WBFO Education Desk

A major reconstruction of Crosby Hall on the University at Buffalo's South Campus is imminent. Built nearly a century ago, Crosby is one in a line of older stone structures that flank Main Street.

The Williamsville School Board Thursday voted to appoint a new superintendent, looking for some upper management stability after a tumultuous year with COVID-19.

New survey results show about 8% of New York's public school students, or about 215,00 students, did not have a laptop or other device to use for remote learning in the first months of the school year. About 6%, or 165,000 students, lacked adequate internet access despite districts' efforts to equip students as the pandemic closed schools.

Buffalo’s public school students are very aware of the societal problems around them and the racial tensions surrounding the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. A selected panel of students had a chance to talk about those issues Thursday.

The vocal parent group Western New York Students First wants Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein fired by the county executive for not allowing wide reopening of schools.

Williamsville elementary school students will return to classes in district buildings Monday, but it is not clear whether middle and high school students will return to the buildings most of the time in this school year.

Buffalo Public Schools are in the final stages of preparing a budget for next year to go to the School Board, possibly on Wednesday. For most recent years, it was a spending plan built around not enough money for too many needs, despite the best efforts of the school system. This year is much different.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that New York state will distribute 35,000 COVID-19 vaccines directly to state’s and New York City’s public colleges and universities — where some schools have already begun offering the vaccine — with the aim of vaccinating as many college students as possible before the end of the spring semester.

Local parents who went to court Tuesday to force their school districts to return to in-class learning five days a week have been put on hold.

The Buffalo School Board Wednesday evening pulled the plug on two academically troubled charter schools. The board said Westminster Community and Enterprise charters had failed to be better than the regular public schools and will close.

Buffalo School Board members spent four hours Wednesday evening debating the futures of Westminster Community and Enterprise charter schools. They decided more discussion is needed and will hold another meeting next week.

Buffalo Public Schools will try again to bring 5,000 students back to the classroom Monday, after a year of virtual school. They were supposed to be back this week, but a ransomware attack on the district's computer system stopped that.

Thousands of Buffalo Public Schools students were slated to return to their buildings Monday morning, some for the first time in their high schools. However, that didn't happen, with a ransomware attack shutting down district technology.

St. Bonaventure University on Monday announced the overnight death of its president, Dennis DePerro, due to complications from COVID-19. He was 62.

“Words simply can’t convey the level of devastation our campus community feels right now,” said Joseph Zimmer, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, who was named acting president late last month while DePerro. “I know when people die it’s become cliché to say things like, ‘He was a great leader, but an even better human being,’ and yet, that’s the absolute truth with Dennis. We are heartbroken.”

 A Buffalo -based watchdog group says that in a sample of school boards across the state, two thirds of them didn't use the right reasons when shutting the doors during public meetings and going into executive session.

Thousands of Buffalo Public Schools students return to their buildings Monday morning, after months of studying in front of a computer screen. For some, there are many sides to the issue of in-person education.

Some Buffalo Public Schools students will be returning to the classroom in a couple weeks, the first time since the coronavirus pandemic started nearly a year ago.

New York's high school graduation rate has improved slightly following the shift to remote learning and cancellation of Regents exams.

The Frontier Central School Board on Tuesday selected C. Douglas Whelan as its interim superintendent, replacing Acting Superintendent Colleen Duggan.

After three years as superintendent of Frontier Central Schools, Richard Hughes is moving on -- effective immediately.

The Buffalo Board of Education approved a phased-in return to in-person instruction starting Feb. 1 during a work session meeting Wednesday night. The plan calls for the district’s youngest learners (pre-K through Second Grade) to return to classrooms first, along with students with special education needs and multilingual learners.