• “Equitable Literacy Instruction for Students in Poverty” assembles the knowledge of respected researchers, practitioners, and school leaders about how to support successful literacy development for students living in poverty. It is a must read for all who care about literacy, equity, and empowerment.” Linda Darling Hammond, former board member of the National Urban Alliance (NUA), President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute• “Osseo [Area Schools] and the NUA have established a dynamic partnership which is benefitting the students in their school district: Each school has worked to implement a school-wide application of NUA’s “high operational practices” focused on accelerating NUA’s “high intellectual performance” for all students.” Eric Cooper, President and Founder NUA
• The Fair Oaks Elementary School in Osseo has seen dramatic whole school student improvement. The school’s leadership has written a vignette that highlights the formative work underway in a scholarly publication on equity and literacy that will be published by Teachers College (Columbia University) Press. The publication “Equitable Literacy Instruction for Students in Poverty” will be released September 2024.” Read more about the whole school transformation at Fair Oaks School.
Professional Learning Cycles
In-Person – Virtual – Hybrid
“Give light and people will find the way.”
—Ella Baker
NUA Professional Learning Model
The National Urban Alliance partnership collaborations are defined by NUA’s steps of implementation. Go to the National Urban Alliance Professional Learning Model webpage for a three phase overview of the NUA implementation model including the educators, school leaders, coaches, district leaders, full staff and students. The graphic below provides context of how the Pedagogy of Confidence is effectively implemented with our whole school partnerships.
Professional Learning Cycles
The National Urban Alliance model of Professional Learning Cycles is a wrap around that includes virtual meetings with PLTs (Professional Learning Teams by grade and/or content) a week prior to the on site visit by an NUA mentor. The visual below provides an overview, and click here for more details.
Watch the video below of The Pedagogy of Confidence in action in Redwood City School District, CA demonstrating the impact of NUA professional development on teacher practice and classroom culture.
“Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to visit classrooms in Clifford School’s National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (NUA) Lab School program about this priority initiative of the Redwood City School District. I am still basking in the glow of that inspiring visit. Not only were the students fully engaged in their learning, but the classrooms exuded joy and purpose.” Read the complete message.
Nancy Magee, Superintendent, San Mateo County Office of Education, Nov. 2022
RCSD Clifford Lab School: NUA & RCSD awarded 2023 SMCSBA Kent Award.
Watch more about Redwood City School District.
Let’s Get Started
Reach out to our Founder and President Eric Cooper to schedule a conversation about collaborating with The National Urban Alliance (NUA). NUA brings the Pedagogy of Confidence® model to your district for real change and authentic results in realizing the potential of all students and educators. We work with you to develop a cycle for professional learning (Professional Learning Cycles) that support educators’ professional development.
“I am lifted up by the elders… the responsibility that we share following in their footsteps… it spoke to me… humbly I stand before you… I strive to be a neural educator…”
Whole School NUA Collaboration – 2023
“Our partnership with Robert Price and the National Urban Alliance over the past three years has been pivotal in developing sustainability with the High Operational Practices that are embedded throughout our curriculum and daily routines. Fair Oaks staff have been on an NUA journey that began with a monthly cohort to both examine and increase our capacity to ensure equitable learning experiences for all students.
As a result of this work, our teachers recognize that NUA is not about isolated strategies for teaching particular concepts, but rather, we have had a philosophical shift in how we activate student voice and create equitable instruction that is purposeful across the curriculum.
Through this work our staff has made monumental gains in focusing on student outcomes, including our students’ use of schema to make connections and think critically about curriculum.”
—the paragraphs above and the complete reflection are from the Fair Oaks Leadership Team.
Click hear to Read, Watch Video and Learn More
Process
The National Urban Alliance (NUA) collaborates with schools and school districts through our Professional Learning Cycles. Professional Learning Cycles include:
- classroom demonstrations with students;
- educator professional development sessions;
- professional development with district coaches;
- professional development with district leaders;
- professional development with support staff;
- professional development with school boards;
- equity committee development;
- community engagement;
- and sessions designed specifically to amplify student voices.
—During Inductive Categorization of Questions
Powerful Questions in a Fair Oaks Elementary School third grade classroom part of the National Urban Alliance (NUA) and Osseo Area Schools collaboration.
Watch more about the Osseo Area Schools (MN)
Learn more about current and recent collaborations with National Urban Alliance:
- Redwood City School District (Bay Area CA)
- Osseo Area Schools (Minneapolis, MN area)
- Newark Public Schools (New Jersey)
- More recent collaborations
“When ‘I’ is replaced with ‘We’, even illness becomes wellness”
—Malcolm X
Pedagogy of Confidence Protocol
The Pedagogy of Confidence® Observation Protocol provides district and school partners with the tool to monitor progress from the beginning level of PoC implementation (Innovation), to developing PoC practices (Building) toward deeper and sustainable implementation (Sustainability). The PoC Protocol explicates the 7 High Operational Practices with indicators leading toward sustainable practices. The full document delineates the Essential Criteria and each of the three levels of PoC implementation for each of the 7 High Operational Practices.
