“Reflective practices for students and teaches. Inclusive environments are created when we know their needs. Know the students as individuals.”
—Educators

Leadership Training – NUA and All School Leaders 
January 2022
Training facilitated by Yvette Jackson, Linda Montes and Maria Sudduth with all Redwood City School District leaders including Superintendent Dr. Baker.

“Everybody’s voice is valid. 
These structures of the NUA program give everybody a framework of a voice.”
—Teacher

Classroom Observations with the Pedagogy of Confidence Protocols
December 2021
The Pedagogy of Confidence® (PoC®) 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.

“You help a lot of students. Hearing other students from other schools speak up helps us relate to them”
—Student

Amplifying Student Voice
Self Direction — Self Actualization
May 2021
Students share their perspectives on “What is Student Voice” with elementary and middle school students across Redwood City School DIstrict.

“I learned so much from my teammates… providing different methods for students to show their learning. 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, to take it up a notch.”
—Teacher

Clifford School Grades 4/5 Team
April 2021
Grade 4 and 5 teachers at Clifford Elementary School are interviewed by the district coach in the video interview. Their reflective conversation provides insight to the professionalism of the team, the excitement of being collaborative and creative colleagues, and the gifts they bring to each other and importantly the students.

“Our work has been very inspiring. Our committee was formed in response to the Redwood City School Board request to develop Administrative Regulations for our newly adopted Equity policy.”
—RCSD Assistant Superintendent

Redwood City School District Equity Committee
January 2021
The first of three Equity Committee sessions was held on January 22, 2021. The next two concurrent sessions will be held on the following two weeks. The sessions included over sixty participants in the sessions facilitated by Yvette Jackson, whose Pedagogy of Confidence research and book are the focus of the equity consciousness focus. The first sessions are available to view in four videos on The Equity Committee webpage. 

“The goal here is to think about equity systemically.”
—Linda Darlling Hammond, California State Board of Education President

California State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling Hammond
February 2021
The third session with The RCSD Equity Committee included a presentation by California State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling Hammond. Dr. Darling-Hammond provided an overview of the Districts Advancing Racial Equity (DARE) Tool as part of The Equity Committee process. Linda Darling-Hammond is President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute and the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University. She is author or editor of a number of award-winning books and more than 500 publications on education policy and practice. Her work focuses on achieving equitable and empowering education for all children through a focus on meaningful learning, educator quality, and adequate resources.

Video above is an excerpt from the Redwood City presentation. 
The whole session is available online (click on this link).

NUA Summer Institute – Redwood City Superintendents and Board Members
June 2021
This session included the Redwood City School Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, along with two school board members and the NUA Project Director sharing the project collaboration.

“We could really demonstrate the growth of the [NUA] High Intellectual Performances with a variety of measures for all students.”
—Dr. John Baker – Superintendent

“We saw a need for high expectations for all students really honoring each students culture and lived experiences.”
—Alisa MacAvoy – RCSD School Board President

“Assured that we created this collective action to move this work forward. Take each of our departments and align our thinking from this tool which had specific steps. We documented our work along the way… getting students to self actualize.”
—Dr. Linda Montes – Assistant Superintendent

“From my lens as an immigrant and an English learner when you are motivated, actively engaged, empowered, encouraged with student bravery which made it into our vision.”
—Cecilia Marquez – RCSD School Board Member

“Connections to students schema, their own learned experiences.” 
—Maria Sudduth – NUA Project Director

“Not everyone learns at the same pace.”
—Student

Amplifying Student Voice Across Schools
December 2020
The Amplifying Student Voice goes virtual with students facilitated in multiple sessions with their voices on equity, virtual learning and the quality of their education a focus. The students learning and questions have included survey with their voices that is being implemented in December 2020 and January 2021. The video provides a view of the sessions of with the students. Download the accompanying PowerPoint used with the students.

“It was a good idea to do this to show how they focus better when they have positive energy around them.”
—Student

“NUA has given me the tools, the strategies and it has helped me believe.”
—Teacher

“It was a really good idea to do this, because it benefits the students, and the teachers.”
—Student

NUA-RCSD Collaboration
March 2020
The following video clip is a compilation of the National Urban Alliance (NUA)  and Redwood City School District (RCSD) collaboration that includes Amplifying Student Voice and educator interviews. Roosevelt Elementary, Garfield Community School and Hoover Community School were part of the initial collaboration. This summer there were multiple trainings for the schools listed above (Cohort 1) and schools now joining the collaboration as Cohort 2:

• Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School
• Kennedy Middle School
• Clifford School
• McKinley Institute of Technology
• Orion School

“To have things happening in your district that are so inspirational and so hopeful.”
—Yvette Jackson, NUA Senior Scholar, Author Pedagogy of Confidence

“This work is so timely for the moment we are in, with the rich and engaging conversations and the importance of student voice.”
—Board President

“It would be very important to have board training of National Urban Alliances Pedagogy of Confidence High Operational Practices.”
—Board Member

RCSD School Board
June 2020
In June 2020 at the school board meeting NUA along with Assistant Superintendent Linda Montes presented an overview of the collaboration. The video is an excerpt from the board meeting with all board members sharing positive observations and questions.

“Instructional design and powerful pedagogy. The rhythm of the session, stepping into Research rationale.”
—NUA Mentor

The Pedagogical Flow Map
April 2020
It’s great to see the “flow” of a unit/concept etc. This will be super helpful for all our teachers as they go deeper teaching a unit/concept! Mediation will be key to a successful assessment.

Aha is how this all fits together within the context of a unit. Many connections to our work with SEAL then extending that learning on how these same strategies are used for teaching, for learning and for assessment purposes.

“NUA is taking any student no matter where they come from. Every child. Giving them the chance to be highly academic, the chance to succeed. NUA has motivated me to believe and set that standard.”
“NUA focuses on who the students are, social emotional learning, encompassing community building, bringing everything in. My classroom a whole rounded classroom. Being amazing citizens of society.”
—Teacher

NUA in Action Reflections and Concrete Examples
February 2020
Jael Testa (video on left) shares on this six minute video on how NUA is transforming her teaching with succinct reflections and concrete examples. Angela Ha and Jesse Reta (video on right) share the peer to peer coaching/collaboration experience part of the NUA and RCSD collaboration.

“NUA has rejuvenated my love and passion for teaching and working with teachers that is impacting with all of our students.”
—District Coach

NUA Understanding Journal
January 2020
Whitney Eakin, the District NUA Coach shares here NUA experience via her NUA Understanding Journal. Watch the video above to hear Whitney reflect on the use of her journal for herself and as a coach.

“I thought today was marvelous — energetic, loving, profound, inspiring. Your quotes are still “running around my brain,” and I cannot thank you enough for your willingness to be here with us today.   I hope you’re still glowing from last week’s event which is truly a highlight of this year’s program!”           
—Charlene Margot

NUA RSCD Parent Webinar
February 2021
Eric Cooper, president and founder of the NUA; regional director Maria Sudduth, senior scholar Robert Seth Price, and regional director and senior scholar, Stephanie C. Baker, joined Linda Montes, Assistant Superintendent for Equity, Redwood City for a Parent Venture on-line meeting of 88 parents.  Parent Venture’s Co-founder and CEO, Charlotte Margot, who moderated the session was joined by Bev Hartman, of Parent Ventura.