National Urban Alliance partnership gaining momentum

When the district embarked on its partnership with The National Urban Alliance for Effective Education (NUA), its founder said it was a historic opportunity to transform a long-challenged school district into an example for other urban school systems. Indeed, Albany educators have embraced the opportunity.

By the end of the current year, about 200 Albany teachers will have participated in training sessions in the NUA’s approach toward creating culturally competent classrooms and using strategies proven to help reach students from different backgrounds. The NUA encourages teachers to build on students’ strengths, create relationships with students, and employ classroom strategies that allow students to build on their base of knowledge. The partnership is one significant district initiative that targets the elimination of the achievement gap. The proposed budget includes funding for the second year of the NUA partnership, which will include summer training for teachers and administrators, large and small group training sessions throughout the year, in-classroom work with teachers, and continued community outreach. The second year of the partnership is when a customized course of action for each  school takes shape. This course of action is based on in-depth instructional assessments of each school that have taken place this year.