Virginia Foundation For Educational Leadership

What Virginia Foundation For Educational Leadership does

Virginia Foundation for Educational Leadership (VFEL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, that delivers professional development, leadership training, and advocacy services to school leaders across the pre-K-through-higher-education spectrum. The organization operates as the affiliated nonprofit of the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (VASSP), with shared leadership between VFEL's president (Dr. Randy D. Barrack) and VASSP's CEO, giving it structural integration into Virginia's principal pipeline.

VFEL's core product set consists of established leadership frameworks and training programs rather than a software platform: the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) Executive Development Program (introduced in Virginia in 2013), Building Ranks and Breaking Ranks curricula, the Virginia Model for School Improvement (developed in 2008), and the Virginia Principals Mentoring Pilot (VPMP) launched with VDOE support in 2023 and structured as a 12-month pilot for new and aspiring principals. Delivery relies on human facilitation by NISL-certified faculty and trained mentors rather than on proprietary technology infrastructure.

VFEL's business model is a classic nonprofit professional-development revenue stack: program fees from participating school divisions, donations, and grants from public and philanthropic sources. Historical and current funding relationships include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2004), a $2M National Governors Association award (2005), U.S. Department of Education grants (2009-2010), and a multi-year VDOE grant covering 2023-2025. The organization reports 1-10 employees, operates exclusively within Virginia, and has no disclosed revenue or consolidated financial metrics, with named institutional engagement limited to entities such as Churchland High School and Prince Edward Elementary.

Name

Virginia Foundation For Educational Leadership

Legal name

Virginia Foundation for Educational Leadership, Inc.

Website

https://www.edleader.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Virginia Foundation for Educational Leadership (VFEL) is a Richmond-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers professional development, leadership training, and mentoring programs to pre-K-through-higher-education school leaders across Virginia. It is structurally affiliated with VASSP and funded by grants, donations, and program fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Leadership Development Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Strategy, Instructional Design & Content Development (BPACANAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Educational leadership development
• School principal training
• Professional development services
• K-12 leadership programs
• Nonprofit education consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The organization actively seeks financial support through grants and donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to further its efforts as a leadership learning organization serving pre-K through higher education.
2. Professional Development Training Fees: VFEL provides professional development courses such as Mentor-Coach Processes for School Leaders (10 virtual sessions, 3 hours each) and Coaching Practices for School Leaders. Optional practicums available for additional training hours.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

VFEL delivers research-based professional development programs, leadership frameworks, and coaching services for Pre-K through higher education school leaders. Its core offerings include the NISL Executive Development Program, Breaking Ranks and Building Ranks frameworks, the Virginia Model for School Improvement, and mentor-coach training delivered to Virginia school divisions. The organization supplements these with diagnostic reviews, data management training, and annual law updates for school administrators.

Product overview

VFEL offers a comprehensive suite of professional development programs and services for school leaders spanning pre-K through higher education. The core offerings include the NISL Executive Development Program, Building Ranks K-12 framework, Breaking Ranks improvement framework, and the Virginia Model for School Improvement. Supporting services include Mentoring and Coaching Services, Data Processing/Management Training, Diagnostic Reviews/Consultations, and Law Updates. VFEL also delivers specialized courses such as Mentor-Coach Processes and Coaching Practices for School Leaders. The organization operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture, with the Executive Development Program and school improvement frameworks serving as primary offerings supplemented by targeted professional development modules and courses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Development Program (EDP) A blended professional development program delivered by NISL-certified VFEL faculty that provides inclusive training for adult learners through online instruction, classroom sessions, action learning plans, cohort discussions, simulations, and small group work. Designed for K-12 school leaders across Virginia school divisions to develop strategic thinking, instructional leadership, and equitable school culture creation.
• Building Ranks A comprehensive K-12 leadership development framework originally designed by NASSP focusing on two core domains: Building Culture and Leading Learning across 15 leadership dimensions. Includes diagnostic tools, 360-degree surveys, and data analysis to measure school culture and leadership growth for Virginia school leaders.
• Breaking Ranks A professional development framework that fosters a culture of excellence and continuous school improvement, built on four key questions addressing why schools need to improve, what needs to improve, how to improve, and leadership capacity for change. Used to train over 1,500 school leaders.
• Virginia Model for School Improvement A research-based training and technical assistance model for school improvement, including Breaking Ranks in the Middle, teacher leader training, Formative Assessment, and division leadership training components. Delivered to Virginia school divisions to support improved student achievement.
• Mentoring and Coaching Services Mentor and coaching services for principals and assistant principals at any career stage, including listening, challenging through insightful questions, and co-creating actions, assessments, and reflection to support school leadership development.
• Virginia Principals Mentoring Pilot (VPMP) A six-month pilot program training twelve educational leaders to mentor early-career K-12 principals in challenging schools. Includes hands-on practicum with newly assigned principals (zero to three years experience), with 27 hours of contact through trainings, monthly on-site visits, and weekly virtual contacts.
• National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) National-level training program with proven records of success for school districts throughout the U.S. in developing impactful school leaders. Draws on ISLLC standards and leadership research from medicine, law, business, and military fields, incorporating case studies, simulations, role-playing, and facilitated group discussions.
• Mentor-Coach Processes for School Leaders Course Ten-module virtual professional development course enabling school leaders to develop mentoring mindset and practice mentoring techniques. Includes an optional nine-hour practicum with real clients (additional six hours mentoring).