“…the level of student engagement… for distance learning and when we move back into the traditional classroom settings…
using the Pedagogical Flow Map with priming and processing… take it up a notch…
…the district has done an amazing job…“
Watch more about Redwood City School District.
The Pedagogy of Confidence
Belief and Belonging
“Change the input and the brain changes accordingly.”
—Reuven Feuerstein
Principles
The Pedagogy of Confidence® approach to learning and teaching is based on the fearless expectation that all students are capable of high intellectual performances when provided High Operational Practices™ that motivate self-directed learning and self-actualization. The Pedagogy of Confidence® model, developed by Dr. Yvette Jackson, Senior Scholar and previously CEO of National Urban Alliance (NUA), is the model that is a grounding focus of NUA’s collaborations. The High Operational Practices (HOPs) are:
- Identifying and activating student strengths
- Building relationships
- Eliciting high intellectual performances
- Providing enrichment
- Integrating prerequisites for academic learning
- Situating learning in the lives of students
- Amplifying student voice
These seven High Operational Practices are the fulcrum around which the gifted education of the Pedagogy of Confidence revolves, gearing the objectives for each practice to facilitate students exploring and acting on their potential to produce the high intellectual performances that can motivate self-directed learning, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. The inherent strategies and actions used to identify and build on strengths, provide enrichment and create schema that connects to a student’s cultural frame of reference inherent in gifted education serve to enhance comprehension that results in strengthened competence, confidence, resilience and high intellectual performances (Jackson, 2017).
Pedagogy of Confidence Action Guide online at www.pedagogyofconfidence.net
Linda Darling Hammond
Learning Policy Institute • President and CEO
California State Board of Education • President
Linda Darling Hammond, former board member of the National Urban Alliance (NUA), was awarded the Yidan Prize Laureate for Education Research which includes $4 million in recognition of her work. “The Yidan Prize money will support our work on educator preparation building on the science of learning and development,
very much informed by NUA’s approach!” —Linda Darling Hammond, 2022 • Yidan Prize • Stanford University Article, 2022
“We claim what we feel we deserve.”
—David Whyte
“In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction.”
—Audre Lorde
An Author and Artist’s Perspective
“A sad, happy, moving, troubling, inspirational, humorous and brutal account of the people and experiences that formed this exceptionally well-formed man… (Tyler Merritt) … subtly and kindly reminds us of how much we have in common and that assumptions are made by fools.”
―Jimmy Kimmel
“…seeing the energy of the teachers, seeing the heartbeat in true desire and passion to help students… it was inspiring… equipping teachers to serve teachers effectively gives me hope for the future…”
Spoken word artist, author, activist Tyler Merritt speaks on the purpose and passion with NUA collaborations.
Self Direction
Self Actualization
“Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves, and be free.”
—Cesar Chavez
Middle School and Elementary School
Amplifying Student Voice using The Pedagogy of Confidence High Operational Practices. creating videos.
Amplifying Student Voice using The Pedagogy of Confidence High Operational Practices creating videos.
Purpose
Amplifying Student Voice focuses on students exploring, understanding and collaboratively sharing the purpose and methods of equity consciousness with peers as learners across all content areas. This is grounded with a focus on their cultural frame of reference. Amplifying Student Voice focuses on using High Operational Practices for High Intellectual Performance with NUA’s 4 Cs:
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Creative Thinking
- Critical Thinking
High School
Watch more Newark Public School student videos.
Watch more Newark Public School student videos.
Watch more video on Amplifying Student Voices.
“No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.”
—James Comer
“There’s no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes or heroines are or were.”
—Nina Simone
When Students Become Teachers
The National Urban Alliance’s “radical but refreshing approach” to involving students in teacher professional development is featured in this CNN news feature, which was hosted by CNN education contributor Steve Perry and broadcast on Anderson Cooper 360.
National Urban Alliance (NUA)
and Buffalo Public Schools
NUA previously partnered with eight Buffalo K-8 schools through the office of Office of Strategic Planning & Innovation between the school year 2014-18.
NUA’s Professional Development with Buffalo City Schools included training for educators, support staff, in classroom demonstrations, instructional coaches and site-based Instructional leaders. The Course of Study was designed around the High Operational Practices of the Pedagogy of Confidence™.
The video clips provide an understanding of NUA’s collaboration with Buffalo Public School 61 through the observations and reflections of administrators, teachers and most importantly the students amplifying their voices.
See more on the collaboration including short video clips with school leaders, coaches, students and educators.