National educators bring focus on urban education

to Albany for NUA annual conference

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 31, 2008) -- Albany was the focus of a national discussion on urban education March 27-30 as more than 2,500 educators from across the United States convened here for the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education’s annual conference “Teaching for Intelligence: Believe to Achieve."

The program began March 27 with pre-conference tours of five Albany public schools, giving dozens of visiting educators an opportunity to see NUA strategies at work in Albany classrooms and to discuss the impact they are having on students. The full conference program was March 28-30 at the Empire State Plaza. Check out coverage in the March 28 Times Union and an editorial on urban education on March 29.                                    Pedro Noguera, Ph.D., of the New York University Steinhardt

                                                                                                               School of Culture, Education and Human Development talks

Joining the NUA and Albany’s public school district as     with conference attendees following his presentation March

partners in this prominent symposium on American          28 on creating conditions that promote student achievement.

education are the New York State Council of School

Superintendents, New York State United Teachers, the New York State School Boards Association, The School Redesign Network and The LEADS Initiative at Stanford University, and Questar III.

The conference addressed the most critical issues facing educators today, including the achievement gap, graduation rates, multilingual education, language development and literacy, culture and learning, educator preparation, educational leadership in the 21st century and numerous other themes.                   

"We are excited that this outstanding national organization chose Albany as the location for its important annual gathering of educators focused on enriching the academic fabric of our nation’s urban schools,” said City School District of Albany Superintendent Eva C. Joseph, Ed.D. “This is a critical issue for our city, and we are pleased to have had this opportunity to showcase the meaningful progress our school district is making on behalf of all students through our ongoing partnership with the NUA."

The City School District of Albany is in the second year of its partnership with the NUA, which strives to build toward high intellectual performance through students’ culture, language and cognition. Mentors in NUA’s network plan with school districts and provide ongoing professional development activities for teachers and administrators to improve classroom instruction, and to improve how school communities are organized for sustained achievement.

The conference featured 30 of the nation’s leading scholars, researchers and advocates for school betterment, proposing real answers that educators immediately can apply in their district, school or classroom. More than 20 Albany teachers and administrators also led 10 breakout sessions throughout the weekend.

Important themes were merging learning and renewal with the certainty that America’s schools can be places where every child can prosper and grow to the highest possible level, and the recognition that a good education for every child is a moral and ethical imperative and a civil right bestowed on every American child.

“The NUA has emerged as a powerful voice on the critical issues of academic achievement in our nation’s schools and education as a civil right,” said Thomas L. Rogers, Ed.D., executive director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents. “We were proud to sponsor this conference, which works to extend our organization’s ‘Education is a Civil Right’ initiative, and support the important work that will be done on these critical topics in New York state’s capital city.”

Pre-conference school tours March 27 gave visiting educa-     NUA President and Founder Eric J. Cooper, Ed.D., said

tors a chance to see NUA strategies in action, including            his organization chose Albany for the site of its 2008

this double-bubble map in Sally Bruce's kindergarten class-      conference because of the school district’s leadership in

room at Pine Hills Elementary School.                                         embracing important strategies for improving student

                                                                             achievement.

“This conference is both an educational experience for educators and a celebration of a bright future for all American children,” Dr. Cooper said. “Thanks to the City School District of Albany’s commitment to these ideals and its progress toward them, Albany was the ideal location for ‘Teaching for Intelligence: Believe to Achieve’ in 2008.”

The March 27 school tours provided an opportunity for participants to visit five district schools: Albany School of Humanities, Pine Hills Elementary School, North Albany Academy, William S. Hackett Middle School and Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School. Participants visited with principals, teachers and students, and observed NUA strategies in action. Follow these links to see local television stories about the tours on WNYT/TV-13 and CBS6. You also can watch a story on CapitalNews 9 about the conference and the impact Albany's NUA partnership is having on improving academic performance at Philip Livingston Magnet Academy (NOTE: when you get to this page, search for the word "alliance" and it will take you to the story about one-third of the way down the page).

The City School District of Albany serves approximately 8,600 students in 18 elementary, middle and high schools. The district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students in addition to neighborhood schools. The district is more than halfway through its comprehensive facilities project to newly build and/or renovate nearly all of its elementary and middle schools. The ultimate goal of the facilities project is to provide schools with the resources necessary to help students succeed in the 21st century.