Say Yes Buffalo continues to grow. The college scholarship program recently delivered an update to the Board of Education and superintendent. WBFO's Focus on Education Reporter Eileen Buckley says Say Yes indicates the scholarship program for college is actually increasing attendance for some students.
"Some breaking news -- we've added 30-schools for the fall of 2015," announced David Rust, Executive Director of Say Yes Buffalo. "We have our first historically black college, which is Bennett College in North Carolina."
Rust announcing that more colleges have agreed to accept Say Yes Buffalo scholarships for Buffalo Public School and city charter school students.
Say Yes has assisted more than 3,000 city school students to attend college for free. Say Yes Buffalo is also providing much needed support services for students. Family support services are now in all 55-city schools and that is moving the attendance meter.
"For all of the families we have worked with this past year, attendance rose by four percentage points. When we started engaging families, average attendance was 83%, but they time we completed it, it moved to 87%," said Rust.
Say Yes is also helping with mental health needs. Last year Say Yes added 13 new clinics last year with more added this year.
"Which brings us to a total of 42-clinics out of the 55 public school buildings," stated Rust.
Two mobile health units will also be out on city streets in the next two months.
"These are going to be delivering primary healthcare at our school buildings, so any school that does not have a health clinic and a child has a primary healthcare need, we are going to be able to have these units directly in front of the building on determined per week," said Rust.
School Board members. like Carl Paladino, are pleased with the update. "I just think you guys are doing a magnificent job," said Paladino. "You've gone way beyond, I think, what was originally expected," noted Paladino.
Still, in a recent study has uncovered a drop in the last several years in the percentage of low-income students enrolling in college. It went from 55.8-percent in 2008 to 45.5 percent in 2013.
Meanwhile, Rust is promising to deliver scholar data next month for the classes of 2013 through this year for Say Yes.
