ASCD Presenter Bio

Yvette Jackson

Yvette Jackson, EdD, 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, PhD. 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. 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.

Jackson currently serves as the chief executive officer of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education, founded at the College Board and Teachers College, Columbia University. She works with school district administrators and teachers across the country to customize and deliver systemic approaches to literacy development through instructional practices that integrate culture, language, and cognition to expand and accelerate student learning and achievement. She is a visiting lecturer at Harvard University, a member of ASCD’s Differentiated Instruction Cadre, and a keynote presenter at national and international conferences.

Jackson received a BA from Queens College of the City University of New York with a double major in education and French. At Columbia University's Teachers College, she was awarded an MA in curriculum, an EdM in educational administration, and a doctorate in educational administration.