Buffalo public criterion schools criticized in report for lack of reserved seats during open enrollment

There are a number of Buffalo public schools that require an admissions  test but it is the high performing ones that appear to be exclusionary.

And these include just three--- School #64, the Olmsted now housed at newly renovated old Kensington building, and City Honors.

There are others Hutch Tech, Emerson Culinary, Mckinley,Buffalo Academy of Visual Performing Arts and Da Vinci.

Yet it's City Honors the most exclusionary in admissions requirements that appears to favor white students nearly 70%, in a district where they make up less than 26%, while black and Latinos make-up over 80% of the Buffalo Public Schools student population. And the 28 failing priority schools in the district except for South Park High school enroll the majority of these minority students.

The principals of Olmsted and City Honors appeared at a school board meeting explaining and justifying the admissions process in their schools, yet it left one board member Sharon Belton Cottman still puzzled by the lopsided lack of ethnic diversity at these two high performing schools.

While distinguished educator, Dr. Judy Elliot report to the State Ed officials criticized the lack of reserved seats in the criterion schools during open enrollment that relegated the vast majority of students to the priority schools.

And these schools become dumping grounds for overage students, with few credits and behavioral problems.

She said criterion schools – those that require students to meet certain admissions requirements – do not have any seats reserved for open enrollment. Because of that, priority schools end up with a disproportionate number of students who lack credits, have lower skills and often have behavioral problems.

Elliot cited placement as a problem in her report how these priority failing schools enrolled a disproportionate number of students whose native language is not English and they don't have the supports to help them.

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