Education 2023 Education Director Courtney Yonce-Swain Lack of access to quality education is one of the main contributors to the cycle of poverty. This is especially true for non-native born people who struggle to attain even the basic level of literacy they need to succeed in school and in life. Without English language literacy, students have no clear path towards earning sustainable incomes and exercising choice over their lives. Literacy is the critical first step on the path to economic equity. Buffalo is home to 25,000 foreign-born people, 10,000 of whom are refugees—a 95% increase since 2006. The number of Multi-Language Learners (MLLs) in the Buffalo Public School System (BPS) has doubled in the last decade and now comprises roughly 21% of the total student population. With over 74 countries represented and 82 different languages spoken, BPS serves the most linguistically diverse district in New York State. WEDI’s Education focus area addresses these issues by supporting 1st-12th grade MLLs through four programs: ENERGY (elementary-aged students), FLY (middle schoolers), Launch (high schoolers), and Girls and Boys Clubs (peer support groups). Taken as a continuum, the programs scaffold the building blocks of literacy— reading, writing, and speaking English—with socialemotional support to help students achieve academic success, navigate higher education and career opportunities, and achieve economic stability and independence. To support WEDI’s afterschool and summer programs for multi-language learners in grades 1-12. $300 will fund one trip on the bus or a bus to/from a field trip $200 is for bras for 20 girls in Girls’ Club $100 supplies femergency kits for the year $100 for curriculum and program supplies for one student for the year To donate, text: WEDI to 4144 WEDI // 15
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