Developing the Leaders Who Lead Transformation

VaLIN 4.0 marked an important evolution in the network. While continuing to support locally driven improvement, the cohort placed a much stronger emphasis on leadership development. Participants included team leaders, school and division administrators, principals, superintendents, and independent participants representing 29 Virginia school divisions. The cohort connected participants’ real-world projects to selected National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) Standards, creating a structured way for leaders to develop and reflect on their leadership competencies.

Participants worked with regional and standards-based coaches, established SMART goals, engaged in communities of practice, and reflected on growth throughout the year. Key areas included mission, vision and improvement; equity and cultural responsiveness; learning and instruction; community and external leadership; and operations and management. Evaluation findings showed significant growth across all five measured NELP competency areas, with learning and instruction and mission, vision, and improvement emerging as particularly common areas of focus.

Cohort 4 also connected VaLIN to a broader statewide effort to strengthen Virginia’s educational leadership pipeline, including supporting leaders who might pursue future district-level roles and the superintendency.