BPS_Rising

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• Commented on The Hamlin Park Neighborhood: A Strong Community and One You Should be Seriously Considering
  I'd love to see a Renaissance at P.S. 74 in Hamlin Park to attract more people to the neighborhood. There are a lot of organizations invested in improving that school - lots of potential! Look at this awesome 8mm footage...
• Commented on School Board Elections Today
  I'm just returning to this conversation. EVCS is a coveted school, considered the best in the city, and is an exception. A lovely, wish-all-schools-could-be-it exception. It is small. It is new. It is staffed with the multiple adults in the...
• Commented on School Board Elections Today
  Thank you as well, I am throughly enjoying this conversation, it's refreshing! Some more thoughts: I do agree with you that largely, "good" and "bad" are a reflection of demographics when we look at schools, and this is something that...
• Commented on School Board Elections Today
  Admittedly, I also have a middle class bias. No, I don't think that's a terrible thing at all, and that's exactly why I think more middle class families returning to our BPS schools, and more attractive programs to create better...
• Commented on School Board Elections Today
  I understand the desire for known outcomes and certainty when it comes to schools. I'm a parent, I went through the process, I truly understand. I do think there is one huge gap in the admissions/assignment process that your thoughts...
• Commented on School Board Elections Today
  I also wanted to add: I'm not 100% opposed to neighborhood schools, defined as schools where parents get a guaranteed space, and where kids have geographically-assigned schools. I do agree that in theory, they could provide Buffalo with some positive...
• Commented on School Board Elections Today
  Some brief replies/thought to you JSmith: Students will only walk and bike to school if they're close to home. And if they have a bike. And if there are safe paths to school. And if their asthma doesn't prevent them...
• Commented on School Board Elections Today
  I'd like to respond that that: On the topic of school choice: School choice alone will fix nothing by itself - we have a version of school choice now, and look where we are. Other HUGE systemic changes would need...
• Commented on School Board Elections Today
  I am in our BPS schools every day. There are many reasons for our system-wide failure, from top to bottom. Here are some of the things I've observed: Real-life reasons our BPS kids are absent from school: 1. Missed the...
• Commented on Wrecking Buffalo: Coming to a garbage dump near you, this church.
  I'm disappointed that he bought the old synagogue without a plan for it. There is a strong desire in the Jewish community to renovate that space, but nobody has come up with the funds to back that desire. This is...
• Commented on Campaign Urges Mayor Brown to Block Colvin Church Demo
  Do you know the leadership of this church personally? Perhaps this is a church that couldn't support an aging building. Perhaps membership dwindled, and it couldn't continue to support itself. Happens quite frequently - why accuse the church of blatantly...
• Commented on Kathleen Kinan creates new life on Grant Street
  Beautiful! Will these be available to rent, and if so, when, and for how much?...
• Commented on Wrecking Buffalo: 375 Colvin Avenue
  I live in the area, and I'd like to see a new, permanent North Park library on this site, along with a playground, and perhaps a site for after-school programs. The current location of the "temporary" library in the Kmart...
• Commented on Work Starts on School Conversion Project in Riverside
  I too would love to see medium-income housing. I love school building apartment conversions, especially when those old blackboards, coat rooms, and other fun architectural features are kept intact....
• Commented on Don Tequila Mexican Taqueria
  Can't wait, I've looked forward to the day when real Mexican could be found in the city since the day I moved here! On the topic of pizza - please, someone, bring really good pizza to Buffalo. I've tried dozens...
• Commented on Paint is "On the house"
  I prefer the red & lime green to the boring pastel! Paint isn't expensive. It's labor the knowing how to paint (and just doing it) that really makes a difference! And having a long ladder. I've been wanting to paint...
• Commented on Rumor: Walmart Eyeing Hertel/Elmwood Corner
  P.S. This is what happens when someone demands an exorbitant price for a piece of property. The only fish in town that can afford it is Walmart. If Walmart goes in, I'm betting on a Panera + Chipotle on the...
• Commented on The Lyth Cottage: Preservation in Progress
  Looks great! What are the plans for the inside? Bedrooms? Finished basement? How big is it! What a great property and reno!...
• Commented on Rumor: Walmart Eyeing Hertel/Elmwood Corner
  If Walmart must come into Buffalo, I wish they'd tear down the Kmart and build there. I live in the area, and while I'd prefer not to see Walmart move into my neighborhood, I realize such things are out of...
• Commented on LA Fitness to open at Elmwood and Hertel Center
  I'm surprised there is a market for this here. It seems like there are a lot of smaller gyms/fitness centers very close to this location. I can think of 4-5. Is the attraction the larger facility and pool? I was...
• Commented on Time for Plan B
  Again, I'd ask - what are those things that will appeal to parents that haven't been tried in Buffalo? There are schools with programs that focus on African American culture and history, bilingual Spanish/English schools, and schools the celebrate immigrant...
• Commented on Time for Plan B
  (My last point was cut off above) I was just going to say, on the topic of neighborhood schools - it is important to remember that currently, most parents do have the option to send their kids to a school...
• Commented on Time for Plan B
  I ask sincerely - with a couple exceptions, why haven't the dozen or so charter schools currently operating in Buffalo done just that - established programs attractive to apathetic parents? The BPS schools have done this (albeit on a very...
• Commented on City and Country opens in Allentown
  Patrick rocks - fun gifts, awesome hair styling. Kudos!...
• Commented on Time for Plan B
  Regarding turning East and Waterfront into charter schools, I'm all ears. When I first heard of this proposal, I was hesitant, and I had an ideological knee jerk reaction. But the original poster is correct - East, Waterfront, and a...
• Commented on Education Advocates Propose Charter Restart Model for Two Buffalo Schools
  Under New York State charter school law, charter schools are called "nonpublic schools" for a number of legal purposes, including, but not limited to: -local zoning, land use, & building code compliance -how the school provides special education services -transportation...
• Commented on Education Advocates Propose Charter Restart Model for Two Buffalo Schools
  Technically, for some legal purposes, charter schools are considered "private." It's complex- they're neither fully "public," nor "private." Some are run by private, for-profit companies, using public dollars. Some don't provide transportation, as is provided to traditional school students, making...
• Commented on Education Advocates Propose Charter Restart Model for Two Buffalo Schools
  Was the parent trigger law used to initiative these proposals? Is there parent and student buy-in?...
• Commented on School Reconstruction - Buffalo's Largest Historic Preservation Project. Ever.
  Here is a video clip of some of the changes happening at P.S. 18: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DuxO5zqSe8&noredirect=1...
• Commented on School Reconstruction - Buffalo's Largest Historic Preservation Project. Ever.
  Agreed, I would love to see every single building featured - why virtual tours of every school is not available on the BPS website is a big mystery to me....