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At some point, some parent (or group of parents) who does not want to live in the city but wants a kid to go to SUNY is going to find a way to call this discriminatory, fight it and win.. I would not move to the city in order to "count on it".
If you like the city , fine. If you want to go for this? I'd say it is a crapshoot.
I moved to Amherst 7 months ago from Texas, and let me tell you it is the safest and friendliest city I have EVER lived in, and I moved around a lot when I was growing up. I thought the same things as you before moving here-- thinking that Buffalo is a crime infested "slum" of a city. That's the mental picture many people who have never been here have. It's actually been named America's #1 safest city for many, many years. I've seen multiple people leave their cars running with the doors unlocked as they went into the store to grocery shop (in Amherst, not in the city of Buffalo).
If this helps, I also thought before moving here that Buffalo was going to be "ugly". It is far from ugly. It's a truely beautiful city with interesting architecture and lots of pretty parks, lakes, and creeks. I moved to Williamsville and there is a park here called Glen Park that has a waterfall that is sooo pretty and fun to take walks around. In the Spring and Summer there is a farmers market, too.
Go for it! Amherst is a really great place to raise a family. And this is coming from someone who was extremely reluctant to move here.
I should have also added that the Amherst and Williamsville school districts are top rated.
There's always festivals going on. There are a lot of walking and biking trails, streets lined with cute little shops (Main St. in the village of Williamsville, the Elmwood strip in Kenmore, East Aurora, etc...), places to fish and kayak, Niagara Falls...lots to do, especially with high school aged kids!
The people here are incredibly friendly and kind. I always get waves "hello" from people as I drive by. Whenever I take my kids to the park to play everyone is very talkative and inviting.
I moved to Amherst 7 months ago from Texas, and let me tell you it is the safest and friendliest city I have EVER lived in, and I moved around a lot when I was growing up. I thought the same things as you before moving here-- thinking that Buffalo is a crime infested "slum" of a city. That's the mental picture many people who have never been here have. It's actually been named America's #1 safest city for many, many years. I've seen multiple people leave their cars running with the doors unlocked as they went into the store to grocery shop (in Amherst, not in the city of Buffalo).
If this helps, I also thought before moving here that Buffalo was going to be "ugly". It is far from ugly. It's a truely beautiful city with interesting architecture and lots of pretty parks, lakes, and creeks. I moved to Williamsville and there is a park here called Glen Park that has a waterfall that is sooo pretty and fun to take walks around. In the Spring and Summer there is a farmers market, too.
Go for it! Amherst is a really great place to raise a family. And this is coming from someone who was extremely reluctant to move here.
Just wanted to add that many areas of Buffalo also have that friendly attitude (some are a bit pretentious in my opinion but that's also true of suburban areas as well I suppose). Like I said, when you add up all the substantial cash savings from interest, lower taxes, growth potential of real estate (both houses I own have appreciated more than 30% in the past 6 years in a market that is otherwise flat), there are lots of reasons to live in Buffalo. I choose to live here because I hate driving and so it suits my lifestyle. Being cooped up in a metal box is far less appealing than walking, biking or taking public transportation to work. But I suppose to each their own. Incidentally, you can Google Delaware Parks or Olmsted Parks (under images) if you are interested in seeing some nice parks. There's also South Buffalo which has some very nice areas but is a little less accessible with transit.
Checked the links and found:
From it's mission statement:
"Say Yes is committed to providing this support to at-risk children and their families, enabling them to graduate from high school, accomplish post-secondary educational success, and achieve meaningful life goals, including giving back to their communities."
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Nice, liberal, private and -- if you assume they will cover every child in Buffalo -- you must therefore assume they think every child in Buffalo is high-risk and poor.
When the big funding is drying out, the parents who chose the city solely for this program will find it probably will go to "means testing"; read: poorer kids will get more money.
Are you really so naive? These programs have been done before.
From it's mission statement:
"Say Yes is committed to providing this support to at-risk children and their families, enabling them to graduate from high school, accomplish post-secondary educational success, and achieve meaningful life goals, including giving back to their communities."
