The Daily Bulletin Archive

By Tony Astran

Most junior- and senior-year high school students today are fairly engaged in the college preparation and search process. For middle school students, however, college may be one of the furthest things from their minds.

But with a new pilot program called “Middle School Matters,” Buffalo State aims to help students in the Buffalo Public Schools learn that it’s never too early to start preparing.

Buffalo State and SUNY Brockport are the only two SUNY schools currently conducting this program, which was modeled after a similar successful initiative in California. Charles Kenyon, dean of students, applied for and received an $8,000 grant made possible by New York State assemblyman and Buffalo State alumnus Sam Hoyt, ’92. Kenyon is working with Patrice Cathey, director of the Liberty Partnerships Program, to administer the program.

Buffalo State hosted a half-day conference in Bulger Communication Center on Saturday, January 31, that included lunch and a keynote address from Hoyt. Kenyon said the conference was filled to capacity—about 200 students and parents attended.

“Representatives from the college discussed topics such as financial aid, scholarships, and admissions,” he said. “Parents learned how keep their students ‘on track’ and get them enrolled in precollege programs through Buffalo State.”

Cathey said Middle School Matters is a particularly good fit for the Liberty Partnerships Program.

“Before the grant became available, we had wanted to create a middle school parent-centered program,” she said. “There is strong parental support for schooling at the middle school level. But some parents don’t know what questions to ask or what they should be doing with respect to college preparation. Many first-generation parents especially need the extra guidance.”

Buffalo State’s Liberty Partnerships Program was the first of its kind in the state in 1988; fifty-four such programs now exist. Buffalo State’s focus is on college preparation with an emphasis on helping middle school students. About 300 of the 400 students served by the Liberty Partnerships Program are in middle school, so its management of Middle School Matters seems well-suited.

The Liberty Partnerships Program also places Buffalo State education majors in local classrooms as tutors, administers afterschool programs, provides supplemental learning materials for teachers, organizes cultural workshops, and manages the High School Future Teachers Club with CEURE.

As part of the next phase of Middle School Matters, Cathey is designing a series of four workshops for local parents this semester. She plans to cover topics that were frequently noted on conference evaluation forms, such as how to get involved with the Educational Opportunity Program and how to handle in-school conflicts such as bullying.

In addition, Cathey hopes to create a four-day summer program where students can learn about academic support, early SAT preparation, and character-building experiences. So far, Cathey said, parent reaction has been extremely positive, and many have asked to be placed on a contact list for future events.

“Early preparation equals success,” she said. “Middle School Matters is all about teaching students and their parents the steps they need to take to get there. Children need the right frame of mind for studying and being positive—right now.”