Buffalo high school grads can 'Say Yes'

By Mhairi Moorhead and Joe Losito
BengalNews Reporters 

West Side high school graduates that are applying for colleges in the upcoming months will be the first to have access to the Say Yes tuition program. 

Say Yes Buffalo is an educational program that partners with colleges, universities, Buffalo Public Schools, the City of Buffalo and many other institutions. It provides those students attending Buffalo Public Schools or Buffalo Charter Schools, a chance to receive college scholarships.

“There are no academic requirements to receive a Say Yes scholarship,” said Scholarship Director, Allison Newman. “The main criteria for receiving the award are that the child live in the City of Buffalo and has attended a Buffalo Public or Charter school since the beginning of 9^th grade.

The program is funded by local private donors, foundations and organizations that help organize people, time, money and resources to provide year-round support to Buffalo Public School District students throughout their K-12 years and beyond.

For those eligible who can’t move away from home, there are schools located in the West Side that participate in Say Yes, including one SUNY school, Buffalo State and one private school, D’Youville College.

“For the SUNY and CUNY tuition guarantee, there are no financial requirements. Students who meet eligibility requirements can receive this award regardless of family income,” said Newman.

There are many private schools that participate in the program that students should consider as well. For the Private Partner colleges, as long as the household income is below $75,000 per year, they will pay any remaining balance that Pell and Tap grants don’t cover. Those students of households earning above $75,000 a year can still apply for the Say Yes Buffalo Choice Grant, which provides $5,000 per year in addition to other financial aid and the cost of full-time tuition.

 “One of the reasons that I am excited to work with Say Yes is that this is not a program of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” said Ellicott District Common Council Member, Darius G. Pridgen, who works on the Education Committee. “My opinion is that this can be a game changer when it comes to higher-level education of our students.” 

 David Rust explains how George Weiss developed the Say Yes program:  

“There’s about 15 scholarship programs in the country right now, but we’re the only one that comes with the services we offer,” said Say Yes Executive Director David Rust.

Say Yes Buffalo provides different types of support, including tuition scholarships to one of nearly 100 colleges and universities, mentoring, tutoring, school-day academic support to family outreach, social work and psychological services. 

“This is a total program that gets involved with the school life, education life, and student life in Buffalo Public Schools,” said Pridgen.

In 2008, Syracuse was the first community selected by Say Yes to apply the strategies and support to all 32 schools in the district.

“In the five years that Say Yes has been in Syracuse, they’ve seen a 20 percent increase in graduates go on to college, a 6 percent increase in high school graduation rates, and a 70 percent decrease in children placed in foster care,” said Newman.

In December of 2011, Say Yes announced it would create another charter in Buffalo and in the beginning of the fall 2012 school year, Say Yes will implement its programs and provide services to students and families throughout Buffalo.

“We are here to help, there’s no doubt about that, and we are going to be here a long time,” said Rust. “This is not just a 3 year in-and-out grant.”

For more information on the Say Yes program and for a full list of colleges and universities participating in the program, you can visit the website at www.sayyestoeducation.org Edited by James Wright