Join VaLIN
An invitation to Virginia school divisions: bring a team, a problem of practice, and a commitment to deeper learning, and spend a year working alongside innovators from across the Commonwealth.
Applications open
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Application deadline
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Teams notified
By July ???
Cohort 7 launch
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The program
A year-long network for Virginia’s education innovators
The Virginia Leads Innovation Network (VaLIN) brings Lead Innovation Teams from up to 35 school divisions together each year to identify, test, and share strategies that bring the Profile of a Virginia Graduate to life. Teams meet in regional Institutes designed to spark local action, then work with an expert coach to put their plans into practice back home.
Since 2019, VaLIN cohorts have moved from turning the 5 C’s into classroom practice, to growing the leadership capacity needed to sustain change, to the current focus on moving from promising initiatives to systemwide transformation. Cohort 7 continues that work, with every team pursuing three outcomes:
Deeper learning
Expand the instructional use of deeper learning strategies in classrooms across the division.
Equity
Make sure every learner takes part in rich, challenging learning experiences.
Engagement
Fully and actively engage all learners through multiple pathways to graduation and beyond.
Impact so far
Six cohorts, every corner of the Commonwealth
84
school divisions have taken part, out of Virginia’s 132
700+
educators on division innovation teams and leadership cohorts
8 of 8
Superintendent’s Regions represented
300,000+
students served by Cohort 1 divisions alone
88%
of Cohort 4 leaders reported meeting their leadership growth goals
#1
most valued part, every cohort: learning from peers in other divisions
What participation means
What your division signs up for
01
Form a Lead Innovation Team
Five to seven members, led by a central-office leader at the assistant superintendent or director level. Divisions can apply on their own or partner with up to two other divisions as one team.
02
Gather three times a year
A launch visioning event, a mid-point design day, and a culminating planning day in regional hubs. Each is paired with a district-based planning session and up to three virtual seminars.
03
Work with an expert coach
Coaches from Advanced Learning Partnerships (ALP) support your team between convenings, and sessions are shaped by your division’s own priorities, challenges, and feedback.
04
Turn a problem of practice into action
Name a local priority tied to the Profile of a Virginia Graduate, implement actions to address it, document what changes, and measure your growth along the way.
05
Learn with, and from, peers
Convenings are working sessions, not conferences. Teams plan, problem-solve with divisions facing similar challenges, and share what they build in the VaLIN resource library.
06
Leave every session with next steps
Team leaders also join up to five one-hour virtual debriefs to plan next steps and keep the superintendent in the loop on the division’s innovation work.
Who can apply
Any Virginia school division, on its own or in partnership with up to two others. Teams can focus on any grade level, not just high school.
Investment
$2,500 for an individual or $7,500 for a team of 5–7, covering all Institutes, webinars, and virtual and on-site coaching. Divisions cover only their own travel and lodging.
Selection
Up to 35 teams per cohort. If more apply, teams are chosen to represent every region, division size, and setting, plus a clear focus on the Profile of a Virginia Graduate. Read the FAQs →
Get started
Tell us you’re interested
Share a few details and we’ll follow up with the Cohort 7 application and next steps. It only takes a minute, and it doesn’t commit your division to anything.
Questions first? Email tina@commonwealthlearningpartnership.org.