Building Excellent Schools
Building Excellent Schools (BES) is a Boston-based national nonprofit founded in 2001 that runs a selective Fellowship and suite of leadership development programs to train aspiring and current charter school founders, with 220+ Fellow-founded schools serving 75,000+ students across 23 states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Building Excellent Schools does
Building Excellent Schools (BES, Inc.) is a Boston-headquartered 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2001 that operates a national pipeline for charter school leadership development. Its core product is a multi-year BES Fellowship (with Build, Community Co-Design, and Growth tracks) that selects aspiring school founders via a highly selective process (3-4% acceptance rate) and prepares them to design, found, and lead K-12 public charter schools, supported by a $100,000+ annual grant plus healthcare, travel, and moving reimbursements. BES supplements the Fellowship with structured Follow On Support during the planning year and first two years of operation, an eight-month School Management & Leadership Accelerator for leaders in their first five years, individualized School Leader Coaching, two-to-three-day Leadership Intensives, and an Executive Search service — collectively forming a six-program suite spanning the full lifecycle from aspiring founder to replicated network executive.
The business model blends philanthropic revenue with program fees. Primary funding flows from major national foundations — including the Walton Family Foundation, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Gates Foundation, Kern Family Foundation, Charter School Growth Fund, and several smaller family and regional foundations — alongside individual donations channeled through a national development office in Boston. Program revenue is generated via tuition-style fees for the Accelerator ($9,450 priority / $10,500 regular), Leadership Intensives ($900-$1,500 per leader), and usage-based School Leader Coaching ($300-$3,300 per engagement), with Follow On Support subsidized for Fellows and often co-funded by local partners. Distribution is direct-to-leader and partnership-mediated via regional education champion organizations (RedefinED Atlanta, AZ Leads, Nashville Incubator, Fort Worth Education Partnership, New Schools for Alabama, Memphis Education Fund) that source candidates and co-invest in placements.
BES reports a cumulative footprint of 220+ Fellow-founded schools serving 75,000+ students across 23 states and Washington D.C., with 85% of Fellow charter applications authorized versus a 36% national average, and 66% of Fellow-led schools outperforming their peer district in ELA, math, or both. Recent strategic emphasis includes HBCU-charter partnerships (Stillman College), healthcare-workforce pipelines (Grady Health System), and differentiated Fellowship tracks for community co-design and replication — though the organization has no disclosed technology platform, no AI/ML capability, and no public financials.
Building Excellent Schools firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Building Excellent Schools
- Legal name
- BES, Inc.
- Website
- https://bes.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Building Excellent Schools (BES) is a Boston-based national nonprofit founded in 2001 that runs a selective Fellowship and suite of leadership development programs to train aspiring and current charter school founders, with 220+ Fellow-founded schools serving 75,000+ students across 23 states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Building Excellent Schools industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Education Leadership Development
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Charter School Networks (Multi-Site) (EDAJACAC)
Keywords
Where Building Excellent Schools is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Building Excellent Schools business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Donations & Grants: BES operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through charitable donations and grants from foundations and individuals who share its mission to support school leaders and improve educational outcomes.
- Program Fees (Follow On Support): Follow On Support services are provided to school founders in their planning year and first two years of operation. Cost varies based on age of school and level of support needed. For BES Fellows, the rate is subsidized and often cost-shared with a local funder.
- Accelerator Program Fees: The School Management & Leadership Accelerator charges fees for participation: Priority rate $9,450 / Regular rate $10,500. BES partners with schools and leaders to deliver the program as a custom offering.
- Leadership Intensives Fees: Leadership Intensives range from $1,000 to $1,500 per leader depending on content and length. Custom training pricing varies based on content and length determined in collaboration with partner organizations.
- Fellowship Stipends & Grants: BES provides Fellows with grants of $100,000+ over 12 months, healthcare reimbursement up to $6,000 (individual) or $8,000 (family), travel accommodations, moving expense reimbursement up to $5,000, and reimbursements for school design expenses.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | BES Fellowship Grant Package |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | School Management & Leadership Accelerator |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Leadership Intensives |
| Usage-based | Annual | School Leader Coaching |
| Usage-based | Annual | Follow On Support |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
Building Excellent Schools product offering
Product offeringCore offering
BES identifies and prepares leaders to found and operate high-quality K-12 public charter schools through a six-program suite: the multi-year BES Fellowship, Follow On Support for the planning year and first two years of operation, the 8-month School Management & Leadership Accelerator, individualized School Leader Coaching, Leadership Intensives workshops, and Executive Search recruitment services. Programs are delivered nationally via in-person residencies, virtual training, cohort-based learning, and 1:1 coaching, and are supported by philanthropic donations plus program fees.
