National Urban Alliance | Osseo Area Schools

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National Urban Alliance (NUA) Mission
Professional Development and Cultural Relevance
NUA and The Pedagogy of Confidence
National Urban Alliance People

National Urban Alliance (NUA) Mission

The NUA’s mission is to substantiate an irrefutable belief in the capacity of all public school children to achieve the high intellectual performances demanded by our ever changing global community. Our focus is teacher and administrator quality through professional development which incorporates current research from cognitive neuroscience on learning, teaching, and leading. We partner with school districts to support the building of their capacity to advocate community-wide responsibility for realizing the learning potential of its children.

NUA helps districts provide school leaders and teachers with the opportunity, guidance and voice to identify what practices they need that will help them build on student strengths and engage them in learning essential skills, content and strategies.

It’s a given that students and teachers do not always come from the same racial or cultural backgrounds. NUA’s focus is on changing teachers’ perceptions and expectations of underachieving students in a way that pays particular attention to the cultural dimensions of these differences.

NUA and The Pedagogy of Confidence

In her book Pedagogy of Confidence, Yvette Jackson, NUA Senior Scholar, shows educators how to focus on students’ strengths to inspire learning and high intellectual performance. Jackson asserts that the myth that the route to increasing achievement by focusing on weaknesses (promoted by policies such as NCLB) has blinded us to the strengths and intellectual potential of urban students—devaluing the motivation, initiative, and confidence of dedicated educators to search for and optimize this potential. The Pedagogy of Confidence dispels this myth and provides practical approaches to rekindle educators’ belief in their ability to inspire the vast capacity of their urban students.
www.pedagogyofconfidence.net

National Urban Alliance (NUA) Mentors

Linda Montez – Co-Project Director
Linda Montes, Ed.D. was the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the Redwood City School District in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. She also oversaw the Department for English Learner Services providing guidance to administrators and teachers promoting grade level content standards while attaining proficiency in English. Dr. Montes served as an Assistant Professor at CSU, Chico in the Center for Bilingual and Multicultural Studies, preparing pre-service candidates for California’s diverse student population. Dr. Montes has recently joined the National Urban Alliance team, an organization that seeks to accelerate and raise student achievement through professional development based on the Pedagogy of Confidence and designed to promote students’ high intellectual performances.

Dr. Montes received her B.A. in Education with an emphasis in Special Education from Bowling Green State University, a Masters in Education from Stanford University developing her expertise as a leader in Educational Policy Analysis. Dr. Montes earned her Ed.D. from the University of Southern California in Educational Leadership focusing on the role of teacher leaders in an immersion setting. Dr. Montes has presented at various Bilingual Education conferences sharing best practices for students who are language learners. Dr. Montes was principal at Adelante Spanish Immersion School receiving the 2010 California Distinguished School Award and the 2011 Spanish School of the Year Finalist recognition from the Spanish Embassy of California. The Redwood City School District received the 2016 Multiple Pathways to Biliteracy Award from Californians Together under her guidance.
Read more about Linda Montes, Ed.D. | Senior Scholar | email

Dawn Fedora, M.Ed. – Co-Project Director
Dawn Fedora, M.Ed., is a career educator. Beginning as a fourth and fifth grade classroom teacher in a Minneapolis suburb for eight years, she also served as a gifted education specialist, a technology instructor, a literacy interventionist, an instructional coach, and a K-12 new-teacher mentor.

During her years of working in the Minneapolis area, Dawn taught courses at Hamline University as an Adjunct Professor in both Authentic Assessment and Curriculum Differentiation. She currently is both an Adjunct Professor in the College of Education and a Clinical Supervisor at the University of St. Thomas. Dawn is a Thinking Maps® Trainer and is certified in Cognitive Coaching and Peer Coaching practices. She became an Endorsed NUA Coach in 2008, and then went on to become an NUA mentor in 2016 and Regional Coordinator in 2017.
Read more about Dawn Fedora, M.Ed. | email

Toby Emert
Toby Emert, Ph.D., studied English and theatre as an undergraduate at Longwood College and began his career in the classroom with Virginia Beach City Public Schools as an English and drama teacher. He later directed an award-winning high school forensics and debate team for a small private school, for which he was named Virginia’s Forensics Coach of the Year and an “Outstanding Educator” by the Governor’s School of Virginia. After completing a master’s degree in Educational Administration at The College of William and Mary, he moved to the university setting, joining the staff of the Career Exploration Center at the University of Texas at Austin. He also holds graduate degrees from the University of Tennessee and the University of Virginia.

