville College, said his graduate
class of 17 students go on Wednesdays to give an extra set of hands and help
out with the students.
Piotrowski said he is thrilled that
his students are getting a real sense of experience student teaching in this
environment.
“I have to say, they do a really
nice job and the community is really turning around,” Piotrowski said.
The students at the West Buffalo
Charter School are kindergarten through second grade and by 2014 they are hoping to expand to fourth grade,
Todoro said.
Charter schools are all different,
and they all concentrate on one thing. For West Buffalo Charter the niche is
literacy.
Andrea Todoro, school leader of the
West Buffalo Charter School, said they not only accept children from the West
Side, but from all over the neighboring areas.
Todoro explained that she didn’t
think it would be fair for the expansion to go beyond fourth grade because the
mental development is too different.
“I would rather have quality and
keep it small than have quantity and keep it surface level stuff,” Todoro said.
Todoro also said Canisius College
and Buffalo State College are in the process of possibly partnering up with the
West Buffalo Charter School as well. By Kristin Ritch and Jasmine Willis
