The Crisis Prevention and Intervention Supports Department, under Director Aundrea Sanders, includes the following offices:

• Crisis Prevention and Response Team

• Attendance Improvement

• Alternative Education

• Medical Leave Instruction

• McKinney Vento

As of June 2019, the Buffalo Public School District is proud to offer a newly-enhanced model of the Crisis Prevention and Response Team. The enhanced model reflects the adaptations and changes necessary to better meet the standards outlined in the Superintendent's Education Bargain, specifically in terms of providing the highest quality services to our neediest children and families.

Every student has a right to educational opportunities that will enable the student to develop his or her fullest potential. Attendance policies are based on the principle that regular school attendance maximizes the student's interaction with his or her teachers and peers and is a major component of academic success.

Improved school attendance generally increases student achievement. Therefore, attendance policies that provide for the early identification of attendance problems and effective methods to address them are most likely to succeed. Successful implementation of any attendance policy requires cooperation among all members of the education community, including parents/persons in parental relations, students, teachers, administrators, and support staff.

Related Files

Attendance Improvement Toolkit

Reducing Chronic Absence Starting in the Early Grades: An Essential Ingredient for Promoting Success in School. A Toolkit for City Leaders.

This program provides support to ensure that homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free, appropriate, public education; including a public preschool education, with the opportunity to meet the same challenging state content and student performance standards.

The McKinney-Vento Act states that children and youth who lack “a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” will be considered homeless.

McKinney-Vento eligible students have the right to:

• receive a free, appropriate public education;

• enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment,   or having missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness;

• enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents;

• continue attending the school of origin, or enroll in the local attendance area school if   attending the school of origin is not in the best interest of the student or is contrary to the   request of the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth;

• receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested by the parent or   guardian, or by the local liaison on behalf of an unaccompanied youth; and

• receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according   to each student’s need.

The Alternate Instruction Program in the Buffalo Public School District is aligned to the District’s Education Bargain. The philosophy is that all children will be provided with an equal and high-quality education and as educators we must deliver on this essential democratic principle.

Students are instructed virtually or in-person. For a student receiving Special Education Services, Alternate Instruction and Interim Alternate Education Setting (IAES) is provided in an in-person format.

Program Instruction Time Allotments Grades K-6: 2 hour per day Suggested allotment: Thirty minutes for each of the four core areas. Program Instruction Time Allotments Grades 7-12: 3 hours per day Suggested allotment: Forty-Five minutes for each core area.

The Medical Leave Home Instruction (MLHI) Services in the Buffalo Public School District is based on the District’s Education Bargain with Students and Parents. The philosophy is that all children will be provided an equal and high-quality education and as educators we must deliver on this essential democratic principle. These programs are designed to support and facilitate standards-driven learning for students at Buffalo Public Schools who are unable to attend school because due to prolonged illness or hospitalization.

Starting July 1, 2023, instruction time will increase to a maximum of 10 hours per week at the elementary school level. At the secondary school level, the student shall receive a maximum of 15 hours of instruction per week. Once it has been determined that a student requires medical leave instruction, the frequency of such instruction will be dependent upon the student’s grade level.