The following is a communications briefing for the week ending 10-23-20 on behalf of Dr. Cash.

Dear Colleagues:

Each year, NYSSBA sponsors School Board Recognition Week to recognize school board members for their commitment to public school children. School Board Recognition Week is an opportunity to raise community awareness and understanding about the crucial role school board members have within a school district. Thank you, Board Members, for all you do in your governance role for the benefit of our children!

BOE Members with NYS Regent Dr. Catherine Collins – file photo

BlueCross BlueShield of and the Buffalo Sabres have teamed up to welcome Buffalo Public School families back to the school year by providing personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to them through meal distributions at various Buffalo Public Schools. Each kit includes face coverings and hand sanitizer to help keep Buffalo Public School families safe. BlueCross BlueShield, the Sabres, and Buffalo Public Schools held a media photo opportunity for the PPE kit delivery on Monday at Harvey Austin School (below). A total of eight other schools will also receive a donation. On behalf of our students and families, thank you!

Volunteers from Total Freedom NY spent time this week assembling 12,000 Playpacks covering every 4th-8th grade student in the Buffalo Public Schools need for at-home play. Thank you to the Ralph C. Wilson Jr Foundation, BlueCross Blue Shield of Western New York, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and the Teachers Desk for making dreams come true. The play packs will be incorporated into our virtual Physical Education curriculum, and teachers will be able to monitor student progress through the @ProjectPlayWNY online platform. Thank you to all who made this possible!

In recognition of the academic excellence of 8th grade students, the Jesse Ketchum awards have been presented for the past 148 years. Dr. Fatima Morrell, Associate Superintendent of Culturally & Linguistically Responsive Initiatives and President of the Jesse Ketchum Memorial Fund Board presided over this year’s ceremony which took place on October 20, 2020, at 6:30pm, on the virtual Zoom platform. The Gold medalist with the highest average is Hanifa Khalilullah from School #81 (below left). Her average is 99.50. She is currently attending City Honors School #195. The Silver medalist is Emma Z. Velez from Lorraine Elementary School #72 (below right). Her average is 99.31. She is currently attending Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts #192. The remaining 34 students, from various Buffalo schools, will receive Bronze Medal awards. All recipients received a medal, certificate and monetary award. Kudos to you for taking your education seriously! That’s what the Education Bargain is all about. Thank you to Dr. Fatima Morrell for her leadership of our Jesse Ketchum awards during this time!

BPS Unsung Heroes, working with Chief Operating Officer Jim Weimer, have been powering through their most essential tasks at a high level of performance and without missing a beat since the pandemic began. They are as follows:

Cheryl Kennedy – Director of Transportation: Cheryl’s strong capabilities were tested in the beginning of the pandemic, with the delivery of 8,500 learning packets door-to-door to our families. She is now at the forefront of the Transportation planning for reopening. In true team spirit, she collaborates daily with principals. As the First Student liaison, Cheryl is monitoring the Driver supply and route planning with First Student toward our eventual reopening.

Bridget O’Brien Wood – Director of Food Service: 4 Million meals provided to students by Bridget and her staff since last March without missing a beat! Throughout the pandemic, at 50+ sites, Bridget continues to plan for our in person reopening, while serving the community. Bridget recently partnered BPS with the Cornell Cooperative Extention to launch a food truck that has been a welcome sight and source of mobile nutrition for our families.

Fred Wagstaff – Director of Security: Fred is responsible for staff providing wellness checks and safe and secure environments for all of our Food Service locations. Fred is always available - 24 hours a day - should any situation arise with the BPS. He is truly an irreplaceable! Fred has worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic closure period, and his team has created a safe and orderly environment at the food service and device pick-up sites.

Barry Kirker – Director of School Plant Operations: Another warrior throughout the pandemic closure, Barry Kirker has overseen repairs and retrofitting at 60+ buildings for eventual reopening. Another 24-hour-a-day employee who has an incredible knowledge of all of our facilities and their unique characteristics, Barry oversees a very large and complex department. He collaborates with all district departments to provide safe and clean facilities, helping the district and staff in our buildings to operate a safe and CDC compliant work environment.

Jim, Cheryl, Bridget, Fred, and Barry

On Wednesday, the Buffalo Board of Education adopted a resolution to partner with the Buffalo Bills and Mayor Byron W. Brown on numerous social justice initiatives that promote greater access, equity, and opportunity for educational success among Buffalo’s children. The Reform Agendas of the Buffalo Public Schools, City of Buffalo, and the Buffalo Bills Social Justice Fund are aligned in their missions to eradicate pernicious injustices wherever and however they occur in our Community, and with commitment to the children of our District throughout this unprecedented COVID-19 school closure by supporting efforts to assure greater access to internet connectivity for learning. We gratefully accept $500,000 from the Buffalo Bills’ Social Justice Fund for the purpose of providing broadband internet connectivity and, in so doing, enabling our students to more fully participate in their educational programs with profound commendation, appreciation and gratitude to our beloved Buffalo Bills. We thank you with our shared goal in mind - the success of our children!

President and CEO of Pegula Sports & Entertainment Kim Pegula joined our remote BOE meeting

As part of our ongoing partnership, the University at Buffalo’s Dean of Graduate Education, Suzanne Rosenblith has constructed vetted virtual tutoring support for our high school students. Dean Rosenblith confirmed the launch yesterday, and it is now ready for students to sign up beginning on Monday, October 26th. Tutoring in several major subject areas starts November 2nd. Thank you to UB and Dean Rosenblith for this wonderful and much needed service to our students!

Shared on WorkPlace by Facebook: Victoria Gillison Social Worker at Arthur O. Eve School of Distinction #61 delivered food to one of her student homes last week and says she, “Caught our amazing students hard at work! Kudos to them and their parents #61.” Back at you, Ms. Gillison!

Not knowing a precise date when we will reopen schools does not mean we are not preparing to reopen every single day. Tomorrow, Chief of Staff Dr. Darren Brown-Hall will join a meeting of the Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization (BPTO) to update members on the process we are now engaged in. Thank you, Dr. Brown-Hall for your excellent work in keeping our community engaged and informed!

Enjoy your weekend!

Dr. Kriner Cash Superintendent