LENS: Leaders for Emerging Networks of Schools
Leaders for Emerging Networks of Schools, or LENS, is year-long, part-time training for individuals preparing to take on heightened leadership roles in schools. LENS participants study the best practices of successful schools from across the nation and develop their leadership voice and mindset through hands-on coaching. LENS is a valuable tool for schools looking to build their leadership bench and equip a new wave of leaders.
LENS provides robust content and training on:
- Developing a leader’s mindset and voice, with an equity lens
- Managing strong adult culture by equipping and inspiring adults to perform successfully
- Setting strong student culture, including arrivals, transitions, thresholds, discipline, and classroom systems
- Delivering effective instruction, including curriculum, rigor, classroom routines and procedures, and assessment
LENS training consists of the following:
- Nine days of summer training in Boston (if travel is permitted due to COVID-19)
- Two additional professional development trainings including 7+ school observations
– November 4-7, 2020 | Virtual
– March 24-27, 2021 | Boston, MA or Virtual
Note: school observations will only take place if school is back in session and it is safe to conduct visits.
- Leadership self-assessment and one-on-one coaching with BES staff on a regular basis via phone, email, and through an online video coaching platform
- On-site visit by BES staff for observation and formal evaluative report
- Structured network of support with colleagues in the LENS cohort
The 2020-21 LENS program costs $14,000 per participant (includes travel-related expenses). This is a reduced price due to budgetary implications of the COVID-19 crisis.
LENS leaders are:
- committed to school leadership
- aligned with BES beliefs about excellent leaders and schools
- proven effective teachers at the classroom level
- recently elevated to leadership or considered to be on track for school leadership in one to two years
- currently coaching adults in schools for more than two hours per week (or will be doing so in the following school year)
- available to participate in the full calendar of LENS training
Become a LENS leader:
Our 2020-21 LENS application is closed. Applications for the 2021-22 LENS cohort will be accepted in the spring of 2021. To be considered, each LENS candidate must have:
- A nomination form completed and submitted by their school leader
- A completed and submitted candidate application
For more information about LENS, please contact Krista Pendergast at kpendergast@bes.org.
Leadership Intensives
Leadership Intensives support leaders to sharpen the skills they need to run a transformational school that ensures opportunity and success for students in their communities. Through action planning and analysis of proven practices, participants learn how to effectively manage their organizations so that they can concentrate on the goal at hand: educating all students at high levels.
We have reimagined our Leadership Intensives in light of the changing educational landscape. For the first time, we are offering fully virtual, two-hour intensive workshops led by BES’s veteran educators.
Spots are limited, so we encourage leaders and teams to register today to secure their virtual seats!
Two Trainings
Whether you’re a school leader, instructional coach, network director, or leading from the operations office, Leadership Intensives have something for you. Pick a targeted leadership training, devote a few hours to your professional development, and tackle the next day with sharper focus and stronger skills.
Adult Management 101: Building Your Vision
Participants will develop a leadership mindset to inspire and push adults, and will identify and codify key practices to build and sustain a strong, values-aligned staff culture.
Operations 101: Designing and Evaluating Your Systems
Participants will develop an operations leadership mindset that ensures instructional staff can focus on educating students and will practice developing systems that are mission-aligned, objective-driven, clearly codified, and evaluated by a rubric.
2020-2021 Cost
$250 per participant, per session.
Each two-hour professional development workshop includes video analysis of exemplar school systems/meetings, action planning, and resources.
Upcoming Trainings
Click here to register for one or both of our new open-enrollment virtual Leadership Intensives. Each workshop is offered twice:
Adult Management 101: Building Your Vision
Wednesday, January 27, 2021 3:30pm – 5:30pm ET
Wednesday, February 3, 2021 10:30am – 12:30pm ET
Operations 101: Designing and Evaluating Your Systems
Wednesday, January 27, 2021 10:30am – 12:30pm ET
Wednesday, February 3, 2021 3:30pm – 5:30pm ET
For more information about Leadership Intensives or to inquire about hosting a customized leadership training for your organization, please contact Stephanie Hellested at shellested@bes.org.
BES is offering the following coaching supports for the 2020-2021 academic year. Scroll down to learn more.
Executive Coaching
Executive coaching is designed to support and challenge the most senior leaders in an organization on the skills and mindset they need to execute at the highest level. Coaching sessions include tailored feedback, strategy, and problem-solving support in which leaders are equipped with the lens, mindset, and tools required to consistently perform at the top of their game.
