On this page:
- 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.
National Urban Alliance People
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.
Stefanie Rome – Project Director
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
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.
Eyka Luby Stephens
As a former teacher and reading specialist in Miami-Dade Public Schools, Eyka has seen firsthand the transformative potential of excellent teaching. Educators who work with Eyka respond to her passion for improving teaching and find in her an advisor who knows not only what exceptional teaching looks like but but also how to teach the specific steps required to make it happen.
A veteran of urban education, Eyka brings more than 15 years’ experience working in underserved communities. She has also served as a district-wide curriculum specialist and worked on a national level administering professional development programs for the National Urban Alliance. Eyka holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Nova University.
Camile Earle-Dennis
Camile Earle-Dennis still remembers the first students she mentored in Newark, New Jersey, during her junior year of college. Although she originally attended Drew University to become a therapist, she began mentoring with the Ready Foundation and 10,000 Mentors. She enjoyed working with students so much that it inspired her to pursue a career in education.
In 2005, she won the prestigious Milken Family Foundation Educator Award for her work at Barringer High School in Newark, New Jersey.
She even applies NUA’s core beliefs to her work in training and amplifying performances in consultants, teachers, as well as business and district leaders in the educational and financial services fields. “NUA is not a program, it is a way of thinking that works in all topics and areas, even financial services,” she said. “Everywhere I go, I apply the core principles of NUA, and when I do that, there is an increase in performance and production.”
Camile currently holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Behavioral Science and Pan-African Studies. She also has a Master of Arts in Teaching with Specializations in Reading and Instructional Leadership and is currently working towards a Doctorate in Education.
Augusta Mann
Augusta Mann is recognized for her workshops, demonstration lessons, and programs in culturally centered intensified accelerated teaching models in literacy for African American and other urban students. As a consultant with the professional development initiatives of the National Urban Alliance (NUA), she has worked with educators in New York City, Indianapolis, IN, Prince Georges County, MD, Minneapolis, MN, Seattle, WA, Bridgeport, CT, Albany, NY, and Wyandanch, NY, as well as privately with educators in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Louisville, San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland, Berkeley, and West Contra Costa County.
She was program manager of San Francisco State University’s Center for Applied Cultural Studies and Educational Achievement (CACSEA), a professional development center devoted to applications of cultural-centered education for African American students. There she led staff development projects in reading for teachers and administrators from four Bay Area school districts and directed large annual conferences for educators throughout California.
An educator since 1962, she has been a classroom teacher, reading teacher, and staff developer in public schools in Chicago, Illinois; Oakland, California; and Yonkers, New York. Immediately prior to her appointment at CACSEA, she was director of the New York Urban Coalition’s Center for Educational Leadership in New York City. There, with a budget of $1.5 million, she led the development and operation of professional development programs for over 1,500 educators in 120 New York City Public schools.
Her Touching the Spirit workshops and classroom demonstration lessons focus on culture centered practical strategies to accelerate the learning of literacy skills by students who need to achieve multiple years growth in a short period of time. These sessions are interactive and lively and include many opportunities for questions and explanations specific to the needs of the participants.
She is the author of a videotape and guidebook on the accelerated teaching of vocabulary and phonics skills for students who are behind. This is the first component in her series: Mann’s Intensified Accelerated Reading System. She is also the author of the instructional design and the student activities for the textbook: African American History, A Journey of Liberation by Molefi Asante, and co-author of the Activity Book for that textbook.
Linda Montes
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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.
John Ramos
Dr. Ramos served as Superintendent of Schools in Connecticut’s largest city (Bridgeport). Under his leadership, the school district and supporting community developed an aggressive strategic plan that endorsed a focused mission to graduate all students college ready and prepared to succeed in life. “EXPECT GREAT THINGS” became the district’s mantra and the Bridgeport Public Schools pursued a path to greater success which included recognition as a Broad Prize Finalist on two successive years.
Since leaving Bridgeport, Dr. Ramos has served as Interim Superintendent in Groton (CT), CEO/Principal of the Middle East International School in Doha, Qatar and, most recently, Superintendent of Schools in the School District of South Orange and Maplewood (NJ) where both a 21st century, student oriented strategic plan and a critical Access and Equity policy were established during his tenure.
