PROGRAMS AND

SERVICES
2010-2011
Introduction
Building  Excellent  Schools  offers  a  three-­‐6ered  set  of  programs  and  services  

1 School Leadership Crash Course

designed  to  develop  effec6ve  leadership  in  urban  schools  for  leaders  and  
aspiring  leaders.  Each  program  is  grounded  in  Building  Excellent  Schools  core  
beliefs  and  perpetuates  Building  Excellent  Schools  proven  approach  to  urban  
school  excellence.

School Leadership Crash Course - Overview

The  School  Leadership  Crash  Course  is  a  six-­‐week  program  that  offers  deep  exposure  to  and  study  and  analysis  of  
the  best  prac6ces  of  the  most  successful  urban  charter  schools  in  the  country.  Par6cipants  benefit  from  access  to  
Building  Excellent  Schools  Fellowship  trainings  in  school  culture,  school  mission,  academic  design,  academic  
leadership,  teacher  selec6on,  teacher  development,  curriculum  
development,  and  school  management.  Par6cipants  work  along  
with  siGng  Building  Excellent  Schools  Fellows,  further  enhancing  
their  training  experience.  Directed  assignments  that  apply  key  
training  concepts  receive  substan6al  one-­‐on-­‐one  consulta6on  with  
Building  Excellent  Schools  Fellowship  staff.   75%
Most  importantly,  the  Crash  Course  offers  guided  “school  6me”  
training  in  addi6on  to  prac66oner-­‐based  study.  Approximately  75%  
of  the  6me  is  dedicated  to  school  study  and  analysis.  Aspiring  
school  leaders  ac6vely  partake  in  more  than  a  dozen  visits  to  high   25%
performing  urban  charter  schools,  closely  analyze  the  key  
components  and  common  characteris6cs  of  the  most  successful  
schools  and  school  leaders,  and  develop  a  highly  cri6cal  lens  for  
driving  excellence  in  their  own  schools.  Trainings  are  led  by  
BUILDING EXCELLENT SCHOOLS Building  Excellent  Schools  Fellowship  staff  and  na6onally-­‐ School Study and Analysis
262 Washington Street, 7th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108 Practitioner-Based Trainings
recognized  school  experts.
Tel: 617.227.4545
www.buildingexcellentschools.org
 “I cannot imagine and I even shudder to think about what it would be like to attempt to embark
upon launching a school without the preparation, experience, guidance and support of BES.”
— 2009 SCHOOL LEADERSHIP CRASH COURSE PARTICIPANT

1 School Leadership Crash Course (cont’d)

2010 CRASH COURSE CALENDAR SAMPLE TRAINING DAY

August  2010 September  2010 October  2010 School  Visit:  Boston  Prep  [7:00am  -­‐  12:00pm]
School  Analysis  [1:00  -­‐  3:30pm]
Su M T W Th F Sa Su M T W Th F Sa Su M T W Th F Sa Guiding  Questions:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 1 2 • What  is  the  role  of  staff  upon  student  arrival?
• How  is  the  space  configured  to  maximize  culture  building  and  learning?
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • What  details  of  classroom  instruction  are  consistent  across  the  school?
• Describe  the  role  of  the  leader  within  school  activities.    
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
“No  Apologies”  Leadership  [4:00  -­‐  6:00pm]
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 • Belief  systems  that  drive  our  schools  to  success
• Academic  performance  drives  everything
29 30 31 26 27 28 29 30 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
• Ambition  and  humility
• Core  values,  core  purposes,  mission  and  vision
31

   Travel  Day SAMPLE WEEKLY SCHEDULE

   Crash  Course  Orientation
   School  Leadership  Crash  Course Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Depart  Hotel Depart  Hotel School  Mission  and  Vision Depart  Hotel Depart  Hotel
6:15am 6:15am 7:00  -­‐  9:00am 6:15am 6:15am

School  Visit  A School  Visit  B Getting  the  Right  People   School  Visit  C School  Visit  D
7:00am  -­‐  12:00pm 7:00am  -­‐  12:00pm on  the  Bus  -­‐  Hiring 7:00am  -­‐  12:00pm 7:00  -­‐  11:00am

Travel  to  BES  Offices Travel  to  BES  Offices 9:00am  -­‐  12:00pm Travel  to  BES  Offices Working  Lunch:  
“Be crazy about Working  Lunch:   Working  Lunch:   Working  Lunch: Working  Lunch:  
School  Analysis
11:30am  -­‐  12:30pm
outcomes.” School  Analysis School  Analysis Student  Data  Analysis
12:30  -­‐  3:30pm
School  Analysis
1:00  -­‐  3:30pm 1:00  -­‐  3:30pm 1:00  -­‐  3:30pm School  Visit  E
— DR. LORRAINE MONROE 1:00  -­‐  4:30pm
Education  Philosophy Common   Characteristics   of   Creating  an  Educational   “No  Apologies”  Leadership
4:00  -­‐  6:00pm Excellent  Charter  Schools Program 4:00  -­‐  6:00pm School  Analysis
4:00  -­‐  6:00pm 4:00  -­‐  6:00pm 4:30  -­‐  6:00pm
 “Best professional development experience I have ever participated in!”
“Every time I come here, I learn or re-learn many practices.” — FEEDBACK FROM
WEEKEND WARRIOR SERIES
“Intense mental rigor.” PARTICIPANTS, APRIL 2010