His work at the university level has included faculty appointments at the University of Virginia, Kennesaw State University, and the University of Kentucky. He currently holds the position of Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Education at Agnes Scott College, a small liberal arts college for women near Atlanta, Georgia, where he teaches courses in language and literature, the arts and education, educational technology, and radical pedagogies.

His research and writing focus on issues of equity and access to quality education for groups of students who have traditionally been underserved and marginalized in schools and classrooms. He studies the work of Brazilian theatre artist/activist Augusto Boal, who developed a system of drama-based structures to highlight and disrupt oppression: Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). Dr. Emert has served as the president of the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO) organization and has co-edited a collection of academic essays about TO titled, “Come Closer”: Critical Perspectives on Theatre of the Oppressed, with Dr. Ellie Friedland (Peter Lang, 2011).
Toby Emert tobyemert@gmail.com

Louise Lindsay
Louise Lindsay believes that trust is central to educational progress. When working with both students and teachers, she begins by listening and building relationships. She then supports learners as they challenge themselves to grow.

Ms. Lindsay brings a wealth of classroom experience to her work with the NUA. After earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees at The College of Charleston, she began her career as a Social Studies teacher. She then went on to teach Geography, English, Writing, Critical Thinking, and Math at secondary schools in Charleston, SC, Washington, DC, Chelsea, MA, and Newport News, VA. She has also worked as Department Head and Lead Teacher, helping teachers to write and implement curriculum and sharing management and instructional strategies.

Ms. Lindsay currently works as Innovation Coach for a school in Knoxville, TN where she guides teachers in developing integrated units of study focused on student-centered learning and writes curriculum for the school’s STEAM Into Service program.

Ms. Lindsay came to the NUA as a mentor because she recognized her own philosophies of building relationships and fostering high intellectual performance in The Pedagogy of Confidence and the work of the NUA. She also loves the culture of the alliance as all maintain a huge amount of excitement about learning and teaching. She brings the NUA energy and a high level of commitment to her work with districts.
Louise Lindsay louise.lindsay1876@gmail.com

Stefanie Rome
Stefanie B. Rome has been a member of the NUA family since 2003. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas and earned her Master of Education degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis with Principal Certification. Stefanie is continuing her studies at MU, pursuing her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. Her research interests include: Critical Race Theory, Black Feminist Epistemology and Social Justice Leadership Theory.

Stefanie spent 12 years as an elementary classroom teacher and more than 25 years in multiple educational roles: Teacher Coach, Teacher Advisor, Mentor Teacher, Reading and Literacy Specialist, English as a Second Language Specialist, Assistant Project Director, Project Director, Adjunct Professor and currently as Regional Project Director of the NUA/Newark Public Schools Initiative.

With experience in both urban and rural settings, serving both public and charter schools across the United States, Stefanie fostered an unwavering belief in the potential of all students, the capacity of their teachers, and the power of The Pedagogy of Confidence^©.

She has shared her work with the education community as a keynote speaker and session facilitator via professional conferences and gatherings including: NUA’s Teach for Intelligence Conference (TFI), Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Conference, National Charter Schools Conference, Harvard’s Alumni of Color Conference, and Oxford’s Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism (ISGAP).

Stefanie, her husband, Kevin D. Rome, Sr, Ph.D.. and their 15-year-old children, Kevin D. Rome, Jr., and Kendel A.C. Rome, feel fortunate to call the Nashville community home and are honored to be members of the Fisk University family.
Stefanie Rome scbrome320@gmail.com

Robert Seth Price
Robert Seth Price is a senior scholar with National Urban Alliance. Robert understands the power of lived stories. He collaborates with the student’s and participant’s voices as part of his integrative projects. He incorporates technology, art, and music into his teaching, trainings and collaborations. Robert’s Mobile Critical Thinking Tools for Equity in Learning and Teaching is currently used as a foundational practitioners guide in Redwood City. Current and previous collaborations include Thinking Foundation with research, case studies, and video documentation for visual tools; grass roots implementation of Thinking Schools Ethiopia and Thinking Design Healthcare Ethiopia; culturally relevant virtual learning focusing on ELA development with autonomous learners for Learning 1 to 1 Foundation; teaching over ten years in K-5 urban schools and a public arts high school; adjunct professor for ELA and technology university courses; multiple amplifying student voice projects; and critical thinking training modules for textile workers.
Robert Seth Price robert@eggplant.org

