
The sound of children’s voices can be heard in the background as Brianna Lanoye, ’13, talks about the work she is doing as the principal of Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School 2. She explained that the school secretary just went home sick, so she is helping with dismissal.
For the past five years, Lanoye has brought this kind of roll-up-your-sleeves-and-put-in-the-hard-work sensibility to her position at BuffSci 2.
“I'm not going to ask somebody to do something that I'm not going to do myself,” she said, noting that the concept of being a person of action is something that resonated with her during her time at Niagara University. “I believe in servant leadership—leading by example and creating an environment where team members can thrive.”
Lanoye, who grew up in Western New York and is a first-generation college student, enrolled at Niagara University because she found it to be a caring community where the professors were genuinely excited about the courses they taught and invested in the success of their students. She studied theatre and English because of her interest in performing and reading, but also enjoyed her general education classes for the way they helped her develop an appreciation for diverse perspectives.
“The philosophy and religion courses were really interesting to me, because it's all about the way you think and about understanding and looking to grow and learning from others,” she said.
Opportunities to travel to Panama and Guatemala, where she experienced and celebrated different cultures, shaped her world view as well, she said.
“You don’t realize how much we take for granted, and how important gratitude is and how important it is to give to others,” she said.
Experiences like these helped to prepare Lanoye for her future work in education, which began as a one-on-one aide at the Summit Center and continued through a three-year position with Teach for America in Buffalo Public School 6, during which she earned her master’s degree in education. She also obtained an advanced certification in TESOL from Niagara because she was inspired by the immigrant and refugee community at her school.
“It was the most incredible experience,” she said. “There was 20 languages spoken in my classroom, and kids were learning from each other. It was very powerful, and I got to see a lot of student success.”
Her students also motivated her to think more about educational equity and what she could do to ensure all students had access to high-quality education, she said.
In 2018, Lanoye received a fellowship with the Building Excellent Schools program, which trains individuals to lead urban charter schools. That opportunity led to her current role as the founding principal of BuffSci 2 Elementary, a tuition-free, college preparatory charter school that is regularly recognized as the best in the region. Despite some difficult COVID-era years, Lanoye built a team of dedicated educators and grew the school from 60 students to 400 in grades PreK to fourth from the East Side of Buffalo. About half of the student population identifies as Asian American or Pacific Islander, and another 40% identify as Black or African American. More than half of the students live within a mile of the school.
Lanoye leads the school with a commitment to working with her families to create change and foster student success. Community outreach is a critical part of the work she does, she said. “The importance of building community and partnering with a variety of stakeholders to work toward a shared vision” is something she learned while she was a student at Niagara, she added.
“We host two community days a year, where we do different events throughout the neighborhood,” she said, noting that they support block clubs, the annual National Night Out, and food and clothing pantries. “All these things have really made us a community hub, and I think that people see that we're authentic in our efforts and care a lot about our kids and our families. The biggest risk that you can take is saying ‘I trust you to educate my child well and to be with my child for eight hours a day.’ That’s something we don't take lightly, and I think that we've been able to be so successful because we view our families as our partners.
“I’m very passionate about showing what our students are capable of, especially in the City of Buffalo,” she continued. “It’s a great honor and privilege to be able to work in Buffalo and provide educational equity in providing excellent school choices."