Pilot Projects In
Support of School Leadership Team Development

VELA supported six pilot team leadership development projects during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 school years. Teams at these sites worked with consultants to test and refine a process that would help to strengthen school leadership teams by guiding school leaders in identifying common assumptions about and expectations of their school system. This in turn led to the assignment of clearly defined roles and responsibilities for members of the leadership team. This process required a substantial commitment of time and energy from school leaders, but it has resulted in increased communication, greater levels of trust, mutual understanding, and improved relationships among the participants. The lessons of the pilots lead directly to the creation of the VELA Legacy by a task force in the fall of 2004. More information about the pilot projects can be found in the Pilot I and Pilot II summaries that follow.