Quantifiable outcome

• NISL-led schools achieved statistically significantly higher student achievement vs comparison group - effect size .14 in math and .11 in ELA (Massachusetts study by Johns Hopkins/Old Dominion)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024VDOE provided funding for the Virginia Principals Mentoring Pilot program. VFEL began partnership with VDOE's Office of School Improvement in 2007 to develop the Virginia Model for School Improvement. VDOE and VFEL collaborate on NISL Executive Development Program delivery.
• National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024NASSP was a strong ally in the Virginia Principals Mentoring Pilot, donating copies of Building Ranks and What the Research Says publications to provide research-based findings and effective strategies for principals and mentors. NASSP developed the Building Ranks framework used in VPMP.
• Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals (VAESP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023VAESP collaborated with VFEL and VASSP on the Virginia Principals Mentoring Pilot (2023-2025), providing association leadership through Executive Director Krista Barton-Arnold to design and organize mentor training content, materials, and training deliveries.
• Johns Hopkins University and Old Dominion UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Conducted research study in 2011 on NISL's programs in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, finding statistically significantly higher student achievement in NISL-led schools vs comparison groups.
• Appalachian Comprehensive Resource CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Collaborated with VFEL in developing The Virginia Model for School Improvement, supporting schools and school divisions in implementation of effective instructional strategies and best practices.
• National Institute for School Leadership (NISL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007NISL introduced its Executive Development Program to Virginia through VFEL in 2013. VFEL is the state partner for delivering NISL training, with Virginia becoming the 21st state to participate. VFEL faculty were certified by NISL to deliver the EDP.
• Center on Innovation and Improvement (CII)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007CII collaborated with VFEL and VDOE's Office of School Improvement to develop the Virginia Model for School Improvement, providing teacher leader training components and research-based strategies.
• Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (VASSP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995VFEL is an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization of VASSP. The President/CEO of VFEL is the Executive Director/CEO of VASSP. VASSP provides organizational support and collaboration on professional development programs for secondary school principals.
• College of William and MaryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided division leadership training component as part of the Virginia Model for School Improvement professionally developed programs.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• National Institute for School Leadership (NISL): NISL develops and licenses the Executive Development Program that VFEL delivers in Virginia. Highly comparable: both focus on school-leader executive development with blended curricula, and they are explicitly co-operating rather than competing — but NISL sets the framework VFEL executes.
• New Leaders: New Leaders runs national residency and professional development programs for school and system leaders. Directly comparable target customer (K-12 principals and assistant principals) and content area (instructional leadership development).
• Learning Forward: National professional association dedicated to effective professional learning for educators. Comparable focus on adult-learner PD frameworks, standards-based learning design, and principal/supervisor capability building.
• Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (VASSP): VFEL's affiliated parent organization, sharing a CEO and operating in the same Virginia secondary principal market. Comparable as a state-level membership and professional development body for the same customer base.
• Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals (VAESP): State-level partner of VFEL that co-developed and co-delivers the Virginia Principals Mentoring Pilot. Comparable as a Virginia-focused principal membership and PD organization targeting the same K-12 leader audience.
• Center on Innovation and Improvement (CII): CII collaborated with VFEL and VDOE to develop the Virginia Model for School Improvement. Comparable as a research-and-practice organization focused on school turnaround and instructional leadership capacity.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP): NASSP publishes the Breaking Ranks and Building Ranks frameworks that anchor VFEL's offerings. Comparable because it is a national association developing the same leadership content for secondary principals that VFEL delivers at the state level.
• ASCD: Large national association providing professional development, publications, and frameworks for educators and school leaders across instructional leadership, curriculum, and school improvement — overlapping significantly with VFEL's content domains.

Emerging players

• Teach Plus: National nonprofit developing teacher and school-leader capacity with policy advocacy. Comparable audience (school leaders), comparable PD/coaching model, but with stronger national policy footprint than VFEL.
• Public Impact: Consulting firm focused on school and district leadership, talent pipelines, and turnaround strategy. Comparable customer (school/district leaders) and comparable consulting-plus-coaching delivery model, operating nationally rather than statewide.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/virginia-foundation-for-educational-leadership
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Virginia Foundation For Educational Leadership