In 2024-2025, with collaboration by the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals (VAESP) and the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (VASSP), the Virginia Foundation for Educational Leadership (VFEL) spearheaded a six-month pilot program to train twelve educational leaders in mentoring early-career K-12  principals, particularly those in challenging schools. In addition, each mentor was required to complete a hands-on practicum with two principals who were newly assigned (zero to three years of experience) to low-performing schools. To reinforce the main components of the curriculum – strategic thinking, strengths, building cultures, and leading learning – all 12 mentors and all twenty-four elementary, middle, and high school principal mentees attended monthly sessions to co-learn, practice, apply, and reflect.

 

The Virginia Principals Mentoring Pilot (VPMP), funded by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), enabled seasoned administrators to create a robust system of mentoring support to empowered these new school leaders to tackle challenges effectively.

 

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) was a strong ally in the pilot for developing mentors for secondary school leaders. The organization donated copies of two NASSP publications - Building Ranks and What the Research Says – that provided research-based findings, knowledge, and case studies to ensure principals and mentors were equipped with effective strategies and tools leading to improvements in their schools. Pillars, Practices, and Priorities for Effective Principals was used by the VASEP cohort. Both elementary and secondary mentors used Leadership through Mentoring during their mentor training.

 

To maintain focus on the work needed to be done and apply research behind their efforts, mentors and principal-mentees spent twenty-seven hours of contact through live trainings, monthly on-site visits, and weekly virtual contacts. Mentors received an additional twenty-one hours for mentor training and progress meetings with VPMP staff.

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It was during the VPMP that VFEL faculty members came to realize how overwhelmed and overburdened principals were with responsibilities and expectations by the end of September. Even when the program ended in January, many of the mentors

and principals continued their collaborative relationship for several more months.

 

Evaluation and further review of pilot documentation of the VPMP program have spurred VFEL to take action to advance new leadership in schools to include both the principal and the school leadership team. Using a systemic team model for building student success, Building Ranks, and continued support from NASSP, VFEL is poised to continue training more mentors, extend the original program and curriculum to 12 months, and provide mentoring for school leadership teams tasked to improve student achievement.