5 takeaways from Superintendent Tonja Williams' first State of the Schools address

Williams unveiled the tenets of her Strategic Plan for 2022-25, accompanied by the slogan "Equity For All In All That We Do." Her five major themes were born out of the community listening tour that Williams and her staff embarked on this spring and summer.

"We don't have forever," she said, referring to the length of her contract. "We have three years, or 1,095 days, 26,280 hours or 1,578,000 minutes, and our clock is ticking."

Superintendent Tonja Williams sure knew how to make an entrance at this morning’s State of the Schools address. pic.twitter.com/RABmxwuDBS

— Ben Tsujimoto (@Tsuj10) August 26, 2022

Williams was unanimously approved by the Buffalo School Board July 14 to become superintendent, removing the interim tag she took after her predecessor Kriner Cash resigned in March. With 32 years experience in Buffalo schools, her supporters have hailed her as a hometown hero after seven superintendents, many from out of town, tried to put their stamp on the state's second-largest school district over the last 11 years. 

David Rust, executive director for Say Yes to Education, a Buffalo Public Schools partner, introduced Williams with glowing words. "She's pure of heart, completely anchored in students and their families," he said.

But Williams now must grapple with long-term and more recent issues that loom over many urban educators, from inequity in classrooms, meeting the socioeconomic needs of marginalized communities, and retaining teachers and staff, to overcoming the learning gap caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, addressing significant shortages in transportation and curbing school violence that reared its head last spring nationally and locally.

Williams laid out five themes:

• Eliminating opportunity and achievement gaps

• Providing access to educational excellence, accelerated learning and enhanced operations and facilities maximization

• Making safety, security and wellness priorities

• Amplifying all voices and cultivate trust

• Activating partnerships

Here are five takeaways from the State of the Schools:

School safety: Williams' lively walk-in was short-lived; the tone turned solemn when discussing school safety. The superintendent cited the February incident at McKinley High School where a 14-year-old was stabbed and a security guard was shot in the leg. Williams said the security officer who was shot is a close personal friend.

"In my 32 years working in this district, never have I known us to experience such a dreadful and frightening situation, one that we must and will do everything in our power to never experience in our district ever again," Williams said.

Among the new school security measures Williams confirmed Friday were updated security plans and protocols, a new division to "address issues of school safety and security swiftly" and the eventual introduction of metal detectors at high schools.

Reading with proficiency by end of third grade: Williams did not mention many things twice, but she did reiterate a commitment to have every student reading with proficiency by the end of third grade.

One strategy to reach this goal is to implement programs that allow for earlier starts, in part building off the success of Bennett Park Montessori Center's 3Y program. Williams said 3-Year-Old Little Learners is a preschool program in tandem with Say Yes that will begin in January to help children with social, emotional and speaking aspects.

Union contracts: Two days after the Buffalo Teachers Federation president and more than 100 teachers marched around City Hall to demand a new contract, Williams focused on her bargaining successes. The superintendent said contracts for 10 of the 11 unions in the district had been settled, with four wrapped up during her five months on the job.

Buffalo Public Schools' teachers union is the lone group without a contract. BTF president Phil Rumore said the district has delayed for two years, saying Wednesday that the previous superintendent "lost interest" in negotiations, but Rumore is hopeful the process will speed up under the new superintendent.

Williams, who also addressed the assembled teachers Wednesday, said Friday that she hoped the contract would be resolved "as expeditiously as we can."

Woz ED partnership: Buffalo Public Schools announced a partnership with Woz ED, a STEM career pathway program directed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Representative Jim Klubeck explained the basics of Woz-ED, which aims to implement career-focused curriculums in high-demand fields such as cybersecurity, coding, drone technology, data science, app development, 3-D printing and more.

"Buffalo will be the first large urban Woz ED pathway district in the world," said Klubeck, who anticipated more updates in November.

Fosdick Field update: With the Buffalo Common Council and Mayor Byron Brown present at the address, Williams announced that the sale of Fosdick Field, in front of City Honors, back to the school district neared completion. 

The former Fosdick-Masten High School athletic field, which Williams called a "historic greenspace," closed in 1977 and has been owned by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority for most of the years since. The roller coaster process to reacquire the land for a planned $3.5 million athletic facility has taken much of the last three years.