Students at Waterfront Elementary School, Futures Academy, East High School, and Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts are served by the Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP) for the purposes of dropout prevention. Staff have engaged at-risk students in grades 5-12 with research-based interventions, including growth mindset/brainology and student success skills curricula, both designed to bolster students’ soft skills and increase academic achievement. As a result of these multifaceted interventions, overall GPAs and standardized test scores have increased, and students’ levels of risk, in terms of dropout, have also decreased across the board. As a partner with Buffalo Public Schools, LPP has established a pronounced and effective presence in the schools and continues to connect students to resources available at UB.
Archives
BAND Against Bullying
The Annual BAND Against Bullying Program is a performing arts competition where students from area high schools combine multiple forms of art to create the most dynamic illustration of dignity awareness to prevent bullying. Each final act performs at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts.
College Success Centers
In 2012, we launched the college success center at PS 200 Bennett High School to assist counselors as they worked with high school students on the college choice process. The center was designed to achieve three goals: (1) free counselors from the administrative burden of college choice, (2) serve as a conduit between the school and local community partners doing college and career readiness work, and (3) contribute to the creation of a college-going culture in the school. The center at Bennett is now in its fourth year and has served as many as 3,200 students in a given year on a range of activities from career exploration and campus visits to SAT registration, college applications and the financial aid application process. We opened the second center at PS 198 The International Preparatory School in 2014 and we are in our second year of operation at that location. For more information: “College Success Centers open the world of higher education to those who could be left behind“
FAFSA Completion Project
With this project we partner with Say Yes to Education Buffalo, Buffalo Public Schools and the public charter schools to provide Free Application for Federal Student Aid completion support in 21 high schools across the city of Buffalo. More than 50 interns, graduate assistants, service learning students and volunteers participate in this project annually. During the initial year of the project, FAFSA completion rates increased by 61 percent. Currently, approximately two-thirds of all the FAFSAs completed in Buffalo Public Schools are done with the FAFSA completion project.
Crisis Services, Board of Directors
Serve as a member of the Crisis Services Foundation and Agency Board of Directors. Fund raising, property management, fund allocation, etc.
Dentistry Smiles on Veterans
In collaboration with the Eighth District Dental Society, the School of Dental Medicine participated in the first “Dentistry Smiles on Veterans” program. The kick-off event took place Saturday, April 18, 2015, in the UB Squire Hall Clinic, South Campus. On that day, veterans from area Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFWs) and other veterans’ organizations were invited to the dental school for a comprehensive dental examination and treatment plan. To be eligible, they must have separated from the military in or after 2005. The goal was to provide dental services to much deserving veterans who do not qualify for Veterans Affairs (VA) provided dental treatment. This program gave special recognition to veterans and expressed gratitude for their personal sacrifices on behalf of their fellow Americans.
Cornerstone Manor Clinic
Students volunteer at a faith-based clinic located in Cornerstone Manor, a homeless shelter for women and children. Primary medical care is provided free of charge to the women and children staying in the shelter.
Social Justice Immersion
Social Justice Immersion project is part of the course requirements for a graduate course, Cultural Diversity in Higher Education, required for students enrolled in the master’s program in Higher Education Administration and Higher Education Student Affairs Administration. To serve the purpose of better understanding others who are culturally different from oneself, students were asked to immerse themselves in other cultures, increase their social contact with others and possibly experience a new minority status by (a) attending activities or events related to a specific social identity group other than that of their own, or providing some type of service to a social justice related group or organization that addresses issues that do not pertain to their social identity groups; (b) reflecting on their own assumptions, biases and stereotypes regarding the activity or services; and (c) presenting the lessons learned from the experience with the class and in writing.
Management Volunteer Program
The purpose of the Management Volunteer Program (MVP) is to prepare University at Buffalo School of Management students for their professional endeavors by connecting classroom learning to real-world experiences. Through a holistic approach, this program seeks to enrich, engage and excite students about their personal and professional development. The MVP utilizes experiential learning through volunteerism to facilitate students’ developmental growth. We believe that the opportunity to gain real-world work experience within the larger framework of an educational setting is of particular benefit to these students, who are often at an early stage in the recognition and development of skills valued in the workplace. Through their work, students should aim to develop a diverse skill set in preparation for future occupations. Participants are required to complete 25 hours of volunteer work with an approved organization throughout the course of one semester. Students reflect on their experiences through writing assignments. In addition, they are also required to record a final reflection video at the end of their experiences.
Joining Forces-UB
Responding to the White House’s 2010 Joining Forces initiative to enhance the health care of veterans and military families, the Schools of Nursing and Social Work received a 3E Grant to advance the knowledge, skills and abilities of University at Buffalo (UB) nursing and social work students and community practitioners to better address existing and future unmet needs. The mission of Joining Forces-UB is to develop a comprehensive veteran and military family care educational program for students and community practitioners, and build a portfolio of interdisciplinary research. The project pursues this mission by capitalizing on the strengths and resources of the UB School of Nursing (SON) and UB School of Social Work (SSW) in partnership with local community organizations serving veterans and/or military families in the Western New York region.