School Leader Lab

What School Leader Lab does

School Leader Lab is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2017 that delivers cohort-based leadership development programs for school leaders across the full pipeline — from teacher leaders and assistant principals through principals and network/district executives. The organization operates a portfolio of named programs including the DC School Leader Cohort (15-month, $18,000 tuition), DC Executive Leader Cohort (EdEx, 10-month, $7,500), Teacher Leader Cohort (9-month, $3,000), AP Leadership Academy (DCPS partnership), Leading Change Cohort, Principal Collective, RPS LEAD (Richmond Public Schools partnership), and DeltaStrong PLC (TFA Delta partnership). Its underlying methodology combines peer-based cohort learning, 1:1 coaching, 360-degree feedback, and tailored leadership projects built on research-backed content covering antiracism, people leadership, and academic leadership. Programs are delivered through in-person Learning Labs, retreats, and school visits, supplemented by virtual coaching pods.

The business model is hybrid: a smaller tuition line from self-pay or district-sponsored individual participants, layered onto a larger foundation and grant funding base that includes a $2 million MacKenzie Scott Yield Giving award, Education Forward DC support, and Richmond Ed Fund backing. Go-to-market is partner-led rather than direct sales — School Leader Lab expands primarily by securing multi-year district and nonprofit partnerships (DCPS, RPS, TFA DC/Virginia, TFA Delta) that underwrite program delivery and provide participant pipelines. Several programs (RPS LEAD, DeltaStrong PLC, DCPS APLA) are explicitly tuition-free to participants because they are funded by these partnerships. As of mid-2026, the organization has reached approximately 500 leaders across 175 schools and roughly 300,000 students since inception, with a small core staff of about eight team members led by Executive Director Erica Beal.

Name

School Leader Lab

Legal name

School Leader Lab

Website

https://schoolleaderlab.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

School Leader Lab is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit founded in 2017 that delivers cohort-based leadership development programs for school leaders — teacher leaders, assistant principals, principals, and network/district executives — across DC, Maryland, Virginia, Richmond, and the Mississippi Delta.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Leadership Development

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Educational Leadership & Administration Programs (EDAHAFAD)

Keywords

• Leadership development programs
• Education professional development
• School leader training
• Cohort-based learning
• Executive coaching education

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Program Tuition: Tuition-based revenue from leadership development programs including DC School Leader Cohort ($18,000), DC Executive Leader Cohort ($7,500), and Teacher Leader Cohort ($3,000)
2. Foundation and Grant Funding: Significant funding from foundations including a $2 million Yield Giving award from MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving Open Call, along with support from various education foundations and funders

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

School Leader Lab delivers cohort-based, tuition-supported leadership development programs for school-based leaders (principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, teacher leaders) and network/district executives across the Washington D.C. region and expanded geographies. Programs combine peer-based cohort learning, one-on-one coaching, 360-degree feedback, and tailored technical assistance, and are offered both as tuition-based cohort enrollments and as tuition-free partnerships with school districts, charter networks, and education organizations.

Product overview

School Leader Lab is an education-focused leadership development organization offering a portfolio of cohort-based programs at every level of the school ecosystem. The core offerings include the DC Executive Leader Cohort (EdEx) for C-suite leaders, the DC School Leader Cohort (SLC) for principals and assistant principals, the Teacher Leader Cohort for classroom-based leaders, the Principal Collective for DC-area principals, DeltaStrong PLC for TFA Delta region, RPS LEAD for Richmond Public Schools, and the AP Leadership Academy (APLA) in partnership with DCPS. Programs combine peer-based cohort learning, one-on-one coaching, 360-degree feedback, and tailored technical assistance to develop leaders who can create inclusive, high-performing learning environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DC Executive Leader Cohort (EdEx) A ten-month, cross-school program developing future C-suite school leaders of color in Washington D.C., focusing on adaptive leadership, technical leadership, building community, and understanding the role of race and racism in schools. Designed for executive leaders such as Chief Academic Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Executive Directors, and Principal Managers.
• DC School Leader Cohort (SLC) A 15-month cross-school program developing exceptional principals and assistant principals in Washington D.C. schools, focusing on antiracism, people leadership, and academic leadership skills delivered through coaching, 360-degree feedback, and leadership development projects. Tuition: $18,000 per participant.
• Teacher Leader Cohort A 9-month cross-school program developing transformational classroom-based leaders in Washington D.C., focused on antiracism and people skills through peer collaboration, practice-based sessions, and group coaching. Tuition: $3,000 per participant.
• Principal Collective A 6-month program for DC-area principals that highlights best practices and inspires change across district and charter schools, with a particular emphasis on Wards 7 and 8 of Washington D.C.
• DeltaStrong: PLC for Principals with TFA Delta A 4-month professional learning community in partnership with Teach for America for principals in the Greater Delta region (Mississippi and Arkansas), including four full-day in-person sessions, school visits, hotel accommodations, fellowship, and genuine dialogue. Tuition-free due to funder support.
• RPS LEAD A 12-month leadership development experience in partnership with Richmond Public Schools for assistant principals and newly appointed principals, designed to strengthen leadership retention, deepen capacity for instructional excellence, and build collaborative networks across the district. Includes eight full-day Learning Labs and monthly virtual Coaching Pods. Tuition-free due to generous funder support.
• AP Leadership Academy (APLA) A partnership program with the District of Columbia Public Schools supporting assistant principals who are already proficient in their roles, providing leadership development and action projects aligned with school improvement plans. Supports 19 assistant principals and 200+ APs across DCPS.

