Blog Post
Charles Friedman Leaders to Learn From: BES Accelerator
In addition to 1:1 coaching, visits to high-performing schools, cohort collaboration, and training from BES experts, participants in the School Management & Leadership Accelerator will also learn from BES alumni who will share insights and best practices drawn from their first-hand experience leading schools, managing teams, and navigating the complex challenges school leaders face year-round. Meet one of those facilitators:
Charles Friedman is a 2011 BES Fellow who founded and currently serves as Executive Director of Nashville Classical Charter Schools in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville Classical is a K-8 school that educates scholars through a classical curriculum built on the study of great books, foreign language, and music. They are built upon a joy of learning, diverse community, and shared core values: Focus, Integrity, Resilience, Scholarship, and Team.
What takeaways from your BES experience continue to stick with you today?
“I learned more on the first day with BES in the Fellowship than I had learned in my previous 7 years of teaching and leadership combined. Nothing compares to the opportunity to study the nation’s best schools alongside the nation’s sharpest leaders.”
Tell us about a few significant achievements made by your school since it opened in 2013.
“Our first graduates outscored every district in the State of Tennessee on the 8th Grade Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) for Math and ELA. Further, in the past five years, our school achieved a top 5% growth in the state for both Math and ELA, and we were awarded three Blue Ribbon Awards for Teaching Excellence– the most in Nashville. Our school has been named the city’s best nonprofit by the Nashville Business Journal and was a 3x Tennessee Reward School by the TN Department of Education.”
What advice would you give to leaders navigating the first five years of their role?
“Two things.
1. Keep a journal. You’re going to learn so much and want to remember these moments.
2. Keep going and keep growing. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn. You become a better leader by going through challenges and you won’t make the same mistake twice.”
As an alumni, what empowered you to take on this role to support leaders in the BES Accelerator?
“As I approach 20 years of working in schools, I remain in awe of the growth of my students and the growth of my colleagues. Our school would not exist today if countless leaders hadn’t opened their doors, brains, and hearts. It’s a privilege to pay their wisdom forward. We need great schools everywhere, and the only way to build them is to recruit, equip, and support great people to lead them.”
Want to learn from Charles and experts at BES who can help you strengthen your skills and bring operational excellence to your school? The BES School Management & Leadership Accelerator is currently accepting applications for the inaugural 2025 cohort, which will begin September 16, 2025.
This eight-month, cohort-based program builds upon the foundations of our previous LENS program and aims to help leaders develop sharp business acumen, strong emotional intelligence, and the confidence to drive lasting, transformative change. Leaders will strengthen their knowledge and skills in operations and budget management, strategic planning, data analysis, vision setting, instructional leadership, performance management, and more.
The BES Accelerator is for all K-12 leaders who manage people or programs, and are in the first five years of their leadership role. This includes school leadership such as Principals, Assistant Principals, Deans of Students, Directors of Instruction, Directors of Operations, and more.
The deadline to apply is September 12.
Learn more & apply: bes.org/programs/accelerator
