Back in Session: Launching a New Year of Learning and Action
Buffalo Prep’s academic year programming has officially begun! From Saturdays to after-school sessions, our scholars are back in action with full schedules, vibrant programming, and new opportunities to dive into learning, community, and leadership.
But this year brings something extra special: Buffalo Prep is beginning to introduce Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) into our curriculum. YPAR is a youth-led, adult-supported framework that empowers students to define the problems that matter most to them, conduct their own research, and take meaningful action in their schools and communities.
Alongside this exciting new step, our programs are back in session and ready for another year of learning, growth, and joy.
Programs Back in Session
- Prep Bridge (7th Grade): After completing Middle School Prep this summer, our newest Preppies are continuing their journey with Saturday programming during the school year.
- High School Prep (8th Grade): These scholars wrapped up their first summer session and now meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, plus Saturdays, laying the foundation for high school success.
- College Prep (9th-12th Grade): High school scholars have a welcoming space after school for tutoring, connection, and community as they prepare for college and beyond.
Together, these programs provide the strong academic and social foundation for scholars to thrive, and now, with the rollout of YPAR, to lead in new ways too.
High School Prep scholars in social studies, College Prep scholars hanging out in the lounge.
What’s New: YPAR in the Classroom
With our Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Pedagogy (CRSP) already woven into every program, YPAR is the natural next step. Researchers at UC Berkeley, one of the nation’s leading voices on this work, describe the framework as:
a youth-led, adult-facilitated empowerment process whereby young people are supported in building research and advocacy skills to study and improve their schools and communities.”
Our current problem- and project-based learning has always asked students to research solutions to big questions. YPAR takes that further: instead of teachers posing the essential questions, students themselves will define the problems, design and carry out research, analyze data, and share findings with real stakeholders, including community partners.
The YPAR Phases
- Defining the problem
- Selecting the research design and methods
- Developing tools and collecting data
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Developing proposed action steps
- Disseminating findings to stakeholders
- Taking action
This shift means Buffalo Prep scholars will go beyond answering questions. They’ll take ownership of the entire research and advocacy process, preparing them to be leaders and change-makers in their communities.
Want to see what kinds of projects our scholars have already taken on? Check out our summer blog, where students presented on issues that matter to them and their communities.
Building the Foundation: Our Rollout
- Year 1 (this year): Creating infrastructure. We’re training the educators and staff who will be hands-on with scholars, clarifying roles, and mapping how YPAR lives in the curriculum at each age level, what success looks like and what the “final product” entails.
- Years 2 & 3: Implementation and deepening. Each year evolves and goes deeper. As students and staff build fluency with YPAR, projects become more complex and student-driven.
- By Summer 2028: YPAR will be fully installed across all Buffalo Prep programs.
Special Guest: Dr. Dominique Hill
We were honored to welcome back Dr. Dominique Hill, Buffalo Prep Class of 1997, who returned to Buffalo to present her book Black Gurl Reliable: Pedagogies of Vulnerability and Transgression. Dr. Hill also joined our YPAR training, helping faculty launch this initiative.
Dr. Dominique Hill, Buffalo Prep Class of ’97, presenting her book and helping launch YPAR with our faculty.
Why YPAR Matters
YPAR is about giving young people a voice, agency, and the tools to turn their ideas into action. Research shows it strengthens not only academic skills, but also social-emotional development by addressing structural stressors that shape students’ daily lives and well-being.
At Buffalo Prep, we’ve always believed our scholars have superpowers. YPAR equips them with new ways to use those superpowers to spark meaningful change, inside the classroom and out in the community.
High School Prep scholar presenting one of her summer 2025 projects.
See & Learn More
Want to go deeper? Watch these short videos to hear more about YPAR in practice:
See It in Action
Here’s to a new year full of learning, joy, and student-led discovery as YPAR takes root across Buffalo Prep. We’d love for you to experience this work firsthand—join us at a Prep in Action this school year to see our scholars, staff, and curriculum in action.
