Our Partners

Virginia Is For Learners Innovation Network (VALIN)

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and its partners actively lead the Virginia Leads Innovation Network (VALIN) –  an innovative, state-wide community of practice aligned to the critical competencies of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate.

District Overview

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and its partners actively lead the Virginia Leads Innovation Network (VALIN) –  an innovative, state-wide community of practice aligned to the critical competencies of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate.

Between 2019 – 2024, VDOE has partnered with Advanced Learning Partnerships, the Virginia School Consortium for Learning, Virginia Learns, Commonwealth Learning Partnerships and William & Mary College of Education to support 81 of the 132 public education divisions. Their mission: to develop scalable, accessible, and local innovations that operationalize the Profile of the Virginia Graduate for all learners.

Each academic year, ALP coaches engage a cohort of education leaders from up to 30 divisions. Through personalized PL pathways and ongoing coaching rounds, the coaching team connects with these leaders through application-based rounds to define, iterate and eventually scale solutions that meet the needs and culture of communities in every region of the Commonwealth.

VALIN as a community has evolved tremendously since the inaugural 2019 Cohort blazed an intrepid trail. The following table showcases key milestones in the life cycle of this innovation network, which now provides a consistent, competency-based platform for professional collaboration and division-level partnerships across Virginia.

An image representing the district.

Key Services

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Learning Walks
Trailblazer Cohorts
Learning Design Facilitation
Learner Profile and Progressions
Coaching
Innovative Networking Teams
Institutes
Leadership Consulting

Highlights

  • Between 2019 and 2024, over 700 education leaders from literally every region in Virginia have participated in at least one VALIN Cohort.
  • Over 80% of all public education divisions across the Commonwealth have participated in this Network.
  • Each cohort is united through quarterly regional events and multiple rounds of personalized coaching sessions aligned to community-based priorities and strategic goals.
  • Since the launch of VALIN, a team of student videographers have captured the progress of these leaders in documentary-style vignettes.
  • The impact of VALIN is evaluated through internal Program Impact reporting as well as by the William & Mary College of Education.
  • Learn more about the Virginia Leads Innovation Network here.

District Timeline

Winter 2019 - Summer 2022
2019 - 2022

Innovative Networking Teams

The VALIN network is a dynamic and unique community of Virginia education leaders. ALP coaches bring educators together each month through a widely-consumed newsletter. The August 2021 edition celebrates the achievements of the 2020-21 cohort and introduces Cohort 3.0, which launches in September of 2021.

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2021 - 2022

Trailblazer Cohorts

In its third implementation year, VALIN continues to broker powerful learning experiences for Virginia leaders. ALP coaches build community connections for Cohort 3.0 in the What School Could Be platform, This vibrant digital ecosystem enables VALIN teams to build local capacity in 'Birds of a Feather' groups aligned to the WSCB Innovation Playlist.

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2020 - 2022

The Commonwealth of Virginia covers 42 775 square miles, with Innovation Network leadership teams representing each corner of this geographic expanse. Under normal circumstances and especially in response to COVID-19, ALP coaches maintain ongoing support with and between their respective teams through a sequence of just-in-time virtual courses and planning sessions. They leverage cutting-edge digital and video-based platforms to serve each team in an effort to personalize their support while keeping people safe and focused on student learning outcomes.

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2019 - 2022

Concurrent to the facilitation of the #VALIN work, ALP senior consultants have partnered closely with existing and emerging regional associations to empower a more interconnected mesh of supports for Virginia divisions. We are proud and honored to serve as close partners with the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia Schools Consortium for Learning, What School Could Be, as well as the Commonwealth Learning Partnership.

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2019 - 2022

Learner Profile and Progressions

In response to the VDOE Profile of a Virginia Graduate, many divisions have created learner profiles that build local common language and prioritized practice. In support of these efforts, ALP works with #VALIN teams to ensure that these frameworks are clear, learner-centric and formatively assessable. This combination of consulting and coaching allows local divisions to learn from the innovations in other communities while also developing local capacity to operationalize them with fidelity.

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2019 - 2022

Institutes

In partnership with Scott McLeod, Kaleb Rashad and other national leaders, ALP coaches engage up to 35 leadership teams each calendar year in a sequence of quarterly regional planning sessions. The purpose of these Institutes is to share new learning and engage teams in design iterations around their innovations. They facilitate these application-based, highly collaborative sessions to maximize the pollination of best practices and networking.

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Articles

Virginia is for Learners Innovation Network Supports Deeper Learning
2019 - 2022

Throughout the course of each cohort’s work, ALP coaches and their colleagues share resources and best practices that empower leadership teams to engage their communities in purposeful dialog around change. In many ways, the innovations they develop that align with the Profile of a Virginia Graduate will look and feel different than traditional approaches to teaching and learning. Teams receive facilitated support in best practices around communication and planning that support the scale-up of their innovations.

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2019 - 2022

Innovative Networking Teams

The regional, local and virtual coaching sessions are intentionally designed to promote inter-team sharing, iteration and reflection. ALP coaches are actively and virtually engaged with leaders from over 70 Virginia divisions to amplify local innovation efforts. This investment in educator networking has and continues to empower expanded capacity for gradual co-facilitation of this process as division participation expands.

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2019 - 2022

Leadership Consulting

Each year, a team of ALP coaches facilitates a design-thinking inspired process that is grounded in scaling sustainable gains in their respective communities. They leverage this form of curated leadership consulting to empower each cohort of Virginia education leaders to recognize existing strengths in their communities while setting prioritized goals that expand local capacity to serve students with greater depth, equity and agility.

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2019 - 2022

Learning Design Facilitation

A critical component of each #VALIN cohort’s work involves the creation of resources and processes that align local community needs with the Profile of the Virginia Graduate. ALP coaches actively engage with their respective teams in virtually facilitated, protocol-driven processes that ensure rigor and fidelity in the design of authentic learning artifacts that both align with the Virginia Profile and are replicable beyond the scope of the Innovation Network team.

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2003 - 2024

Institutes

In close collaboration with Virginia Department of Education and VALIN leadership, ALP coaches engage 24 Division leadership teams that comprise Cohort 5.0. The October Institute offered over 120 Virginia education leaders the opportunity to share new learning and engage some of the brightest educators in design iterations around local innovations aligned to the Profile of a Virginia Graduate. The form factor of the two-day, application-based Institute is designed to pollinate best practices and broker regional networking events throughout the 2023 - 24 academic year.

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Articles

Virginia is for Learners Innovation Network Supports Deeper Learning
2023 - 2024

Talent Development Systems

As a function of our partnership with the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS), ALP was commissioned to facilitate the redesign of the executive coaching model for new Superintendents. The Association’s Field Guide provides a transparent, competency-based framework for professional goal-setting and collaboration between Superintendents and their Executive Coaches. The enhanced supports made available through VASS could not have come at a better time. In fall of 2023, 43 of Virginia's 132 public school divisions were led by Superintendents in their 1st, 2nd, or interim years of service. Providing these leaders with personalized, standards-based support is a critical outcome across the Commonwealth.

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Advanced Learning Partnerships collaborates with VaSCL, Commonwealth Learning Partnership, the VDOE and What School Could Be through ongoing professional learning support for the Virginia is for Learners Innovation Network.

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