While the commencement of senior year of high school traditionally means moving on to a college or university, one third of the high school students in the United States have chosen a less fortunate path: dropping out.
President John B. Simpson plans to change that statistic for the better. He has made a pledge to increase efforts in the Buffalo Public School District to ensure high school graduates have a fighting chance to go on to college.
To make change intervention will target youth as well as teenagers. UB currently hosts and sponsors a variety of outreach programs throughout local Buffalo schools, which will need to be reorganized to support children throughout their education, rather than an isolated element of schooling.
Simpson says a pipeline should be created, which is an organization of programs collaborating efforts to benefit students from kindergarten through college. He attributes the high percentage of Buffalo students' failure to graduate to disorganization within the system. The idea is to make sure all of the students are receiving equal opportunities as they progress so that none fall through the cracks.
According to the president, UB has the resources available to help improve the situation within the Buffalo Public School District.
"You can work together on a professional level to collaborate efforts," Simpson said. "I think that this is what you do as a public university. You try and make what you offer accessible to anyone who is qualified to take advantage of it."
James Willis, the Interim Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations, has taken on the project.
"We enroll a far smaller number of graduates from the Buffalo Public Schools than one would expect, and I would like (to enroll more)," Willis said.
According to Simpson, students at a young age need these opportunities to be prepared for and successful in their post-graduation endeavors. The time for students to prepare themselves for higher education opportunities isn't when they start applying to college, but rather, throughout their educational experience.
"It's not simply whether or not you admit people," Simpson said. "It's having all the things you need to be able to take advantage of a university education, and having all the things you need to be able to get to that stage."
"It's preparation you need academically, culturally, emotionally, in every kind of way to be able to take advantage of that education when it's offered," Simpson said. "As a nation we do an insufficient job at that."
According to Willis, the Buffalo Public Schools can benefit more so than other school districts with the added involvement of the UB community. Both Simpson and Willis feel it is the responsibility of a university within a community to do all they can.
"From a university standpoint, this isn't about having more students from the Buffalo Public Schools coming to UB," Willis said. "It's about having more students have the opportunity to take advantage of higher education. If we're fortunate enough to have them come here, then that's great, but it's really about having more students go on to four-year university experiences. That's the measure of success."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
