Buffalo Announces Expansion Plan

Buffalo will expand its Montessori program as part of a comprehensive initiative to reverse a dramatic decline in student enrollment.

In a plan announced in early December, the New York district's superintendent, James A. Williams, said the district would establish a second Montessori elementary school and a "Montessori-style" high school within two or three years. The district's Bennett Park Montessori elementary school has a waiting list of more than 200 pupils.

Buffalo lost almost 2,000 students, about 6 percent of its enrollment , this year, falling to 36,706. In 2000 the district enrolled about 46,000 students.