The BES Fellowship is a process that typically spans 4 or 5 years, the program moves Fellows through three stages: Build, Excel, Sustain.

Build stage:

Our cohort of BES Fellows engage in 1-2 training years (depending on track and region) as they work toward getting their school authorized.  

Excel stage: 

Upon authorization of their school, Fellows become school founders and receive 3 years of hands-on School Launch Support through their planning year and first two years of operation. 

Sustain stage:

After their second year of operation, BES Fellows have now completed the Fellowship program and transition to Alumni status. They maintain access to resources, leadership development, and the broader BES community that is able to help them sustain their work. 

Learn more about what each stage entails here.

BUILD TRACK

Fellows found and lead a fresh-start public charter school in response to community needs and grounded in learnings from excellent schools. Fellows benefit from one training year to write and submit a complete high quality charter application as well as identify and prepare a diverse, high capacity, and mission aligned founding team and governing board.

Within the Build Track, some Fellows are identified as Character & Equity Fellows. These Fellows found a school with character and equity at the core of its model, in addition to other locally responsive elements. Fellows engage in additional opportunities such as communities of practice and conferences to center character and equity in their school models. Currently, all Fellowship spaces in Arizona are reserved for Character and Equity Fellows.

COMMUNITY CO-DESIGN TRACK

Over the course of two years, Fellows design and prepare to lead a fresh-start public charter school that has been co-designed alongside a community co-design team. The first year allows Fellows to develop a co-design team of 7-10 individuals to help seek out and incorporate community input into the design of the new school. The second year allows Fellows to write and submit a complete high quality charter application as well as identify and prepare a diverse, high capacity, and mission aligned founding team and governing board.

GROWTH TRACK

Through the BES Fellowship Growth Track, schools expand or replicate models that are delivering strong results for students. We partner with both school leaders ready to grow and the ecosystem partners who fund and support that growth. BES provides training and support that enable effective schools to multiply their impact – whether that means expanding into new regions, or adding campuses or grades beyond what they were originally chartered for.

In addition to one or two training years and School Launch Support for the Fellow, BES also provides structured support to the flagship school leader as they lead the team in preparation for growth. As part of the program, leaders also have the potential to access cohort support. 

If you are a school founder who is interested in support to replicate or expand an existing school, reach out to us at partners@bes.org and learn more here.

A new cohort application cycle is announced every fall.

Applications for the BES Fellowship are reviewed on a rolling basis until all spots are filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible in order to secure limited spots in our available regions.

BES Fellows have varied start dates to accommodate different charter authorization deadlines across regions.

The application process and timeline is aligned with these start dates within a cohort year: August, October, and January.

Applicants should still apply early as spots are limited.

At BES, we partner with passionate, equity-focused leaders who bring deep instructional expertise and a commitment to expanding access to high-quality education. Our Fellows are experienced educators and school leaders driven to design, found, and lead excellent schools that reflect and respond to the communities they serve. 

The BES Fellowship is grounded in a commitment to equity and inclusive leadership. Each cohort is made up of individuals with diverse identities, lived experiences, and perspectives, essential to creating excellent, community-driven schools. 

Most applicants bring extensive professional experience, instructional background, and meaningful ties to their proposed region. 

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum 8 years of professional experience, with instructional or instructional leadership experience
• At least 2 years managing and supervising adults in a PreK-12 setting
• Commitment to serving as a school leader in the proposed community for at least 10 years
• Ability to establish and activate local connections to support school enrollment
• Clear, compelling rationale for the proposed school location

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s or Professional degree
• At least 2 years of school leadership experience
• At least 2-3 years of experience living or working in the proposed school region, especially those with strong ties to the community

Applying for the BES Fellowship is a six-step process that includes an online application, a phone call with a BES recruiter, and a series of virtual interviews. Depending on the Fellowship track and/or region, candidates may be asked to interview with local partners or funders before a final decision is made. In these instances, the selection of a candidate is a mutual decision between BES and the partner organization, with BES managing the process to ensure consistency and equity. Learn more here.

Fellows are required to live in the community where they are proposing a school during the Fellowship. 

The BES Fellowship only supports Fellows who are interested in launching schools in priority regions within the United States.

See question below for additional details.

We assess and identify regions on an ongoing basis. An additional 1-2 placements per year are made possible through national funding that can be flexibly allocated to regions with demonstrated community need. 

While we may not have dedicated partners in locations outside of our priority regions, we believe there is an opportunity for leaders to found new charter schools in these other areas. We encourage serious candidates to complete an interest form, especially if they have begun initial community engagement work and/or have deep connections to the community in which they are proposing to found a school.

Please note that if you are invited to begin the formal application process for a location that is not a priority region, the process may take longer than the timeline outlined on the website for confirmed Fellowship regions. Depending on various factors, a region may open at any time during the recruitment cycle, though they are likely to open by June to ensure that candidates have enough time to prepare for the start of the Fellowship in August. 

If your region of interest does not open during the recruitment cycle, we may defer your application to the following recruitment cycle. 

There are many factors we analyze when determining regions for the BES Fellowship. These include, but are not limited to, (in no particular order): 

1. Authorization landscape – This includes the state of the overall market, demonstrated need, and state and local politics that may be barriers to authorization, including charter caps for the Build Track and Growth Track.

2. Talent landscape – Access to a diverse talent base to identify Fellows and once authorized, a landscape in which our Fellows will be more likely to have success recruiting and retaining teachers, leaders, and staff that reflect the surrounding community and ensure school and student success.

3. Community relationships, support, and national/local funding – We ultimately want our Fellows to be successful in designing and founding a locally-responsive school and recognize they will need education champions as well as funding for the Fellowship, school start-up, and launch. We analyze these factors to be able to assess opportunities and risk towards this goal in the geography’s education ecosystem. Variables that are considered include the presence of education advocacy groups, family champions, and philanthropic support for the Fellowship and for the school.  

This list is dynamic and is considered alongside other factors which may be uniquely local or regional. For example, turnaround plans or new initiatives at the state level due to an influx of CSP funding may create opportunities to support school leaders with fewer barriers to entry.