Congressman Brian Higgins (D-NY) announced today that the Northwest Buffalo Community Center has been awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Education for $1.3 million dollars. The funds will be used to implement additional Supplemental Education Services (SES) into four 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
“This is outstanding news for our community and for students who are in vital need of additional services to aid their academic achievement. The Northwest Buffalo Community Center has an outstanding record of serving our youth and this new program will provide our most vulnerable students with the tools they need to thrive in the classroom,” Higgins said.
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers is a five-year federal grant channeled through the New York State Education system and administered through the Northwest Buffalo Community Center. The centers provide low income students who are in Title I Schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring, opportunities to improve their academic performance. The centers operate after school hours and provide students with help with their homework as well as recreational activities. This new federal grant will allow the Northwest Buffalo Community Center to implement a pilot project that will integrate Supplemental Education Services (SES) such as tutoring in reading, math, and English, into four 21st Century Community Learning Centers in order to increase academic achievement on state assessments. Eligible students participating in the after school program will have access to SES services, which will be provided through Huntington Learning Center.
"We are very excited to be given the opportunity to further assist the students that are already part of our very successful 21st Century Community Learning Center programs", said Sean McCrossan, the Director of Northwest's 21st Century operation. "Our goal has always been to provide the highest quality educational opportunity for all of our students. Under the direction of Larry Pernick, the Executive Director of the Northwest Buffalo Community Center, we continually strive to maintain that focus.”
The 21st Century Learning Centers currently run out of Grabiarz School of Excellence PS 79, Riverside Institute of Technology, Roosevelt Early Childhood Center PS 65, and West Hertel Academy PS 94.
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