Waldorf News

Aurora Waldorf School Completes First Year of New City Scholarship Program: Six students from “Persistently Lowest Achieving” Buffalo Schools Now Enrolled at AWS

From Aurora Waldorf School, West Falls, New York

***AWS is currently seeking donors to be able to expand the program to include a new group of Buffalo kindergarten students whose parents have requested transfers out of “PLA” schools.***

A new scholarship program at Aurora Waldorf School (AWS) has just completed its first year of implementation thanks to a generous anonymous donor.  Six students in kindergarten to third grade who had previously attended “persistently lowest achieving” (PLA) Buffalo city schools are now AWS students all the way through eighth grade.  As part of the school’s mission to foster social responsibility in its students, AWS and the donor have partnered to begin this initiative as a direct reflection of that mission.

The anonymous donor wished to give students in the city of Buffalo who could not afford a private school the opportunity to receive a rigorous education, in a stimulating and developmentally-appropriate environment. The donation helps to cover all expenses, including tuition, bus transportation from the city, lunch, and all fees and supplies.

Aurora Waldorf School (AWS) students come from over 20 cities and towns throughout Western New York, including approximately 30% from the City of Buffalo. Since 2009, they have provided free busing for students from Buffalo from a central downtown location, funded by an anonymous donor, and many families receive BISON Fund support as well as significant tuition assistance provided by AWS.

Beginning in the fall of 2013, AWS launched this program to recruit qualified Buffalo city students currently attending PLA schools whose families have requested transfers, and who require significant financial assistance.

The first four students were accepted in Spring 2014 and flourished in kindergarten and first, second and third grade. Two more students were enrolled for Fall 2014. Some of these children had never played outside.

Over 2,200 public school students in the City of Buffalo have requested transfers from persistently lowest achieving “Focus” and “Priority” public schools, and approximately 1,500 were denied transfers. Aurora Waldorf School has space available in several of its lower classes (kindergarten through fourth grade), and space for 30 additional students on its city bus.

The situation in the Buffalo Public Schools is obviously dire. Options for students in Focus and Priority schools are extremely limited, and the parents who’ve been able to take advantage of our city scholarship tell us they feel like they’ve “won the lottery”. One parent whose child is part of the program said, “This school is amazing! All my son’s needs are being met, and he’s so happy to be playing outside!” Another noted that her daughter comes home with a story every day, and “loves all her friends and teachers”.

According to Dr. Will Keresztes, Buffalo Public Schools’ Associate Superintendent for Educational Services, “Aurora Waldorf School is unique among independent schools in creating a scholarship specifically intended to reach out to Buffalo’s low-income students. This school has heart!”

The addition of these children to our school is absolutely wonderful. Diversity is no longer a theory, but part of our practice and we can begin to get down to the nitty gritty of the challenges and joys that it brings. The students are adapting well and the children seem healthier and have better stamina than at the beginning of the year. —AWS Faculty

AWS is currently seeking donors to be able to expand the program to include a new group of Buffalo kindergarten students whose parents have requested transfers out of “PLA” schools.  For more information and to become involved in this program, contact Jane Ried, Admissions Director at (716)655-2029.

To learn more about Aurora Waldorf School and the Buffalo City Scholarship Program visit aurorawaldorfschool.org. and follow AWS on facebook.