Welcome

The National Program

The Virginia Program

Virginia Fellows

Application & Selection

About the State Coordinator

Institute for Educational Leadership

Contact Information

The Virginia Program

Along with the national EPFP program strands of leadership, public policy, and professional networking - the Virginia EPFP has a unique focus addressing the nexus of ethics, diversity, and educational empowerment. The Virginia EPFP provides a dynamic arena in which to develop policy leadership talent in Virginia for the sake of child, youth, and adult education.

What Will Fellows Learn?

EPFP curriculum focuses on leadership, policy, and networking within the state and national contexts. Current and prospective state leaders are identified as policy fellows, and participate in local and national forums to enable these leaders to:

~ Develop and refine their leadership voice;
~ Understand, identify and expand their ability to influence education policy making;
~ Gain access to the people, processes, and systems that shape policy on behalf of children and youth;
~ Join a state and national network of diverse policymakers, decision makers, and practitioners.

Fellows use their work settings as the context for examining important leadership and policy issues in their states and in the nation. The program provides Fellows with experiences:

~ To help them understand how policy is made and influenced;
~ To learn about key education policy issues;
~ To explore connections and collisions between the issues and their champions and/or critics;
~ To become skillful discussants with policymakers and stakeholder at all levels;
~ To hone their skills as leaders and partners in collaborative change.

How Will the Cohort Seminars Work?

Virginia’s EPFP cohort will meet for 8 seminars at different locations across the state between September and June. Policy fellows are also required to participate in two national IEL conferences focusing on leadership and policy, one of which will be held in Washington, D.C. Seminars will focus on topics relevant to young people and state including the following topics:

~ Networking and collaboration among education stakeholders;
~ The Virginia education policy making process;
~ Linkages between education, the economy and the media;
~ Issues embedded in major state initiatives;
~ Topics relevant to ethics, diversity, and empowerment.

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