Executive coaching is for any experienced principal or school leader that wishes to focus on advancing organizational priorities and outcomes. Coaching options are tailored to the needs of the school leader and include remote-only biweekly or monthly coaching with optional school visits from the BES coach. Click here to view our executive coaching options and pricing.
Cost varies depending on coaching frequency and school leader needs
Operations Coaching
Operations leadership coaching is designed to support and challenge the most senior operational leaders in an organization on the skills and mindset they need to execute at the highest level. Selected based on the needs of the operational leader, coaches provide remote support for the equivalent of one to two hours per month during the academic year, tailoring their advice and approach to most effectively coach to excellence.
Coaching sessions include feedback, strategy, and problem-solving support to design and execute highly efficient and impactful operational practices. Coaching options include remote-only monthly coaching or remote monthly coaching with one school visit from BES coach to conduct an on-site operations audit.
$3,000 for monthly remote coaching only
$5,000 for monthly remote coaching with one visit (includes travel costs)
$2,000 for additional on-site visit from BES coach with either coaching option (includes travel costs)
Strategic Support Review
Through Strategic Support Reviews, the BES team works with school leaders to thin-slice the organizational health of the school, identifying levers that will continue to drive the health and integrity of the organization.
The SSR is an annual, daylong process during which the school leadership team is pushed to think more critically about the school to strengthen their impact and improve the quality growth of their organization.
At the end of the review, the BES team will create a detailed report for the school, including an action plan intended to equip leaders to accelerate student achievement, ensure operational health, and lead the school to its next stage of success.
The SSR team is typically composed of one BES staff member and one visiting leader from a peer school who conducts the review alongside the school leader and select members from the school leadership team.
$5,000 per visit + associated travel costs
Includes pre-visit consultation and post-visit check-in
Fill out the form below to get in touch with our team about bringing coaching support to your school.
For questions about coaching, please contact Krista Pendergast at kpendergast@bes.org.
Executive Searches
Get expert recruitment support in your search for executive leadership.
The BES talent and recruitment team offers a variety of supports to schools in their search for executive leadership (principals, executive directors, heads of school).
Support From Posting Through Selection
BES develops and manages your executive leadership search process, from job postings via hiring platforms and paid social media, all the way through semi-finalist candidate interviews and the selection of a slate of finalists. Candidates who apply go through our multi-stage process. Once BES has identified finalists, schools conduct independent interviews, formal background checks, and reference checks, and make a final hiring decision. BES supports in this process by debriefing all finalists with the school’s leadership team and providing finalist application packets that include the initial application, video interview notes, and a thorough online presence check.
Access to BES Network and Resources
With a BES Fellowship acceptance rate of just 3-4% per year, BES has a talent pool of 115,000+ leaders to draw from. We conduct targeted outreach to these leaders via email, cultivation calls, paid social media advertising, and virtual information sessions.
BES Support Benefits
- Access to a rich, national network of education leaders, an established talent team, and a streamlined recruitment process
- School leaders can focus on the highest-level, vetted candidates rather than the nuts and bolts of the recruitment process
- Talent search, candidate screening, and interview coaching from a team of education-focused recruiters that will operate within your hiring timeline
Cost
The base cost of this service is $10,000 + 15% of new hire salary.
For more information, email ncurtis@bes.org.
School and Leadership Audit
Our team of experts works alongside the school’s leadership team to identify the highest-leverage shifts that will lead to sustained improvement for years to come.
BES Audit Components
- Team of auditors including two seasoned BES coaches and a visiting leader from a high-performing school
- Pre-visit call with the school’s leadership team and survey of all staff to gain insight into the school’s strengths and growth areas
- Two-day, on-site guided and independent visit by the BES team, including interviews with key leaders across departments and observations across grade levels, subjects, and time of day. Additional observations negotiable
- Observation of professional development sessions (if schedule allows)
- Review of key documents including budget and academic materials
BES Audit Results
- Culminating feedback session with the school’s leadership team to understand goals, strengths, and areas of growth that can be addressed quickly
- Detailed audit report with recommendations to further equip the school’s leadership team to be able to accelerate student achievement and ensure the school’s operational health
Cost
This service costs $18,000 plus travel, or could be conducted virtually in 2020-21 at a reduced rate.
Click here to view a sample schedule. For more information, email recruiting@bes.org.