BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Creating safer schools and decreasing violence between young people, that's the goal of the “No Excuses” Community Forum.
"We're making sure resident voices are heard and are part of shaping whatever approach does become exhibited,” forum special projects facilitator Sherry Sherrill said.
The forum will meet monthly until December, when they will have a plan to present to school and city leaders. Forum moderators said they want to bring resources to the community and parents.
"There are people in the community who are concerned, who are trying to solve these homicides, prevent these homicides, who are trying to make safer schools,” forum moderator Betty Jean Grant said.
Interim superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools, Doctor Tonja Williams, said attending these forums is a crucial part to making a change.
"I want to hear the lived experiences of our parents, of our children, of community stakeholders,” Doctor Williams said.
She said students and parents have told her what needs to be better throughout the school system.
"We're going to prioritize what we're going to be working on, what we're going to be focusing on,” Doctor Williams said. “But it will certainly fall into two large buckets: school safety and educational excellence.”
Doctor Williams said meetings like these are the first step in creating excellence throughout the district.
"We are trying to do things differently, innovatively,” Doctor Williams said. “We can't keep doing the same old or we will keep getting the same outcomes."
"Time out for excuses,” Grant said.
If you're interested in getting involved, the no excuses community forum meets the last Thursday of each month from 5 PM to 8 PM at the Frank E. Merriweather Library.
