UVA-Based National Education Leadership Program Announces 22nd Cohort

The University of Virginia Partnership for Leaders in Education (UVA-PLE), which for more than two decades has offered leadership development to educators across the country, today announced its 22^nd cohort of schools and districts.

A joint initiative of the Darden School of Business and the School of Education and Human Development, UVA-PLE is a multi-year engagement with superintendents, principals and other leaders that combines world-class executive education and thought partnership grounded in research. The UVA-PLE Core Partnership is the only remaining research-proven program in the country supporting K-12 educators through leadership development, capacity building and collective problem-solving.

The PLE conference at the Darden School of Business. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff Photography, LLC

UVA-PLE provides regular, deep engagement with education leaders, including onsite visits and a series of hands-on professional development sessions in Charlottesville, Virginia. Through tailored support and coaching, UVA-PLE helps leaders assess current gaps and conditions; establish and advance data-driven action plans; engage stakeholders at all levels; and ensure accountability at both the school and system levels for goals and commitments.

“Change doesn’t stick without strong leadership — and strong leadership doesn’t happen without real investment,” said UVA-PLE Executive Director William Robinson. “Too often, education leaders are pulled in every direction and are unable to pause and coordinate efforts. Our partnership brings together leaders across departments to strengthen the systems that support schools and improve educational outcomes.”

The Summer 2025-Spring 2027 cohort includes district leaders and school principals from 13 districts across 11 states:

California: Visalia Unified School District
Colorado: Aurora Public Schools, Boulder Valley School District RE-2
Georgia: Newton County School System
Iowa: Davenport Community School District, Des Moines Public Schools
North Carolina: Gaston County Schools
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Public Schools
Ohio: Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Pennsylvania: Scranton City School District
South Carolina: Charleston County School District
Texas: San Antonio Independent School District
Wisconsin: Fond du Lac School District

Each partner works with UVA-PLE to identify challenges critical to their systems and schools that they will address, such as reducing absenteeism, strengthening tier one instructional supports, enhancing teacher recruitment and capacity-building and expanding access to post-secondary opportunities.

The PLE conference at the Darden School of Business. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff Photography, LLC

“This is an exciting opportunity for Des Moines Public Schools to work with the University of Virginia and their nationally recognized leadership initiative,” said Dr. Ian Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools. “This partnership with UVA and the Iowa Department of Education will provide our school and district leaders with intensive, targeted support to build capacity for sustainable change and drive school improvement focused on better outcomes for our students.”

“In San Antonio ISD, we believe that leadership is the engine of transformation. By joining the UVA-PLE cohort, we are investing not just in improvement, but in a legacy of bold, collective leadership that will outlast any one of us,” said Dr. Jaime Aquino, superintendent of San Antonio Independent School District. “Together, we stand with districts across the country who refuse to accept the status quo and are committed to ensuring every student, in every school, has the opportunity to thrive.”

Among the 180 districts and 900 schools from 33 states that have participated in UVA-PLE over more than two decades, the results are profound. Fifty percent of recent partners achieved double-digit gains in math or language arts in only three years, far outperforming pre-pandemic assessments, contrary to national trends.

The 22^nd cohort includes returning districts that have participated in the partnership and seen strong gains:

• In Oklahoma City, the number of underperforming schools decreased from 30 to nine schools, while the district has seen significant ACT score increases in every high school and double-digit increases in students on meaningful pathways to post-secondary success.
• Fond du Lac School District, (Wisconsin) was named the district with the fastest math improvement from 2022-2024 out of the 20 largest districts statewide. It achieved the top reading growth in the state over the same years, as reported by the Education Recovery Scorecard, the national project comparing learning loss and recovery across the country since 2022. During 2022-23, most schools in the network achieved student learning above pre-pandemic levels, bucking national trends.
• The first cohorts to participate from Charleston, South Carolina, contributed to the district’s recognition in a Harvard and Stanford study as one of the only urban school systems in the country to outperform pre-pandemic averages for every grade level in math and language arts.