21st Century California School Leadership Academy

What 21st Century California School Leadership Academy does

21st Century California School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) is a statewide educational initiative established in 2020 and headquartered at the UC Berkeley School of Education, providing no-cost, equity-centered professional learning to California's educational leaders. It operates through a network of seven Regional Academies covering all 58 California counties and has served over 50,000 education leaders across 73% of the state's school districts since inception, with reach extending to more than 5 million students via those served leaders. The portfolio includes professional learning offerings, a credit-bearing UTK Leadership Certificate through UC Berkeley Extension, Communities of Practice, individualized coaching, research-practice webinars, a Digital Learning Hub platform, and the Equity Leadership Now! podcast.

The initiative's core technology consists of the Digital Learning Hub — an online platform for collaboration and professional learning delivery — and a custom database and reporting web application used by Regional Academies to collect and disaggregate professional learning data for equity-centered decision-making. 21CSLA partners strategically with UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, the California Subject Matter Project, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (as independent evaluator), and county offices of education that host Regional Academies.

21CSLA is entirely grant-funded, with no private investors or commercial pricing. All disclosed funding flows from the California Department of Education through multi-year grant cycles: Cohort 1 (2020-2023, $13M base plus supplements) and Cohort 2 (2023-2026, $12M plus likely supplements), totaling approximately $32.25M in disclosed state commitments since 2020. The organization is governed as a program under UC Berkeley School of Education Leadership Programs with oversight from CDE, and it does not operate as a commercial enterprise; expansion and continuity are tied directly to state education policy priorities and budget cycles.

Name

21st Century California School Leadership Academy

Legal name

21st Century California School Leadership Academy

Website

https://21cslacenter.berkeley.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

21CSLA is a California Department of Education-funded initiative headquartered at UC Berkeley School of Education that delivers no-cost, equity-centered professional learning to educational leaders statewide through seven Regional Academies, a Digital Learning Hub, and credit-bearing UTK Leadership Certificate programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Leadership Professional Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDADAJAM

School Leader / Administrator Certification & Licensure Boards

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Teacher Certification, Licensing & Professional Standards Boards

SECONDARYBPAGADAI

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYEDAAADAL

Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Citizenship & Immigrant Integration Education

Keywords

• Educational leadership training
• Professional learning services
• School leadership development
• Teacher coaching programs
• Equity-centered education

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Funding: 21CSLA is funded primarily through grants from the California Department of Education. Major funding includes: $12 million additional funding over three years (Cohort 2, 2023-2026), $5 million grant for equity in early childhood education, $2 million for leadership in early learning, and $250,000 initial funding for Universal Transitional Kindergarten.
2. State Education Department Investment: California Department of Education investment in training for school leaders implementing Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) policy, representing a state-level educational initiative.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

21st Century California School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) is a statewide initiative that provides no-cost professional learning, coaching, and Communities of Practice to California education leaders (teachers, site leaders, and district administrators) to develop equity-centered leadership skills. It delivers its offerings through seven Regional Academies across California, the 21CSLA Digital Learning Hub online platform, UC Berkeley Extension courses, and statewide convenings, including specialized support for Universal Transitional Kindergarten implementation.

