BPS superintendent touts increased literacy rates, addresses safety in State of the Schools address

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo Public Schools superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams Knight touted an increased math and literacy rate among economically disadvantaged students, defended high schoolers and introduced more security measures at sporting events in her annual State of the Schools address on Wednesday.

Williams Knight said in her address that the district's most economically disadvantaged third graders saw a reading proficiency increase of 7%, from 33% to 40%, in this past school year. There was also an increase in math among that same group, an 8% jump from 13% during the 2022-23 school year to 21% in the 2023-24 year.

She said the focus was made on third graders because they were in pre-kindergarten when the pandemic forced schooling to go virtual, which severely disrupted their early schooling.

"These are goals that I had from day one. I said it publicly. I want our children reading. It's a game changer," Williams Knight said. "[The children] are full of promise and opportunities, but who also present with some challenges, no fault of their own. These challenges include language barriers ... temporary homelessness, classified with disabilities, poverty, living in areas that are food and medical deserts."

Children being moved from in-person learning to virtual learning to hybrid learning also presented its own challenges.

"Have you ever tried to teach a 4-year-old how to pronounce a word while wearing a mask? It's almost impossible," Williams Knight said. "These children, during their foundational years, lost two years of critically important learning."

Superintendent shuts down "false narrative" about graduation requirements

Williams Knight shut down a "false narrative" that BPS students are able to cut corners when it comes to requirements for graduation.

"Our BPS students do not get a special pass when it comes to meeting graduation requirements," she said. "They are the state's requirements, our children take regents exams just like they do across New York State. Our principal, assistant principals and counselors in high schools work really, really hard with our children so I want to stop the false narrative. I think there are children across our state who take placement exams when they get to college that need extra support. It's not a Buffalo thing."

Williams Knight said Wednesday that four high schools in the district had a graduation rate of over 90% in June. Over 2,300 students took AP courses in 2023-24, with more than 2,100 of them receiving at least one college credit.

"It shows the tenacity of our children and teachers," she said.

June 2024 graduates were awarded more than $6.3 million in scholarships, she said. They are also giving students life skills, starting a new financial literacy course in high schools this year.

As for high school locations, Williams Knight said that Leonardo da Vinci High School will open on the campus of Buffalo State in September 2026. It was previously announced that it would open in time for the 2025-26 school year.

Safety at sporting events

After issues that arose at several high school football games last fall, the district is introducing more safety measures for fans.

The district will be doing more security sweeps around the perimeter of events and requiring an adult to attend games with a student. There will also be no re-entry, and all who attend games will continue to have to go through an Evolv Weapons Detection system, a measure that was introduced last year.

The district is also trying to develop a system where home fans and visiting fans have their own area of the stadium in an effort to decrease fan violence. They are also discussing a system where visiting fans leave before home fans once games are complete.

"We want these to be family events that are fun and enjoyable," Williams Knight said.

District-wide, Williams Knight said there was a decrease of more than 500 school suspensions in 2023-24.

The first day of classes for students is on Sept. 5.