Quantifiable outcome

• 92% of supervisors report measurable growth in their leaders' performance
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered important and core.

• Bellwether Education PartnersimportantStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025National nonprofit partnered in March 2025 to conduct an independent evaluation of School Leader Lab assessing program impact on leadership capacity, leader retention, and school conditions that foster success
• Richmond Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Multi-year partnership starting in 2025 to deliver RPS LEAD, a yearlong leadership development experience for assistant principals and newly appointed principals designed to strengthen leadership retention, deepen capacity for instructional excellence, and build collaborative networks across the district
• Teach for America (TFA) Mississippi DeltaimportantStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Expanded partnership with TFA in 2024 to pilot DeltaStrong, a professional learning community for principals in the Mississippi Delta region including Arkansas, with school walkthroughs, fellowship, and genuine dialogue
• District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership launched in 2023 to support DCPS principals and assistant principals through AP Leadership Academy and Leading Change programs, supporting the 115 principals leading DCPS's 117 schools, 200 assistant principals, and nearly 100 aspiring APs impacting 51,000 students
• Teach for America (TFA) D.C. and VirginiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership launched in Fall 2023 with support from Education Forward DC to create the first School Leader Professional Learning Community, consisting of 18 principals (half charter, half DCPS) from seven of eight DC wards, focused on district and public school leader collaboration
• EdForwardimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with EdForward to launch EdEx 4, the Executive Leader Cohort welcoming 11 exceptional C-suite leaders from DC schools to create inclusive, high-performing learning environments

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• EdFuel: Education-sector talent and leadership development nonprofit and SLL's original co-founding partner (DCDLI was launched in partnership with EdFuel). Targets the same education workforce pipeline with a more consulting-oriented operating model.
• New Leaders: National nonprofit focused on recruiting, preparing, and supporting school principals and school leaders, with a similar mission of building a diverse leadership pipeline for high-need schools. Closest direct analog to SLL's SLC and EdEx cohorts in target audience, program structure, and outcome metrics.
• Public Impact: Education research and consulting firm working with school and district leaders on staffing, leadership, and turnaround strategies. Overlaps with SLL on the executive/principal leadership audience and on delivering against district-level leadership capacity goals.
• Pahara Institute: Selective fellowship program for senior leaders of charter schools and education organizations, including recognition of SLL's Executive Director. Comparable audience (education executive leaders), though its delivery model is a fellowship network versus SLL's cohort coaching model.
• Teaching Trust: Nonprofit delivering leadership development programs for principals and school system leaders with a focus on equity and instructional impact. Overlaps directly with SLL's cohort-based principal leadership training and similar target persona (school and system leaders).

Broad incumbents

• TNTP: National nonprofit originally focused on teacher recruitment that has expanded deeply into school leader development, school turnarounds, and district partnerships at scale. Serves the same education leadership needs but with a much broader portfolio and operational footprint than SLL.
• Relay Graduate School of Education: Graduate school and professional development institution preparing teachers, school leaders, and district leaders through degree and non-degree programs. Comparable leadership-training outcomes with a broader academic and credentialing infrastructure than SLL.
• National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP): National principal membership association providing professional development, advocacy, and resources to elementary and middle school principals. Overlaps with SLL on the principal audience but operates as a member-services body rather than a cohort-coaching provider.

Emerging players

• KIPP Foundation: National charter network that invests in principal and school leader development pipelines across its own schools. Comparable audience but addresses the leader pipeline primarily within KIPP-affiliated schools rather than the cross-district/cross-charter audience SLL serves.
• Battelle for Kids: Nonprofit partner to school systems on leadership development, personalized learning, and educator growth. Adjacent to SLL's mission of building leadership capacity in districts, though with broader K-12 transformation themes rather than cohort-based principal training specifically.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/school-leader-lab
• Xx.com/schoolleaderlab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 School Leader Lab