Product overview

21st Century California School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) is a statewide initiative headquartered at UC Berkeley School of Education that provides no-cost professional learning services to California education leaders. The organization operates through a network of seven Regional Academies across California and offers a portfolio of interconnected products including professional learning offerings, the UTK Leadership Certificate, Communities of Practice, Leadership Coaching, Digitally Mediated Learning, Research-Practice Webinars, and Research Briefs. The initiative focuses on equity-centered leadership development and Universal Transitional Kindergarten implementation support, serving over 50,000 education leaders across 73% of California school districts. The organization partners with UCLA School of Education and Information Studies and the California Subject Matter Project to deliver these services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 21CSLA Professional Learning Offerings No-cost professional learning opportunities for California education leaders including workshops, training sessions, and structured learning experiences focused on equity-centered leadership and Universal Transitional Kindergarten implementation.
• UTK Leadership Certificate A free, online, synchronous certificate program through UC Berkeley Extension providing 4 units of credit for Preliminary or Clear Administrative Services Credential candidates focused on Universal Transitional Kindergarten leadership.
• UTK Professional Learning Modules Professional learning modules for site, teacher, and central office leaders on implementing Universal Transitional Kindergarten with equity-centered approaches.
• Communities of Practice Collaborative learning groups for teacher, site, and district leaders focused on topics such as equity, LCAP, inclusionary practices, and leadership development.
• Leadership Coaching Individualized coaching support for educational leaders provided through Regional Academies, with equity-focused coaching practices and continuous improvement approaches.
• Digitally Mediated Learning Online and digital learning platforms including the Digital Learning Hub for collaboration and the 21CSLA Hub for accessing resources and professional development materials.
• Regional Academies Seven regional academies across California (Bay Area, Alameda, NorCal/Shasta, Mid-State/Tulare, SoCal, San Diego/Riverside, Kern/ValCo, Placer/Sacramento, Sonoma/North Bay) providing localized professional learning and support.
• Research-Practice Webinars Research-backed and practice-relevant webinar conversations featuring faculty from UC Berkeley and UCLA and leaders from the field on equity-centered topics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 46,000+ participants attracted since 2020
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023CCEE conducted independent evaluation of 21CSLA's Cohort 1 (2020-2023), producing external evaluation reports to determine efficacy and areas for growth. CCEE also highlights 21CSLA's measurable impact on leadership practice.
• UC Berkeley School of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 202021CSLA State Center is headquartered at the UC Berkeley School of Education. The partnership provides academic credibility, research capacity, and access to leadership programs including the Principal Leadership Institute. Dr. Rebecca Cheung serves as Director of 21CSLA and Executive Director of UC Berkeley Leadership Programs.
• UCLA School of Education and Information StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020UCLA partners with 21CSLA providing research collaboration, Principal Leadership Institute connection, and faculty engagement through professors like John Rogers and Jabari Mahiri (who chairs the 21CSLA Leadership Board).
• California Subject Matter ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020California Subject Matter Project collaborates as a partner institution in the 21CSLA initiative, contributing to the statewide network of educational leadership support.
• Seven Regional AcademiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 202021CSLA partners with seven Regional Academies distributed across California: Bay Area (BARA), Alameda, NorCal ELC/Shasta, Mid-State/Tulare, ValCo/Kern, Placer/Sacramento, San Diego/Riverside, and others. These academies deliver localized professional learning and coaching to educational leaders in their regions.
• UC Berkeley Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood (E3C)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerE3C collaborated on the research brief 'Dispelling Common Myths in Instructional Improvement' focused on Universal Transitional Kindergarten and P-3 instructional leadership.
• Los Angeles County Office of EducationstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerLACOE hosts the Valley to Coast (ValCo) Regional Academy, one of seven Regional Academies serving California's diverse geographic regions.
• African American Male Leaders Network (AAMLN)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerAAMLN is an affinity group of Black educational leaders sponsored by 21CSLA and Berkeley School of Education Leadership Programs, hosted by 21CSLA to support diversification of educational leadership.
• UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner21CSLA hosts biannual retreats at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center in Los Angeles, bringing together State Center, Regional Academies, and guests for strategic planning and community building.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Learning Forward: National professional association dedicated to continuous professional learning for educators, with a strong leadership development focus; directly comparable as a PD infrastructure organization for school leaders.
• NYC Leadership Academy: Public-private partnership that develops school leaders for New York City; offers training, coaching, and principal pipelines very similar in structure to 21CSLA's Regional Academies and coaching programs.
• New Leaders: National nonprofit that trains and develops school leaders (principals and teacher leaders) across multiple states; directly comparable to 21CSLA's mission of building leadership capacity in K–12 systems.
• Relay Graduate School of Education: Graduate school that trains aspiring principals and school leaders nationwide, including with state partnership programs; comparable in mission and credential-bearing leader preparation.
• California Subject Matter Project: UC system-affiliated statewide network for educator PD; already a strategic partner of 21CSLA and the most natural internal/state-level comparator for K–12 leader and teacher PD delivery in California.

Emerging players

• Insight Education Group: Education consulting firm offering coaching and PD for school leaders and teachers; overlapping services (executive coaching, leadership development) but operating more commercially than 21CSLA's no-cost model.

Others

• Public Impact: Consulting and research firm working with states and districts on education workforce and leadership strategy; adjacent rather than directly competitive, but operates in the same state-policy layer as 21CSLA.

Broad incumbents

• ASCD: Large established educator association offering PD, certifications, and resources on instructional leadership and equity; broader portfolio than 21CSLA but overlapping content and audience of school leaders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/21csla
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLoaMaOhukBFnwTRN6KTYeFnQhd7kKnZVU
• Facebookfacebook.com/21csla
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/21st-century-california-school-leadership-academy
• Instagraminstagram.com/21csla

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 21st Century California School Leadership Academy