SLPS PARTNERS WITH URBAN EDUCATION ADVOCACY GROUP
TO CLOSE ACHIEVEMENT GAP

St. Louis – The St. Louis Public School District is teaming up with the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (NUA) as part of the district’s ongoing efforts to bolster student performance. The partnership is supported by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.  The goal is to close the achievement gap and help children at all levels reach their full potential. Beginning in January, eleven schools will participate in the program.
 
“Working with leaders and staff of the school district, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is supporting efforts that will help the St. Louis Public Schools create a strong culture of achievement that includes all educators and students,” said Commissioner Kent King.    
 
As part of the SLPS initiative, NUA will coach teachers in specific instructional strategies that build on students’ strengths and knowledge in ways that connect them to the ideas and skills of the curriculum. NUA mentors will go into the schools to assess how each one is organized for instruction, examining the building’s educational environment and how resources are used for student instruction.
 
“These mentors will work with the school district to provide ongoing professional development for teachers and administrators,” said SLPS Superintendent Diana Bourisaw. “The mentors will emphasize instructional strategies based upon research-based models and best practices.”   Much of the focus will be on concept and cognitive development, reasoning, thinking, and higher-order comprehension skills.
NUA has worked successfully in over twenty cities across the country, including Albany, Birmingham, New York City, Minneapolis, and Seattle. Their innovative approaches recognize that each school community faces distinct challenges, requiring proven models of instruction adapted to meet the needs of students.
 “Our team will join those in St. Louis who are already dedicated to education as a civil right of all children,” said Eric Cooper, founder and president of NUA.  “Our proven techniques will boost the strengths of educators and students to close the achievement gap - not only between black and white students, but also between every student’s current performance and their potential for excellence.”
Bourisaw is confident that NUA’s success in urban schools will enhance SLPS programs already in place to improve academic achievement.  SLPS and NUA want to see all students make significant strides every year.  
“The key to classroom success doesn’t lie solely on student test scores, but also in their belief, hope, determination and confidence,” Cooper said.   “It’s about making a commitment to all students and to the city.”
In the months ahead, the NUA leader and his colleagues will meet with St. Louis stakeholders.  They plan to work with SLPS teachers, administrators and parents, as well as the civic and business communities.  The goal is to identify priorities and best practices that will make up the SLPS/NUA initiative.     
 
St. Louis Public Schools, with an enrollment of more than 30,000 students, is the largest school district in Missouri.

The National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (NUA) ® was founded in 1989 with a vision of school reform based upon three beliefs:  all children are capable of attaining high educational standards; intelligence is modifiable, not fixed; and all stakeholders in the community must be involved in addressing the social, cultural, and intellectual needs of our youth.