-----------------------------------------------------
Nice, liberal, private and -- if you assume they will cover every child in Buffalo -- you must therefore assume they think every child in Buffalo is high-risk and poor.
When the big funding is drying out, the parents who chose the city solely for this program will find it probably will go to "means testing"; read: poorer kids will get more money.
Are you really so naive? These programs have been done before.
Actually, all kids can benefit from it. Here in Syracuse, the family income level is $75,000. Kids in families above that amount can still get the full benefit in regards to SUNY schools though. It targets at risk youth, but any child within that district can benefit from the program. So, it isn't JUST for at risk youth and their families. My sister actually works in the program here in Syracuse at one of the elementary schools and it is district wide.
Actually, all kids can benefit from it. Here in Syracuse, the family income level is $75,000. Kids in families above that amount can still get the full benefit in regards to SUNY schools though. It targets at risk youth, but any child within that district can benefit from the program. So, it isn't JUST for at risk youth and their families. My sister actually works in the program here in Syracuse at one of the elementary schools and it is district wide.
[I taught almost 30 years in Buffalo.] So why is it only for Buffalo? What about the poor and at risk kids outside the city line? In Erie County, if the family income is pegged at $75K, you could actually include a lot of towns, including lower income in mostly inner ring suburbs and rural. If you set a bar at $75K, make it a scholarship for any kid in the state, not just "poor and disadvantaged and at-risk" in certain city districts. Right now, it looks like a scam to me. After kids in Kindergarten now are using it? And it still exists? Then maybe I will believe it is for real... and it would need to not turn into a racial program. Buffalo has had those before and all have withered away and slunk out of town.
[Fairness for this kind of program was the REAL NY State Regents Scholarship ( now morphed into a pathetic TAP) -- where you took Regents classes and, in senior year, you took a 6 hour exam and only the top 5% of kids in the state got 100% SUNY scholarships. The next 5% were alternates (if someone in the top didn't use theirs by going out of state, they were passed to an alternate). Don't know when it disappeared, but I had one of them in the 1960s: no tuition to go to a SUNY school. ]
But buying in a district solely so you can get a scholarship on a program which is run by a private group? Suspiciously shady to me
[I taught almost 30 years in Buffalo.] So why is it only for Buffalo? What about the poor and at risk kids outside the city line? In Erie County, if the family income is pegged at $75K, you could actually include a lot of towns, including lower income in mostly inner ring suburbs and rural. If you set a bar at $75K, make it a scholarship for any kid in the state, not just "poor and disadvantaged and at-risk" in certain city districts. Right now, it looks like a scam to me. After kids in Kindergarten now are using it? And it still exists? Then maybe I will believe it is for real... and it would need to not turn into a racial program. Buffalo has had those before and all have withered away and slunk out of town.
[Fairness for this kind of program was the REAL NY State Regents Scholarship ( now morphed into a pathetic TAP) -- where you took Regents classes and, in senior year, you took a 6 hour exam and only the top 5% of kids in the state got 100% SUNY scholarships. The next 5% were alternates (if someone in the top didn't use theirs by going out of state, they were passed to an alternate). Don't know when it disappeared, but I had one of them in the 1960s: no tuition to go to a SUNY school. ]
But buying in a district solely so you can get a scholarship on a program which is run by a private group? Suspiciously shady to me
Race doesn't have anything to do with it and given realities in terms of urban school districts in regards to economics and academic achievement in a general sense, I can see why certain schools and districts are targeted. In Syracuse, the city, Syracuse University and other entities are involved as well.
Yeah, in general I am OK with the program. It makes city living a bit more desirable for those on the cusp of making a decision between urban and first ring suburban. There are many positives to living in Buffalo and this simply enhances the competitiveness of the city marketplace. BTW, the money is only to fill in the gaps between financial grants and family contributions. Most present city residents are far below the contribution point so this money ought to work for a long time to come. I believe if it gets a few more middle class families to move into Buffalo then it will have accomplished some purpose. Furthermore, people have a choice, they can choose to live in Buffalo and take advantage of this or they can choose not to. So for those at risk kids that live outside of Buffalo, those families can move into Buffalo and take advantage of this opportunity.
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