Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Just days before students fill the classrooms of the expansive Buffalo Schools system, Superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams delivered her second annual "State of Schools" address to a crowded audience in the lobby of Buffalo City Hall.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and numerous members of the Board of Education were present for the address in which Williams touted the district's high school graduation rates in 2022.
Williams noted the graduation rate was at 79% district-wide and 90% at eight of the district's 16 high schools. One high school brags of a 100% graduation rate.
"We do have some of the highest performing schools in the State of New York," said Dr. Williams on Friday.
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After a district-wide listening tour Williams conducted, she said she encountered people across the district in three different categories; Uninformed, misinformed and informed. It is Williams' goal in the coming school year to move those from the first categories into the "informed" category, she said.
Anti-bullying efforts are a main focus in the district, Williams stated, part of a "5 by 2025" strategy she is working on that also includes diversification of district staffing as well as engaging families and the community.
Transportation was a significant challenge in 2022 and Williams told WBEN Friday, "We're in a very different place now." She anticipates the newly adopted "Three-bell" program will help alleviate much of the transportation pressures.
Classes resume in Buffalo Schools following the Labor Day weekend.