BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Public School students will have a chance to weigh in on what to call Columbus day on the school calendar. The day is currently listed as both Indigenous People's Day and Italian Heritage Day.
A focus group will help decide how the day will be recognized on the district's calendar. In addition to students, the focus group will be made up of teachers, administrators, and parents. Students will receive input from adults and will make a presentation to the school board.
Anne Botticelli is the Chief Academic Officer for Buffalo Public Schools. She told 2 On Your Side that this is an opportunity to engage students academically and hear from different stakeholders in the district.
"We’re still working out some of the details as we meet with the students, and we’ll be meeting with both groups of teachers and administrators and parents as well," she said. "But we do want to ensure that students learn the history of the day itself, why it may or may not be a controversial topic, and they are really able to dive in and research deeply about the cultures."
A focus group is already scheduled for October. Several other focus groups will be scheduled through the remainder of the year.
There is no definite timeline, but she expects the school board will receive a proposal from the students who are chosen for the focus group by the end of winter or early in the spring of next year.
Botticelli also emphasized that the school board will have the final say on what to call the holiday on the school calendar.
