West Buffalo Charter School Partnership

D'Youville Partners with West Buffalo Charter School

Buffalo, New York – October 05, 2012 –D'Youville College has become an institutional partner with the brand new West Buffalo Charter School through a teacher education program and membership on their board.

Located a short distance from the college campus at 113 Lafayette Avenue, in the renovated former Lafayette Hospital, it opened its doors on August 13, 2012.

West Buffalo Charter School offers grades K-2 and plans to expand to K-4 in the future. Its curriculum is aligned with the State Common Core Learning Standards and classes stress literacy skills for the multi lingual and diverse student body.

The school, headed by Andrea Todoro, currently has 138 students enrolled. The staff includes eight classroom teachers, eight teaching assistants, and three language and literacy instructors.

Twelve different languages are spoken by the students. Instructional hours run from 8:00 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. and there is a "Jump Start Program" from 7:15 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Art, music, physical education, and technology are included in the curriculum, according to Todoro.

"West Buffalo Charter School allows students to explore their interests, establish and maintain positive relationships and maximize their individual successes," she says. "Our mission is to instill a love of learning in all children."

The school has approval for 270 students and plans to grow one grade level each year until reaching grade four

It is also a site for student teaching for D'Youville's education majors allowing them to work with the Charter School teachers in elementary and special education classes, according to Dr. Arup Sen, vice president for academic affairs at the college, who sits on their six person Board of Trustees.

"I would like to strengthen this partnership with more of our education students and faculty engaged in teaching and research activities in literacy, other areas of education, and speech and language development," he said.

D'Youville plans to build partnerships with other charter schools.

A Charter School is an independent public school, free, and open to residents of New York State.

Contact Andrea Todoro, West Buffalo Charter School Leader, at 716-923-1534 for additional information.

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