Dr. Nicole A. Pierce-Davis, Ed.D.

Experience

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  Oakland Unified School District

  Aug 2007 - Jun 2011

  Teacher (Head Teacher/ Teacher on Special Assignment/ Instructional Coach)

  West Oakland Middle School offers a safe, supportive and beautiful environment for students in order to help them to gain a more positive sense of self and community, at the same time to become highly skilled readers, writers, spellers, mathematicians, scientists, humanitarians, and artists through our academic courses and enrichment opportunities. We engage students in critical thinking, enabling them to take action on what is important to them and their community. We honor and respect each student’s background and experience. Our faculty takes care to develop in students strategies to identify and achieve their goals. Our curriculum challenges students to work hard, to constantly improve and to take pride in their academic success at high levels. We are dedicated to fostering students’ ability to work together, communicate effectively, do their best, and to reflect. We believe that when students consistently practice and master these skills they will be able to navigate high school, college, and career by making informed life decisions in pursuit of their dreams.Special Note: ➢ One of 2 middle school teachers to receive Oakland Unified School District’s High Achievement Award in 2009. CST/STAR/District benchmarks demonstrated substantial student growth each year. WOMS had the highest API increase (over 100 points) in the district in 2009. Show less

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  Stellar Preparatory High School

  Jul 2011 - Jun 2012

  Founding Principal

  A fully-scholarship funded college preparatory school for male athletes who were dedicated to mastering the skills of being scholar athletes. Stellar was a start-up school that primarily served students of color, who may have been struggling in 8th grade, but demonstrated outstanding potential. Stellar sought to leverage their dedication, work ethic, and interest in sports to help them succeed in the classroom. Unfortunately, due to a significant loss of funds by our chief benefactor during the recession, the school was no longer fiscally/ethically viable. However, the school served as a powerful transition year for struggling 8th graders entering high school, who reported heightened confidence and increased academic capacity as they entered 10th grade in their respective secondary schools. Show less

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  Oakland Unified School District

  Aug 2012 - Sept 2022

  Skyline High School is a comprehensive four-year secondary school enrolling students in grades 9 through 12. Our student population closely mirrors the city of Oakland and represents a very diverse community with a wide range of social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. Mission: The Skyline High School community will engage our students by embracing an education that values critical thinking, academic rigor, cultural responsiveness, and healthy relationships. We strive to create equitable and meaningful learning experiences in which students thrive in college, career and community with confidence, courage and joy.As Co-Director, held all administrative duties that supported 1,700 students and 300+ staff members. This includes the daily management of four linked learning Pathway Academies: Computer Science & Technology, Education & Community Health, Visual & Performing Arts, and Green Energy & Sustainable Systems, and each of their dedicated support teams, including pathway directors, assistant principals, counselors, case managers, etc. - Elected Principal Advisory Committee (PAC) representative for high school principals.- Re-establishing a shared school vision, with a focus on distributed leadership, equity, multi-tiered systems of support, & antiracism, despite 2019 teacher strike and 2020 coronavirus. - Increased graduate a-g course completion by 21.4 percentage points in 2019, and continued to reduce drop-out rate from 13.8% to 5.7% over three years. Increased satisfactory student attendance (attending 90% school days or more) by 28.8 percentage points in three years. Reduced the percentage of African American male students suspended from 19% to 4.4% in two years. Increased desired teacher retention rate to 97% in two years. - Revitalized key partnerships with community organizations, local corporations, and illustrious alumni (such as Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, actor Tom Hanks, and NBA player Gary Payton.) Show less United for Success Academy (UFSA) opened it doors in 2006, founded by a committed team of parents, students, and educators who envisioned a personalized learning environment where students felt safe, supported, and united for success. During this time, we served 440 middle school students in Oakland's vibrant Fruitvale district, where students, teachers, and families collaborated to create an exceptional community for learning.As principal, managed all administrative duties associated with the role of head administrator, including cultivating and implementing coherent school vision with equity focus, staff supervision of 100+ staff, instructional leadership, effective operations and organization, and strategic partnerships with community members such as Salesforce, Univision, Safe Passages, and Native American Health Center. • Elected Principal Advisory Committee (PAC) representative for middle school principals• Selected for Network Superintendent principal professional development design team.• Focus on fostering and facilitating strong leadership teams, reducing implicit bias, & elevating academic language output for students learning academic English. • Recognized in 2018 for outstanding academic improvement on SBAC measures: 7.5% increase in Mathematics overall, 13.5 point increase in distance from standard (DFS) in ELA (including 15.5 point increase for African American students) and 13.2 point increase in Mathematics. Show less Madison Park Business and Art Academy (MPA) is a public school in East Oakland (Sobrante Park neighborhood) that served students from transitional kindergarten through 10th grade, with expansion plans for the high school campus being completed through 12th grade by 2016.As Head of Primary School, assumed all administrative duties associated with the role as head administrator for TK-5 program, including supervision of 20+ staff, shared visioning, instructional leadership, data driven site planning, site management, culture and climate governance, and secondary school alignment. • Facilitated the merger of closing elementary school with expanding local middle school. • Led the transition from Open Court curriculum to Common Core State Standards aligned instruction, focusing on balanced literacy, math routines, and academic discourse. Show less

  • Co Director

    Jul 2018 - Sept 2022

  • Principal

    Jun 2015 - Jul 2018

  • Head of Primary School / Assistant Principal

    Aug 2012 - Jun 2015
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  Newark Unified School District

  Mar 2021 - Mar 2024

  Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services

  VISIONThe Newark Unified School District in partnership with the community will be a model of world-class education that develops the unique abilities of every student.MISSIONThe Newark Unified School District will inspire and educate all students to achieve their full potential and be responsible, respectful and productive citizens.As Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, support, manage, and supervise the following departments held within Educational Services: Teaching and Learning, State and Federal Compliance, Family and Community Engagement, Access & Equity, New Teacher Induction, Information Technology, Special Education, & Pupil Services. Also supervised and evaluated High School Principal network. - Served as Interim Superintendent during leadership transitions. - Awarded 2022 Outstanding Leadership in Education Award presented by California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA) and Association of School Administrators (ACSA). - Raised College and Career Readiness Indicator Measures across the district by 9% in two years. Show less

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  Alameda County Office of Education

  Mar 2024 - now

  Chief of Whole Child Programs

  The Whole Child Programs Team helps educators, school leaders, parents/caregivers, community partners, and youth-serving staff support all aspects of well-being for students in learning environments. Our programs are designed to address students’ social and emotional, physical, creative, and cognitive needs so they can feel safe and supported on their academic journey and in life. We help build safe and nurturing spaces that are grounded on equity, diversity and inclusion.Current foci include Expanded Learning, Early Learning and Child Development, Culturally & Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy, Arts Integration, Civic Engagement, and Special Education Innovation. Show less