News Archive

Urban Education Summit at Nazareth College, March 25

Published March 20, 2015

Nazareth College is teaming up with ROC the Future for the Leadership in Urban Education Summit on Wednesday, March 25, 2015. The invite-only event IS OPEN TO MEDIA and will take place in the Forum of Nazareth’s Otto A. Shults Center from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Nazareth College is located at 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, N.Y.

The event will feature leaders of successful urban schools in New York State; and how these urban schools are achieving such great heights. Wade S. Norwood and Lester W. Young Jr. will be the keynote speakers for the event.  They both are both Regents-at-Large with the New York State Board of Regents.

Norwood, a graduate of the University of Rochester, is the chief program officer for the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency (FLHSA), a not-for-profit community health planning agency that promotes public health through research, advocacy, and community engagement.  Norwood also has a 30-year record of community service that includes membership on the Rochester City Council.

Young has served as a teacher, guidance counselor, supervisor of special education, principal, associate commissioner with the New York State Education department, and superintendent of Community School District 13. As a recognized educational leader and innovator, he was responsible for establishing some of the more successful high schools and middle schools in New York City and replicating the nationally recognized algebra project and Comer School Development Program.

Following the keynote, a panel discussion will be moderated by Nazareth President Daan Braveman and will include:

  • Michael Wiltshire, Ed. D., principal at Medgar Evers College Preparatory School in Brooklyn, N.Y., where 10th graders take college-level courses and begin researching for internships.

  • Tolga Hayali, Ed.D., superintendent of Syracuse and Utica Academies of Science Charter Schools. Syracuse Academy students win awards at international academic competitions and achieved graduation rates of 89% in 2013 and 84% in 2014.

  • Rashid F. Davis, Ed. D., founding principal at Pathways in Technology Early College (PTECH) in Brooklyn, N.Y. Students can graduate with a high school diploma and an associated degree in computers or engineering from the six-year program, which is in collaboration between city public schools, City University of New York and IBM.

  • David C. Banks, president and chief executive officer at Eagle Academy Foundation. The Foundation runs multiple schools in New York City and Newark, N.J. and achieve graduation rates far above the average in urban centers and all 2014 graduates were accepted to college.

  • Sheela Webster, principal at World of Inquiry School (grades K - 12) in Rochester, N.Y. The school uses an expeditionary learning style that has expanded from the elementary level to the senior class of 2015.

Reflections include:

  • Brian Bailey, Ed. D., Nazareth College School of Education faculty

  • Sharon Contreras, superintendent at Syracuse City School District

  • Stanley S. Hansen, Jr., executive director, New York State Education Department, Office of Postsecondary Access, Support and Success

  • Ron Thomas, executive director, Baden Street Settlement in Rochester

Nazareth College's Connections to Urban Education

  • Young Scholars program provides accelerated bachelor’s degrees for students with exceptional credentials from the College’s high school partners.

  • School of Education undergraduate and graduate programs create well-prepared, effective teachers equipped to meet the needs of all students.

  • Frontier Center for Urban Education conducts urban education research, supports and initiates promising practices, provides practicums, offers professional development for teachers, and more.

  • Center for Civic Engagement programs include tutoring city students on campus and at 10 urban sites, and Clinton Global Initiative University projects supporting Rochester students.

For More Information

Julie Long, Nazareth Chief Public Relations Officer: (585) 389-2456; jlong2@naz.edu

Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for nearly 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.

Our broad academic offerings present a range of study options typical of larger universities, yet achieved in our supportive campus culture. Nearly 2,100 undergrad and 600 graduate students enroll in degree and certificate programs and engage in collaborative, transformative learning experiences, preparing for the professions and society of today and tomorrow. In a learning community that purposefully integrates liberal arts and professional programs, Nazareth University graduates are able to launch a lifetime of impactful leadership in communities and workplaces near and far.