The Daily Bulletin

Please join us for the annual Buffalo State Center for English Teaching Spring Banquet on Friday, May 16, from 5:00 to 9:30 p.m. at Pearl Street Brewery. Tickets are $35 ($25 for students) and include a dinner buffet (see below for details), dessert, and coffee. A cash bar will also be available. Registration begins at 4:30 p.m. 

The Buffalo State English Education Student Association (EESA) will recognize Dr. William O’Neil-White (B.S. 2015, M.S.Ed. 2017), winner of the 2025 English Education Alumni Award. This award recognizes a graduate of the English education program at Buffalo State University whose work serves as an inspiration and model for teacher candidates in the program. Dr. O’Neil-White has been an English teacher at City Honors and Tapestry Charter School.  He will begin work as an associate professor of education at the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education this fall. 

Noah Falk, literary director of the Just Buffalo Literary Center (JBLC), will receive the EESA Community Award. This award recognizes an individual outside the field of secondary English education who has supported our students and program. Noah has been a board member of the Western New York Network of English Teachers for five years. Noah has collaborated with the Center for English Teaching on a variety of initiatives, including our literary magazine grants to encourage and support student-run literary magazines in local middle and high schools. He has supported our students in attending JBLC’s ongoing BABEL speaker series, as well as supporting various WNYNET initiatives through JBLC’s Civil Writes Project. Noah has also provided opening poems for our annual fundraiser for the past two years.

EESA will also recognize Mr. Steven Gregor, winner of the 2025 Inspirational Teacher Award. This award recognizes an English teacher who has demonstrated a commitment to Buffalo State English Education students and whose work serves as an inspiration to our teacher candidates. Steven is an ELA teacher at West Seneca West High School. He has worked with Buffalo State English teacher candidates for many years, opening his classroom for observations and related fieldwork.

The Western New York Network of English Teachers will present the annual WNYNET Distinguished Educator Awards to the following:

• Colin Dabkowski, Alden Central High School, Early Career Teacher Award
• Heather Mundy, West Seneca West High School, Experienced Teacher Award
• Cheryl Weaver, Buffalo Public Schools, Lifetime Achievement Award
• John Starkey, Lafayette International High School, Administrator of the Year Award

We will also recognize our program completers from the past year and the mentor teachers they have worked with.

Tickets are on sale until May 2 and include a full buffet dinner featuring smashed red potatoes, vegetables, six-cheese bow tie pasta, pot roast, and bone-in chicken as well as dessert and coffee. Tickets are $25 for students and $30 for non-students. 

Payments can easily be made to WNYNET through Venmo (@WNYNET). Alternatively, checks can be made out to "Western New York Network of English Teachers" and mailed to WNYNET, 309 Ketchum Hall, Buffalo State University, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222.

Tickets may also be purchased online at the Buffalo Alumni Association website.

Please join us to celebrate our program, students, and the work of these amazing educators.

Please email wnynet@gmail.com with any questions.