LENS: Leaders for Emerging Networks of Schools
Leaders for Emerging Networks of Schools, or LENS, is yearlong, part-time training for individuals preparing to take on heightened leadership roles within urban schools. LENS participants study the best practices of successful charter 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, lens, and voice
- Managing strong adult culture by equipping and inspiring adults to perform successfully
- Setting appropriate school 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:
Eight days of intense summer training
– June 23 (travel day) – July 1, 2019 | Boston, Massachusetts
Two additional professional development trainings including four+ school observations
– November 6-8, 2019 | Nashville, Tennessee
– March 18-20, 2020 | Boston, Massachusetts
- Leadership coaching with BES staff on a regular basis via phone, email, and through an online video coaching platform
- Leadership development self-assessment reviewed by BES staff
- On-site visit by BES staff member for observation and formal evaluative report
- Structured network of support with colleagues in the LENS cohort
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
- available to participate in the full calendar of LENS training
Cost 2019-2020
LENS costs $15,000 per participant. This includes:
- On-site trainings (initial eight days of training, additional six days of training)
- Hours of detailed leadership coaching from BES staff
- Access to the online coaching portal
- The leadership development self-assessment
- Travel, hotel accommodations, and food for on-site trainings
Application
The 2019 LENS application is now closed. Applications for the 2020 LENS cohort will be accepted in the spring. 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 Jill Dunchick at jdunchick@bes.org.
Leadership Intensives
BES Leadership Intensives (formerly Weekend Warriors) provide study of transformative schools and targeted training in instructional leadership, operational leadership, and talent leadership.
Through BES Leadership Intensives, leaders sharpen the skills they need to run a transformational school that ensures opportunity and success for students in their communities.
Each intensive is a two-day training under the leadership of BES Chief Academic Officer Sue Walsh. The first day begins with a visit to and study of an exemplary school, where participants are exposed to the best practices in school leadership. On the second day, participants then immerse themselves in a full day of training.
Through analysis and hands-on workshops, participants learn how to effectively manage their organizations so that they can concentrate on the goal at hand: educating all students at high levels.
Two Days, Three Trainings
Whether you’re a school leader, instructional coach, talent director, or leading from the operations office, Leadership Intensives have something for you. Spend two days with us, pick a training, and tackle Monday morning with sharper focus and stronger skills.
FRIDAY
Participants start with a half-day dedicated to school study and continue with thin-slicing the details of the schools’ best practices and an afternoon school leadership panel. At the end of the day, participants will have the opportunity for action-planning workshop time, supported by the BES team.
SATURDAY
Participants select sessions from three different trainings carefully tailored to individuals in different leadership roles:
| INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP | OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP | TALENT LEADERSHIP |
|---|
Leadership Intensive participants can expect rigorous training with BES staff, under the leadership of BES CAO Sue Walsh.
Cost 2019-2020
Leadership Intensives are $1500, or $750 to attend just one of the two days.
Upcoming Trainings
November 1-2, 2019 | Springfield, MA
Visiting Springfield Prep and Veritas Prep
Registration coming soon!
For more information about Leadership Intensives, please contact Stephanie Hellested at shellested@bes.org or over the phone at 617-227-4545 x228.
Summer Leaders Institute
BES Summer Leaders are driven individuals who show talent in the classroom and aspire to become school leaders through the BES Fellowship. During this training, Summer Leaders develop their classroom and leadership skills alongside BES coaches and school leaders.
SLI consists of an orientation in Boston, followed by a 20-day residency at a top charter school. During orientation, our trainers introduce the Summer Leaders to the work of BES and what it takes to lead a high-performing school. The on-site residencies provide participants with the opportunity to work on projects and learn directly from accomplished school leaders.
BES may extend acceptance into the Fellowship for qualified individuals at the end of the Summer Leaders Institute.
