Mission & History

It is the mission of the Westminster Community Charter School that all students will graduate with the necessary foundation to be successful in high school and/or higher educational institutions and to become productive and contributing citizens in our society and community.

We achieve our mission by:

• encouraging excellence in all academic and personal pursuits

• creating an educational environment in which the pursuit of academic excellence and intellectual growth is complemented by a concern for the moral, physical, psychological and aesthetic development of each student
• developing and retaining excellent faculty and staff
• recognizing the fundamental importance of honesty, civility, public service and respect for others and the environment
• cultivating resilience, independence, leadership and moral courage
• sustaining a diverse, inclusive and multicultural community that affirms and values each individual
• attracting dedicated families committed to the mission of the school
• promoting programs in all divisions that integrate our students with the community
• developing financial and physical resources to support the school's needs.
• Students adapting the school pledge

School Pledge

I am a student of Westminster Community Charter School...Buffalo's BEST!

I respect my parents, my teachers, my classmates, and myself.

I am responsible for all of my behaviors.

I am learning to set goals for myself.

I come to school with a clean body and appropriate clean clothes.

I come to school prepared to learn with my homework, books, pencils, pens, and paper.

I come to school with a positive attitude and an open mind...ready to learn.

I come to school to learn and participate in order to get the best education I can.

History

1992 M&T Bank's management identifies an opportunity to positively impact the community by investing in education.

1993 M &T chooses to partner with Buffalo Public School 68, one of the lowest-performing schools in Buffalo.

1994 Dr. Yvonne Minor-Ragan is appointed as principal.

1995 School 68 is renamed Westminster Community School (WCS) to reflect the new community focus of the school.

1997 WCS exceeds the district average in math and reading on the nationally standardized Terra Nova exams for the first time.

1998 WCS partners with The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project of Columbia University - over 90% of staff participates in a week-long summer workshop.

1999 M &T Bank and Westminster are featured in CNN's "Investing in Futures." 2000 Summer school program begins with a capacity enrollment of 231 and a waiting list of 58.

2001 Dr. Ragan is honored as a Citizen of the Year by The Buffalo News.

2002 Dr. Ragan is selected to participate in an international study conducted by the University at Buffalo on five female principals from around the world.

2004 The Buffalo Board of Education approves the conversion of WCS to a charter school, with the new name of Westminster Community Charter School (WCCS).

2005 An official black and white school uniform is instituted.

2006 WCCS acquires a closed local library next-door to the school and integrates it into the school.

2007 M&T Bank receives a 2007 Pathfinder Lifetime Achievement Award for Education in recognition for bridging the gap between business and education.

2008 Westminster unveils a new addition, which includes three primary classrooms, a state-of-the-art health clinic, a new main office suite, a conference room, an atrium, a safer parking lot, a community playground and a basketball court.

2009 WCCS is granted a five-year charter renewal unanimously by the New York State Education Department, the New York Board of Regents and the Buffalo Board of Education.

2010 Westminster wins President Obama's Promise Neighborhood Grant $500,000.

2011  Promise Neighborhood program implementation begins.