BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Persistence Prep Charter School founder Joelle Formato accepted the $100,000 prize, which will fund scholarships for students pursuing high school and college opportunities.
The school received the award through the Robert Wilmers Integrity Prize, an honor that recognizes community impact and continues the legacy of former M&T Bank Chair Robert Wilmers.
"It's incredible. We're very excited," said Joelle Formato, founder and head of school at Persistence Prep Charter School, who recently accepted the award.
The prize money will fund scholarships for students pursuing high school or college opportunities.
"I never had the opportunity to meet Mr. Wilmers, but I'm familiar with his work with 'Teach for America' Buffalo, with the 'Buffalo Promise Neighborhood', and to see other leaders in our community, I think give you know so much respect and care to public education as a whole is really powerful," Formato said.
The school opened in 2018 and has grown to 490 students in kindergarten through 8th grade, centered around preparing students for college at an early age. Classrooms are named after colleges and universities.
"You'll see all of our classrooms are named after colleges and universities, so that our students can just start to connect the dots of why we push them so hard, of why we want so much for them, so that they can dream really big and understand what's out there," Formato remarked.
Formato tells me the school population is very diverse.
"Ninety percent of our families are from a low socioeconomic background. Majority of our students are students of color as well. And again, it's really about making sure that families know that they have a different choice," Formato explained.
Formato said the school also focuses on social justice.
"We want them to have the character skills, the leadership skills, to understand that they have voice and a voice that's really powerful that can affect change," replied Formato.
I met with 4th grader Summer Knight, who has already taken a college tour. Summer reflected on what she values about the school.
"...In the classrooms, we show respect, and we have rules," Summer replied. “I like that the teachers really care.”
Her mother, Courtney Knight, said she has watched her daughter thrive since enrolling at Persistence Prep.
"I can see the growth in her and see her go from first grade when she began up to fourth grade now, and just to just see her progress is really amazing. Her loving math, ELA, even science," Knight said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