Prior to serving in Bridgeport, Dr. Ramos was Deputy Commissioner for Educational Programs and Services for the Connecticut State Department of Education, Superintendent of the Watertown (CT) Public Schools (where he was labeled “The Healer” as he brought together a fractured board of education, school district and community), Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for Norwalk (CT) Public Schools, and Principal of Norwalk High School (where he was cited for his open-minded, visionary leadership by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges) and consultant for the Academy for Educational Development (Washington, D.C.) and the South African Department of Education.
Maria Sudduth
Maria Sudduth strongly believes in the promise of public education as the vehicle for equitable opportunities in the 21st Century. She is an educator with 30 years of experience, primarily working with underserved populations. Her areas of expertise are linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogy in emergent bilingual settings. Mrs. Sudduth taught in a rural elementary bilingual setting for 12 years. Ms. Sudduth joined the Bilingual Faculty at California State University, Chico in 2003. Her responsibilities included teaching research based bilingual instructional practices across content areas: Math, Language Arts, Social Studies and Science – K-12. She also was on the planning committee and taught in the Rural Teacher Residence program, in which she was responsible for teaching across content areas k-8 with a focus on English Language Development (English as a New Language), preparing pre-service candidates to teach in linguistically and culturally diverse settings. Currently Ms. Sudduth is a Senior Scholar and Regional Director for National Urban Alliance for Effective Education.
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).
Antonia Issa Lahera
Antonia Issa Lahera, Ed.D. has been an active member of the field of education since 1980. She has been a teacher in grades first through tenth, a staff developer and an administrator. Working under the highly successful urban superintendent Dr. Carl Cohn, Dr. Lahera led two very innovative programs. The first was a school for incoming ninth graders not promoted to their regular high school program, and the second a reconstituted school for students grades 4-8.
Currently Dr. Lahera is working in two areas of her passion. The first is university teaching in an urban-focused educational administration program, helping to prepare those who will lead urban schools. The second is working with 27 districts within Los Angeles County that have been targeted by the federal government as needing technical intervention and assistance. Moving change along, creating the conditions where everyone learns and excellence is the norm, and continuing the work at hand fills each and every day.
Dr. Lahera holds a doctorate in Urban Leadership from the University of Southern California. She is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Council Staff Developers, National Council Teachers of English International Reading Association, and the Association California School Administrators. She believes in the Quaker saying, “Let your life speak.”
Antonia Issa Lahera aissalahera@gmail.com
Lisa Mer
Lisa Mer counts herself lucky to have taught in a district that engaged the services of the NUA many years ago. The beliefs and practices were transformational in the Eden Prairie, Minnesota district. As time went on, each school in the district had a part-time NUA coach and Lisa gladly took on that role at her middle school. The entire district was trained cohort by cohort and staff had common practices and language. This not only changed her own practice in her French classroom, but led to her becoming a full time instructional coach, sharing the learning with her staff one on one and in full staff professional development sessions.
Equity and social justice, in all its intersectionality, drives Lisa to seek out opportunities for inclusion and breaking down the -isms. One of Lisa’s passions is student voice. She has facilitated teachers and students coming together for learning to build relationships and help students rise to their potential. She is a SEED (Seeking Educational and Equity) facilitator and began a sexuality and gender alliance group for students. Lisa is a certified cognitive coach and employed those skills in q-comp work and working with new teachers and their mentors.
Robert Seth Price
Robert Seth Price is a senior scholar with National Urban Alliance. Robert understands the power of lived stories focusing on cultural frames of reference as a grounding for all his collaborations. He incorporates the student’s and participant’s voices as part of his integrative projects. He includes technology, art, and music with his collaborations. Robert’s Mobile Critical Thinking Tools for Equity in Learning and Teaching is currently used as a foundational practitioners guide with the Redwood City School District – National Urban Alliance collaboration. 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; many amplifying student voice projects; and critical thinking training modules for textile workers. More information on his current collaborations and previous experiences may be found on his website at www.eggplant.org.
Robert Seth Price robert@eggplant.org