A new program is coming for education majors at SUNY Buffalo State. This new program, funded by M&T Bank, will give education students the experience they desire, while also giving them a chance to earn a paycheck.

The Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education (CEURE) and M&T Bank have partnered up to bring an after school program to the West Side.

The program is geared toward literacy and english. It will start this October and will be hosted at International School 45, located on Hoyt Street. I.S. 45 has been taking in students from the West Side for many years. The school is now mostly made up of immigrant students and has reported at least 35 different languages are spoken in the school. About 100 students will be attending this new after school program from I.S. 45, and gaining academic support from students at Buffalo State.

Buffalo State education majors will learn to diagnose and understand a student’s strengths and needs. The students of I.S. 45 will recieve individualized tutoring programs, based on their specific needs, as well as based on New York State standards. The students will also recieve 100 hours of literacy instruction.

“This is truly a reciprocal partnership,” John Siskar, director of CEURE, said.

Buffalo State students will get the hands on practice they need to become “practical teachers,” while students at I.S. 45 get a helpful learning experience.

And how does this benefit M&T Bank?

“This great program is one more in a group of initiatives that M&T supports directed largely at low-to-moderate and immigrant populations on the West Side where need is so high,” Shelley C. Drake, president of the M&T Charitable Foundation, said in a statement provided by Vice President Nancy Brock.

M&T recognizes that Buffalo State has been making strides to include the surrounding neighborhood — mostly the West Side — in bringing the community closer. M&T Bank has funded $40,000 to jumpstart the initiative.

“M&T knows how important it is to use our resources to benefit the communities where our customers and employees live and work. Clearly, so does Buffalo State, which is making positive inroads in the West Side neighborhoods adjacent to its urban campus,” Drake said.

This is not the first time CEURE has worked with others to bring something like this to students. CEURE has been working with partnerships and other schools for 12 years, providing reciprocal relationships and overall success to students in the education field. Students who have been tutored by Buffalo State students have been reported to have done much better on assessments and standardized tests.

Buffalo State education majors who jump at the chance to work with the students at I.S. 45 will begin working in October, and will continue to work throughout the semester and into the spring.

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