2 Weekend Warrior Series

Weekend Warrior Series - Overview 2010-2011 WEEKEND WARRIOR SERIES DATES
Offered  four  6mes  a  year,  the  Weekend  Warriors  Series  consists  of  2-­‐day  
training  weekends.  Key  instruc6onal  leadership  topics  include:  teacher  
October  22  -­‐  23,  2010 Managing  and  Leading  Adults
development  and  observa6on;  leadership  communica6on;  standards  and  
assessment  crea6on;  effec6ve  lesson  planning  and  execu6on;  data  analysis;  
leadership,  management  and  evalua6on  of  adults;  and  other  key  topics.  
December  3  -­‐  4,  2010 Teacher  Feedback  -­‐  Formal  and  Informal
A  typical  weekend  begins  with  observa6on  and  analysis  of  an  excellent  
school  on  Friday,  followed  by  one  day  of  prac66oner-­‐based  trainings  on  
Saturday.  In  addi6on  to  the  robust  training  offered  by  Building  Excellent   February  4  -­‐  5,  2011 Teacher  Recruitment  and  Selection,  Difficult  Conversations
Schools  Fellowship  staff,  par6cipants  benefit  from  the  interac6on  with  
other  school  leaders  and  the  strong  focus  on  prac6cal  tools  that  can  be  
implemented  immediately. April  8  -­‐  9,  2011 Curriculum  and  Instruction

SAMPLE WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday Saturday

School  Visit  -­‐  Excel  Academy Exemplary  Do  Nows  and  Starters
[7:00am  -­‐  12:30pm] [8:00  -­‐  10:45am]

Transition
[12:30  -­‐  1:30pm]
Analyzing  Instructional  Practice:  Classroom  Video  
Analysis
“This weekend was very
School  Analysis
[10:45am  -­‐  1:00pm] refreshing and re-energized me
[1:30  -­‐  5:00pm] Working  Lunch:  Generating  PD  Plans and my team so that we are
[1:15  -­‐  3:30pm]
• Analyzing  the  relationship  between  instructional   able to either continue practices
Leadership  Role  Plays
program  and  school  culture  
[3:45  -­‐  4:45pm]
that are effective or intervene
• Detailing  the  school’s  instruc6onal  prac6ces  
• Examining  the  role  of  school’s  instruc6onal   Distribution  of  Homework  
where we need to.”
leadership   [4:45  -­‐  5:00pm] — WEEKEND WARRIOR SERIES
PARTICIPANT, FEBRUARY 2009
“I feel like I really have a great scope of my behavior outcomes for the school. We talked a
lot about how to set up school wide procedure that help the school get to a point where it — SCHOOL LEADER
can just educate kids. All and all, I felt this was a great day that I took a lot away from it.” AFTER A SITE VISIT

3 School Site Support Selection and Registration

School Site Support - Overview Selection

Building  Excellent  Schools  staff  is  available  to  engage  in  school  site  visits  and  provide  site-­‐based,  prac6cal   Building  Excellent  Schools  seeks  to  include  as  many  organiza6ons  and  schools  as  
assistance  to  school  leaders.  For  example,  Fellowship  staff  can  visit  individual  schools  preparing  to  open   possible  in  its  programs.  However,  a  strict  adherence  to  a  no-­‐excuses  educa6onal  
and  stress  test  daily  opera6onal  systems  and  other  prepara6ons  prior  to  student  arrival.  Other  examples   philosophy  and  firm  belief  in  the  shared  characteris6cs  of  high  performing  urban  
include,  but  are  not  limited  to:  assessment  crea6on  review;  professional  development  planning  and   charter  schools  is  essen6al.  All  interested  organiza6ons  should  expect  a  reasonable  
implementa6on;  hiring  support;  school  culture  and  instruc6onal  audi6ng;  crisis  management;  and   screening  process  to  ensure  the  best  fit  between  Building  Excellent  Schools  training  
individualized  leadership  coaching. offerings  and  the  educa6onal  prac6ces  of  any  poten6al  client  organiza6on.

Registration
Par6cipa6on  in  Building  Excellent  Schools  Programs  and  Services  is  open  to  
organiza6ons  whose  core  values  align  with  Building  Excellent  Schools.  To  learn  more  
please  contact  Linda  Brown,  Execu6ve  Director,  at  (617)  290-­‐0505  or  via  email  at  
lbrown@buildingexcellentschools.org.  Space  is  limited.

“Champions keep playing

until they get it right.”
— BILLIE JEAN KING

   Copyright  ©  Building  Excellent  Schools  2010

BUILDING EXCELLENT SCHOOLS IS DETERMINED TO CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP FOR STUDENTS IN URBAN CENTERS.