Mary C. Cummings, PDS Advisory Council member, has spent much of the month of October promoting the efforts of department programs and the PDS within the Buffalo community. This has not only served to inform the community but it supports Buffalo State's "Year of the City." Professor Cummings' accomplishments include:
1. Panel participant for the League of Women Voters. Topic: Multilingual challenges and what the Elementary Education and Reading Department is doing to help train Teacher Candidates. Other panel members included the Director of the Multilingual Education Department, the Coordinator of the Adult Education program, teachers and academic tutors for the Buffalo City Public Schools.
2. Moderated a roundtable discussion at the Buffalo State Community Academic Center (CAC). Topic: Voices of Youth Leadership. This roundtable was attended by youth leaders in programs on both the West and the East side of Buffalo that provide support in multiple ways; adult education, tutor and second language support, financial and educational literacy.
3. Presented at the Western New York Service Learning Conference recently held at Niagara University. Topic: Student Growth through Service Learning. This was a presentation based on a long term study of undergraduate teacher candidates participation in partnerships on the West and North West side of Buffalo. The study focused on areas of growth in the candidates understanding of diversity, second language acquisition and social studies content, and their own personal growth in connecting to the need to be a community member that serves.
4. Participated as a Board Member for XCel Leadership Center, which provides educational services to multiple populations on the North West Side of Buffalo; Journey's End Refugee Services, a refugee resettlement agency serving all of Buffalo; BELL Network (Buffalo English Language Learners) which provides cradle to career programming for students in the 14213 zip code.
