Current Projects

Current National Urban Alliance (NUA)  collaborations include:

A brief overview of each project follows, including a link above and below to a specific website for the collaboration.

Redwood City School District, CA
In October 2019, Dr. John Baker and Dr. Yvette Jackson refined and agreed upon a shared memorandum of understanding (MOU) that defined the roles of all participants in this collaboration. This led to the operationalizing and formalizing our work in RCSD using the push-in model, informed by the MOU. The push-in model allows for in-classroom professional development at the three lab schools with a focus on each school’s course of action pedagogical flow maps (PFMs). The project has expanded to include:

  • more schools
  • school board training
  • equity committee for the whole district
  • amplifying student voice

Read more about the collaboration on the Redwood City Blog

Newark Public Schools, NJ (through 2021/22 school year)
The National Urban Alliance (NUA) and Newark Public Schools (NPS) currently collaborate on professional leadership and teacher development, and with amplifying student voice for the majority of NPS high schools. The NUA Pedagogy of Confidence© (POC) is rooted in equity consciousness, an end to systemic racism, quality education for all students and sustaining the actions of change. The current NUA/NPS collaboration builds on prior collaborations with consistent emphasis on student engagement for equity consciousness at both the high school and elementary school levels. The current collaboration focuses on the professional development of educators, leadership sessions with principals, leadership sessions with department heads/coaches, and amplifying student voice.
Read more about the collaboration on the dedicated website

Osseo School District, MN
Osseo Area Schools provide students “exceptional opportunities, support and partnerships that help them graduate with the confidence, courage and competence to make their dreams a reality”. With this vision in mind, Osseo Area Schools partnered with NUA in 2014, with a goal to build efficacy among administration staff and to deepen understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy. Osseo’s commitment to reaching and engaging students on the margins has been a priority, and partnering with NUA has served to achieve these results.

NUA and Osseo began their journey with a fully integrated approach, from the School Board to staff who interact with students. Using the Pedagogy of Confidence ® within the context of the Osseo’s C.L.E.A.R. framework, administration and staff have deepened and extended their capacity to turn the core beliefs into action.
Read more about the collaboration on the dedicated website 

New York City, NY Community District 7 School District
The goal for the year is to provide professional development on instructional practices that aligns with the District 7’s Goal #4 to “enhance transformational leadership capacity to effectively guide school communities toward a reimagined vision of teaching, leading, and learning.”

The emphases of the professional development will be based on the district’s 2021-2022 Goal Targets. The overall  goal is to provide each District #7 student with instruction based on district goals:  high expectations and rigorous instruction, a welcoming and affirming environment, and inclusive curriculum and assessment within the framework of ongoing professional learning.

The professional development activities will address a set of Essential Questions related to instructional goals: 

  • High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction: 
    What classroom practices will foster the belief that the vast majority of students are capable of engaging in daily intellectually challenging learning experiences?
  • Welcoming and Affirming Environment: 
    What classroom practices will promote and support the social and emotional well-being, health, and safety of students?
  • Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment: 
    What classroom practices reflect a culturally sensitive curriculum and culturally responsive instruction and assessment, as defined by the work of Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s HILL model?
    What classroom practices will also promote students’ intellectual engagement, collaboration, ownership, and autonomy?