Canisius gets grant for teacher residency program

Jan. 4—Canisius U gets $184K to support teacher residency program

Canisius University has won a two-year $184,000 grant through the Buffalo Urban Teaching Fellows program to support its 6-year-old teacher residency program.

The grant will support a certification and apprenticeship program that trains and immerses student teachers in Buffalo city school classrooms for an entire school year — with pay — to increase the ranks and diversity of teachers in high-need schools.

The program has graduated more than three dozen teachers since it launched in 2018, with 100% of graduates placed in permanent, full-time jobs in Buffalo city schools.

The funding will support students in the Canisius program, which partners with BUTF, who pursue degrees in special education, childhood education and teaching English to speakers of other languages.

The Canisius program, formerly called the Western New York Teacher Residency, is among several teacher apprentice programs that are addressing a widespread teacher shortage by helping new teachers — including many coming from other careers — obtain certification and classroom experience alongside a teacher mentor in an "earn while you learn" format similar to a medical residency.

Students in the Canisius program spent their first year studying education theory and their second year working in partner schools alongside an experienced teacher. The partner schools include six city charter schools, the Elmwood Village Charter Schools, West Buffalo Charter School, King Center Charter School, Persistence Preparatory Academy Charter School and the Stanley G. Falk School.

The students receive a teacher assistant salary and tuition discounts, and graduate with dual certification in childhood education and special education or childhood education and teaching English to speakers of other languages.

The program also receives funding from the Cullen Foundation, a private, nonprofit education foundation.

Fredonia scholarships target Chautauqua County

SUNY Fredonia will offer merit-based scholarships valued at $6,000 per year to one graduating high school senior from each of the 20 school districts serving Chautauqua County for the 2024-25 academic year, Fredonia President Stephen H. Kolison Jr. said.

The President's Award of Excellence scholarship recognizes outstanding academic performance and will support nontuition expenses such as fees, room and board and books. Each school district will select a recipient, who must be a first-year student enrolling full time at SUNY Fredonia. Recipients must maintain a minimum 3.2 GPA and reside in a university residence hall or townhouse.

The scholarships are renewable each year for four years and will not affect the student's eligibility for receiving other needs-based financial aid, Kolison said.

Fredonia will provide 20 scholarships — one for each school district in the county, including BOCES, with two for the larger Jamestown School District — valued at close to $500,000 over four years, he said.

"We are excited to partner with local school districts to make higher education more affordable," Kolison said. "I am looking forward to welcoming to Fredonia the 20 recipients of these special scholarships from throughout Chautauqua County in Fall 2024."

NCCC offers courses at Niagara County Jail

Niagara County Community College is offering college courses to inmates at the Niagara County Jail as part of the SUNY Higher Education for the Justice-Involved initiative. While the initiative has been offered by 13 SUNY campuses in 20 state prisons, NCCC is one of the first to offer the program in a county jail.

The classes are taught by an NCCC faculty member who has been trained on the challenges of teaching students in a jail setting. The program launched in the summer of 2023 with a five-week English 101 course. Nine students completed the course, gaining eligibility to take English 102.

Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti said the program can make a difference in the lives of people serving time for committing a crime and hopefully help them avoid becoming repeat offenders.

"This programming is funded by inmate profit funds that are realized from commissary purchases and not taxpayer dollars," Filicetti said. "This makes sense to put that funding to good use and hopefully turn the tide for some of our incarcerated population."

Niagara County BOCES teaches GED preparation courses to incarcerated students at the jail and has been instrumental in screening students for the NCCC program to ensure that they are prepared to take college credit-bearing courses, said NCCC Vice President of Academic Affairs Lydia Ulatowski.

"We are committed to expanding access to college for all, including those who are incarcerated," she said. "We believe that education is the key to reducing recidivism and helping inmates become productive members of society."

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The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region's economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.

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