Eric Cooper
Eric Cooper is the President of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (NUA). He served in a similar position as Executive Director for the NUA at Columbia University’s Teachers College and as Adjunct Associate Professor for 7 years. Prior to this position, he was the Vice President for Inservice Training & Telecommunications for the Simon & Schuster Education Group. He has worked in the capacities of Associate Director of Program Development for the College Board, Administrative Assistant in the Office of Curriculum for the Boston Public Schools, and Director of a treatment center for emotionally disturbed students, in addition to working as a teacher, researcher, counselor, and Washington Fellow.

Additional professional activities include: producer of educational documentaries and talk shows; producer for the Public Broadcasting Service; congressional testimony for House committees; presentations for federal and state educational agencies; advisor to the International Reading Association, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Editorial Advisory Board, and the Journal of Reading. Eric has been a member of the Select Committee in Educating Black Children; fund-raiser for the National Conference on Educating Black Children; chief advisor for the Thinking Skills Project, Macmillan Publishing Company; director of restructuring team for the Mt. Vernon Public Schools (NY); and has served on the advisory board of WGBH/PBS, Boston, MA. He was honored in 2005/2006 to speak at the prestigious Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival along with participants such as: Colin & Alma Powell, Bill & Hillary Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Breyer, Brian Greene, Alan Greenspan, Katie Couric and many more.
www.nuatc.org

Yvette Jackson
Yvette Jackson is internationally recognized for her work in assessing the learning potential of disenfranchised urban students. Her research is in literacy, gifted education, and the cognitive mediation theory of Reuven Feuerstein. She has applied her research to develop an integrated process to motivate and elicit potential in underachievers. This research was the basis for her design of the New York City Gifted Programs Framework when she was the director of gifted programs. Her book Pedagogy of Confidence is a grounding for the collaboration with Redwood City. As executive director of instruction and professional development for the New York City Board of Education, she led the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Education Plan, which optimizes the delivery of all core curriculum and support services in the public schools of New York City.
www.pedagogyofconfidence.net

Dr. Toby Emert

Toby Emert, Ph.D., studied English and theatre as an undergraduate at Longwood College and began his career in the classroom with Virginia Beach City Public Schools as an English and drama teacher. He later directed an award-winning high school forensics and debate team for a small private school, for which he was named Virginia’s Forensics Coach of the Year and an “Outstanding Educator” by the Governor’s School of Virginia. After completing a master’s degree in Educational Administration at The College of William and Mary, he moved to the university setting, joining the staff of the Career Exploration Center at the University of Texas at Austin. He also holds graduate degrees from the University of Tennessee and the University of Virginia.

Dr. Eric Cooper
Eric Cooper is the President of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (NUA). He served in a similar position as Executive Director for the NUA at Columbia University’s Teachers College and as Adjunct Associate Professor for 7 years. Prior to this position, he was the Vice President for Inservice Training & Telecommunications for the Simon & Schuster Education Group. He has worked in the capacities of Associate Director of Program Development for the College Board, Administrative Assistant in the Office of Curriculum for the Boston Public Schools, and Director of a treatment center for emotionally disturbed students, in addition to working as a teacher, researcher, counselor, and Washington Fellow.

Dr. Yvette Jackson
Yvette Jackson is internationally recognized for her work in assessing the learning potential of disenfranchised urban students. Her research is in literacy, gifted education, and the cognitive mediation theory of Reuven Feuerstein. She has applied her research to develop an integrated process to motivate and elicit potential in underachievers. This research was the basis for her design of the New York City Gifted Programs Framework when she was the director of gifted programs. Her book Pedagogy of Confidence is a grounding for the collaboration with Redwood City. As executive director of instruction and professional development for the New York City Board of Education, she led the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Education Plan, which optimizes the delivery of all core curriculum and support services in the public schools of New York City.
www.pedagogyofconfidence.net