Buffalo Creek Academy parents rush to find new school for children

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Parents and students at Buffalo Creek Academy (BCA) are rushing to search for new educational options for their children as the school announced that it will be closing on Friday.

Nearly 200 students at BCA were informed earlier this month that they had until the end of the school year before the school would be shut down after the SUNY Board of Trustees decided to not renew the school’s charter.

School leaders said a shortage of teachers and pressure on substitutes have forced the closure to be accelerated.

“We have some fine people that are inside the classrooms, but at the end of the day, in many cases, the substitutes aren’t teaching on content and sometimes they’re not very familiar with the students," said Dr. Christopher Manning, the founder and CEO of BCA. "So what you have is they’re not necessarily learning as strong as they would with a core teacher, and they’re not as supervised, as strong as they would be. Our kids deserve better than that.”

The closure of BCA on South Park Avenue marks the end of a short-lived journey, as the school opened its doors in 2020. The school primarily served 5th through 8th graders and had requested a three-year renewal from the SUNY Board of Trustees. However, the board cited academic performance issues and voted against the renewal.

Initially, the school was given until the end of the academic year to transition, but last Saturday, that timeline was accelerated when the academy announced it would close on March 28.

“Even water came to my eyes, to see the school closed up and what has been done for me and my family,” said Brian Boucher, the father of a student at BCA.

In an effort to assist families in finding new educational options, BCA held a school fair on Tuesday.

The fair aimed to connect families with local districts, charter schools and private schools to help with the transition. Manning explained the logistical challenges of transferring students' mid-year.

“We have a system that has to be in place to transfer students anytime throughout the academic year to make sure that their grades are transferred over," Manning said. "They are transferring to New York State School, so they’re going to be on the curriculum, but at an adolescent level, yes, that’s difficult there. It’s a new school. At the end of the day, they are going to have to go to a new school."

“At first, it hit her like a rock," Boucher said of the emotional impact the closure had on his daughter. "I tell her, 'Baby, your daddy has this, your school has this, everything will be okay.'”

As of Tuesday morning, Manning confirmed that 110 families have been placed in new schools, but nearly 60 students still need to find a place to finish the academic year.

Manning also said that the closure affects teachers.

"I’ve been spending a lot of lion’s share of my time on job fairs, talking to employers, talking to schools, talking to teachers and school leaders,” he said.

No specific number was provided on how many teachers may be left without jobs or will continue teaching at a new school.

A spokesperson from Buffalo Public Schools, who was present at the fair, said that next week they would provide numbers on the students and staff they will be accepting.

“That was the right decision for the school," Boucher said. "Make it for the better for the kids, not for itself, for the kids."

Another school fair will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the school as BCA works to place more students in schools.

Classes will continue through the rest of the week, with a half day scheduled for Frida. Dismissal will be at 11:30 a.m.