Pictured, from left, are Lorinda Kline, secondary instructional math coach; David Robertson, chief academic officer; Dani Barkey, communications and accountability officer; Dr. David Hoffert, superintendent; Kelly Meeks, secondary instructional literacy coach.

WARSAW — Warsaw Community Schools has entered into an unprecedented partnership with the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business and the Curry School of Education as Indiana’s first school acceleration program (UVA Partners for Leadership in Education).

The Indiana Department of Education approached WCS to consider the pilot. After a lengthy vetting process, WCS agreed to pilot the program with the support of the IDOE, which provided a $750,000 grant for the three-year partnership, professional development, travel costs and funds for instructional positions. This grant allows the partnership to exist with little to no cost to WCS.

This partnership is part of WCS’s strategic planning to achieve our mission for all students. The goal of the acceleration program is to empower school systems and school level leaders to achieve dramatic improvement and growth. The UVA Acceleration Program is a rigorous, three-year district and leadership development course emphasizing four main foundational “levers of change.” These include leadership; differentiated support and accountability; talent management; and instructional infrastructure. Through focusing on these levers, the program aims to create the system-wide infrastructure necessary to quickly, dramatically and sustainably improve student learning.

The UVA PLE program focuses on three schools within the districts that it partners. WCS will be focusing their partnership with UVA on secondary schools in the district (WCHS, LMS and EMS). Teachers and administrators at the secondary schools will benefit from professional development from a world-class institution as well as a chance to work with districts from around the nation also working towards innovation in education.

Multiple site visits have taken place at WCS, including a week-long, intensive initial meeting between leadership of both organizations.

“WCS is very grateful for the opportunity to commence our partnership with the University of Virginia,” stated Dr. David Hoffert, superintendent of WCS. “Since its inception in the early 1800s, UVA has been an institution focused on visionary leadership and data driven research. This partnership will assist WCS through world-class professional development and resources targeted on secondary instructional practices enabling WCS to continue as a leading public school. The partnership aligns with WCS’s work as a Professional Learning Community and will be a catalyst for the continuous improvement of PLC practices.“