Profile of a BES Summer Leader
The ideal Summer Leader will be…
- aligned with BES beliefs about excellent leaders and schools
- seriously considering school leadership
- a demonstrated leader with a track record of outstanding and measurable results
- available to participate in orientation and subsequent program dates
Components of the Summer Leaders Institute
- Orientation: Leading a High-Performing Charter School | two days
- Four-Week Leadership Residency: Practical, Hands-On Exposure to a BES School (placement chosen by BES) | working on a project designed by school leadership and a BES Director of Leadership Development, of importance to the host school and of learning value to the Summer Leader
- Formal work and presentation on a capstone project
- $5,000 stipend and May Orientation housing/travel provided
The application for the 2019 Summer Leaders Institute is closed.
For more information, please contact a recruiter at recruiting@bes.org.
Anchoring Excellence
Anchoring Excellence challenges and supports leaders of high-achieving schools in years three and beyond to propel student growth and achievement while sustaining organizational growth over time.
During the program, senior leaders create, practice, and codify:
Teacher Coaching and Leadership Development Playbooks
- Define the cycle of teacher coaching, lesson internalization, lesson execution, observation, coaching, and feedback.
- Detail the cycle of looking at student work, data analysis, and action-planning for results.
- Specify the plans and processes for growing roles and leaders within the school and larger organization.
Manager Playbooks
- Define what it means to be a manager at the school, both for operational and instructional staff.
- Detail what managers do in all areas and what their specific responsibilities are.
- Specify the required “school way” of doing certain things and areas where a manager has more discretion and autonomy.
Talent Development and Hiring Playbooks
- Define repeatable and objective plans for future staffing decisions and building a talent pipeline.
- Detail recruitment and hiring processes to effectively distribute responsibilities across multiple roles as needed.
Aligned Curricula
- Define approaches to catching students up and pushing them to their full academic potential.
- Detail what curricula are used, where there is consistency across instruction, and where there is autonomy to innovate.
DiSC Playbook
- By analyzing their own results, leaders coach members of their team to adapt their communication to achieve better results.
Anchoring Excellence includes:
- School visits with coaching three times per year
- Executive coaching every two weeks
- In-person cohort meetings twice per year
- 360-degree survey and analysis
- DiSC survey and analysis
- Availability for feedback, strategy discussions, and problem-solving as requested
Cost
The cost of Anchoring Excellence is $15,000.
For more information about Anchoring Excellence, please contact Luke Van de Walle at lvandewalle@bes.org.
BES is offering the following coaching supports for the 2019 -2020 academic year. Scroll down to learn more.
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 conduct 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
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. Coaches – selected based on the needs of the executive leader – provide remote coaching for one hour every other week during the academic year, tailoring their advice and approach to most effectively coach to excellence.
Through these sessions, leaders are equipped with the lens, mindset, and tools required to consistently perform at the top of their game.
$4,000 per participant
One-hour calls every other week during the academic year
Operations Leadership 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 one hour every month during the academic year, tailoring their advice and approach to most effectively coach to excellence.
Through these sessions, leaders are equipped with the lens, mindset, and tools required to consistently perform at the top of their game.
$2,000 for one hour of remote coaching every month during the academic year
Operations Training and Coaching
Operations Training and Coaching is a six-part webinar series designed to equip operations teams in schools currently in their building or growing phase with the skills and resources required to design and execute highly efficient and impactful operational practices.
In addition to the webinars, teams receive six hours of virtual coaching tailored to specific challenges.
$2,500 per school for six, two-hour webinars plus six hours of virtual coaching
Culture Coaching
Webinar series designed to train school leadership in cultural best practices – in systems, operations, spaces, rituals, and celebrations – with targeted support aimed at executing new or refining existing practices.
$2,000 for five, two-hour webinars
Instructional Coaching
Webinar series designed to train school leadership in instructional best practices – in systems, coaching, feedback, classroom observations, and teacher PD, with targeted support aimed at refining current systems, coaching sessions, and professional development series within their schools.
$2,000 for five, two-hour webinars
Sign-ups have closed for 2019-20. Registrations for 2020-2021 will open in Spring 2020.
For more information about coaching, please contact Stephanie Hellested at shellested@bes.org or 617-227-4545 x228.
