Education 2022 The Wheels on the Bus/Education Director Courtney Yonce 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. We’re asking you to help us get students to our programs this summer. Just the cost of the school bus is $40,000. 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 English Language Learners (ELLs) 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. However, in 2019 only 33% of the district’s ELLs graduated, lower than the New York State average for ELLs (39%) and far lower than the average for native speakers in Buffalo (65%) and New York State (83%). These glaring inequalities are what inspired WEDI’s founders to establish the Education focus area in 2006. WEDI’s Education focus area addresses these issues by supporting 1st-12th grade ELLs 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. The programs also support families to navigate and acclimate to life in Buffalo while maintaining their own cultural identities. To donate, text: WHEELS to 801801 WEDI // 15
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