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Virginia School Consortium for Learning

General Information

VaSCL is an educational consortium composed of more than eighty public school divisions from across Virginia.  The organization is dedicated to providing high-quality professional learning and promoting professional collaboration among educators in order to improve instruction and increase student achievement.

Organization

  • Board Role:

    The Executive Board is responsible for the overall governance of the organization. The Executive Board is composed of both superintendents (the two VaSCL Officers and four at-large superintendents) and five representatives of the VaSCL Steering Committee. Superintendents from each member school division meet annually to elect the Executive Board and its officers.

  • Budget:
    VaSCL currently has an annual operating budget of $250,000. Operating expenses are paid for by workshop registration fees and annual membership dues. Membership fees for each school division are based on the following structure: Each member school division pays $800 per 1,000 students ADM. No school division pays less than $800 for membership, and no school division pays more than $6,000 for membership. The Executive Board approves the annual budget in May of each fiscal year.
  • Steering Committee:
    Each member division appoints a representative to serve on a Steering Committee. The Steering Committee, composed of school division assistant superintendents and other instructional leaders from member divisions, meets at least three times during the academic year. These meetings also provide a vehicle for exchanging ideas, sharing innovative programs, and addressing the challenges of local, state, and national initiatives.
  • Staff:
    The VaSCL Executive Director is hired by the Board to work with Steering Committee members to assess the professional development needs of VaSCL members and to plan and coordinate workshops and conferences to address those needs. The Executive Director supervises staff including the financial assistant, professional learning coordinator, and balanced assessment coordinator. The Executive Director reports to the Executive Board.

History

  • 1986:
    The Virginia School Consortium for Learning was founded as The Virginia School-University Partnership (VSUP) as a partnership of eight public school divisions near Charlottesville, Virginia.
  • 1986-2006:
    VSUP built a strong foundation of collaborative professional learning opportunities among its expanding membership.
  • 2006:
    VSUP was incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization to give the organization greater flexibility in its development and provision of services, including its premier teacher-built and vetted assessment bank.
  • 2017:
    The Strategic Design Committee recommended, and the Board of Directors voted to alter the bylaws, establishing a new framework for the future, including a name change to The Virginia School Consortium for Learning (VaSCL).
  • 2018:
    VaSCL formed the Virginia Learning Innovation Network and an ongoing cohort model to support division-level innovation teams to implement the Profile of a Virginia Graduate.
  • 2020:

    VaSCL became a charter founder of the newly-formed Commonwealth Learning Partners composed of Virginia’s professional associations, higher education institutions, and national organizations all dedicated to growling and developing educators’ capacity to address the evolving needs of learners across the Commonwealth. 

  • 2022:
    VaSCL members through the Executive Board and Steering Committee reimagined its organizational Vision, Mission, and Priorities.