BES believes that excellent leaders approach every challenge as an opportunity to learn. BES Fellows persevere through challenges and are eager to take, give, and implement feedback with humility and resilience. They are committed to personal and professional development for themselves and their team.

BES believes that an excellent school leader demonstrates knowledge of and respect for the communities they serve. BES Fellows actively seek out and incorporate community input into the school’s design and operation, implementing practices that reflect and respond to community need. They are not only invested in ongoing listening and engagement to found a locally responsive school, but demonstrate a long-term personal and professional investment in the success and sustainability of the school and its surrounding community.

BES believes that an excellent leader demonstrates an ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. BES Fellows are dedicated to founding and leading schools that are actively anti-racist spaces and work to ensure equitable and robust support for learners of all backgrounds, needs, and abilities. They have a history of working equitably across lines of difference among families and staff to achieve common goals.

BES believes that excellent leaders have a clear vision for the school they hope to found. Their vision is grounded in the belief that all students can, must, and will achieve at high levels, if held to high expectations and provided with the academic and social supports to master rigorous, culturally relevant content. BES Fellows hold themselves and their team accountable for academic and non-academic results in order to prepare students for success in college, career, and life.

No. While experience and expertise in the classroom is common among successful Fellowship applicants, there is so much more involved in designing and building an excellent school. BES seeks candidates who have depth of experience in a variety of areas including education, organizing, public policy, law, non-profit leadership, project management, and strategic planning. The BES Fellowship focuses on three essential components of the school founding process: developing a comprehensive educational program that drives student achievement, building a founding board and garnering support for the school through community engagement, and founding a viable nonprofit organization. Deep knowledge in each of these three areas is helpful, but it is also rare. Successful Fellowship candidates typically have a breadth of experience in one discipline; the Fellowship curriculum provides training and support to build capacity in the other two.

No. For the current year’s Fellowship application, candidates must be interested in opening a high-performing school in one of the designated cities. New regions are added as available. Applicants interested in regions other than those listed are encouraged to fill out this form to express interest or share available information on support that they have already garnered for founding or opening a school in any of the three Fellowship tracks.

No. The BES Fellowship only supports Fellows who are interested in launching schools in the United States.

Applying for the BES Fellowship is a five-step process that includes a phone call with a BES recruiter, an online application, a video interview, and a series of virtual interviews. Learn more here.

Nominations are an excellent way for us to discover great candidates for the Fellowship. If the person you nominate successfully enrolls in the program, you’ll receive a generous finder’s fee. Nominate a Fellow here.

Yes, the BES Fellowship is a full-time commitment. During the training year, Fellows receive a stipend that allows them to focus on the Fellowship as their sole professional engagement to design and develop their school. Joining the Fellowship is a four-year commitment composed of a training year, a planning year, a foundational year, and an operational year. Following the Fellowship, it is expected that leaders continue working toward the mission of their school, ensuring the school reaches a point of sustainability.

No. The Fellowship is a national program that requires Fellows to live in the city where they are proposing a school. During the Fellowship training year, BES covers travel and housing costs associated with Fellowship training and school study.

Fellows spend 75+ days training and studying schools across the country. Fellows can spend up to two weeks per month outside of their communities. All BES Fellows spend ample time in their respective communities building essential local support.

Both. The Fellowship incorporates a mix of independent and group work. Through independent work, each Fellow follows a tailored program that helps fill in the gaps in his or her own learning, skill set, or experience. As a group, Fellows pore over the curriculum, discuss and dissect ideas and themes, participate in trainings, and share their developing ideas and work.

Fellows complete month-long residencies at high-performing schools in the winter and the summer of the Fellowship training year. Residency sites are chosen based on the strength of their academic and organizational records, their relevance to a Fellow’s school design plans, and their ability to embrace the skills and experiences a newly-trained Fellow can offer. Over the course of the residency, Fellows complete projects that support the work of their host school, leverage their individual skill sets, and work toward their larger goal of developing an excellent school.

By the end of the Fellowship training year, the Fellow has successfully built a board of directors / trustees and submitted a charter application to the charter authorizer. Upon authorization of the school, Fellows move into the planning year, during which they work to hire staff, secure a facility, build curriculum, and enroll students. Once a charter is approved, Fellows are eligible to apply for external grants to support their work during the planning year.

Upon completion of the training year, BES continues to work closely with leaders through Follow On Support, to ensure that schools start strong and stay strong. Follow On Support addresses hands-on practical skills, strategic planning, fund development, board development, curriculum, evaluation, and much more.

Fellows are not employees of BES and receive Form 1099 for the tax years in which the Fellowship training year falls.

No, however BES will pay for an individual medical insurance plan, up to a certain amount, with costs paid directly to the Fellow’s health insurance provider. All Fellows are required to demonstrate proof of medical coverage during the Fellowship.