Product overview
Building Excellent Schools (BES) is a national nonprofit that offers a suite of six interconnected leadership development programs for education leaders at every level. The core program is the BES Fellowship (1-2 year training for school founders), supplemented by Follow On Support (post-authorization coaching for planning year and first two years of operation), the School Management & Leadership Accelerator (BES Accelerator, an 8-month cohort-based program), School Leader Coaching (1:1 individualized coaching), Leadership Intensives (2-3 day workshops with school visits), and Executive Search (recruitment services). These programs are designed to support leaders from school founding through sustained operation, providing training, coaching, and resources at each stage of school leadership.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 85% of charter applications submitted by Fellows have been authorized nationwide (vs 36% national average)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Building Excellent Schools
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Building Excellent Schools technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Building Excellent Schools partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- AZ LeadscoreArizona-based education champion organization partnering with BES to support school leaders and Fellowship placements in Arizona.
- Diverse Charter Schools CoalitioncoreNational organization working to increase the number of diverse-led charter schools; BES partner for leader support and advocacy.
- Fort Worth Education PartnershipcoreEducation champion organization in Fort Worth, TX partnering with BES to support leadership development and school founding.
- Georgia Charter Schools AssociationcoreState charter school association in Georgia partnering with BES for leader support and school development.
- Grady Health SystemcoreHealthcare system in Atlanta partnering with Academy for Innovation in Medicine (AIM) to provide students healthcare career exploration and mentorship.
- Nashville IncubatorcoreTennessee-based incubator supporting BES Fellow Dr. Brenda Jones (Invictus Nashville) and charter school development in Nashville.
- National Accelerator of Autism Charter SchoolsminorOrganization focused on autism charter schools; partner for specialized leadership development programming.
- New Schools for AlabamacoreAlabama-based charter school incubator supporting BES Fellows Dr. Calandra Sales and Dr. Angela Lang in founding schools.
- RedefinED AtlantacoreAtlanta-based education organization supporting BES Fellows Dr. Kimberly Gore and China Cardriche-Clements in school founding.
- Stillman CollegecoreHBCU in Tuscaloosa partnering with I Dream Big Academy - Alabama's first HBCU-Charter School partnership.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Building Excellent Schools competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Uncommon Schools: Multi-state charter management organization with internal leadership development and training programs for school leaders, comparable to BES's fellowship and accelerator model.
- KIPP Foundation: Operates one of the largest charter networks nationally and runs KIPP School Leadership Programs for training and developing its own leaders. Overlaps with BES's mission of training charter school leaders.
- Aspire Public Schools: Multi-state charter school operator with a leadership development track for Aspire Fellows preparing school leaders, comparable in structure to BES's Fellowship program.
- Charter School Growth Fund: National nonprofit that invests in high-performing charter school networks and supports their growth. While a BES partner, it also operates leadership and capacity-building programs that overlap with BES's offering.
- NewSchools Venture Fund: Philanthropic venture fund that invests in education entrepreneurs and innovative schools, including leadership development programs that overlap with BES's mission and approach.
Direct peers
- Relay Graduate School of Education: Provides graduate-level education and leadership training for K-12 educators and school leaders, with a strong focus on charter and underserved schools. Directly comparable to BES's Fellowship, Accelerator, and Leadership Intensives programs.
- New Schools for Alabama: Alabama-based charter school incubator that supports school founders through leadership development and pre-authorization support, directly comparable to BES's regional Fellowship and Follow On Support offerings.
- New Leaders: National nonprofit that trains and supports school leaders, particularly in urban and underserved schools. Offers residency and principal preparation programs similar to BES's Fellowship and Follow On Support.
- National Charter Schools Institute: Provides charter school authorizer services and supports school leader development across multiple states, overlapping with BES's training and authorization support activities.
Emerging players
- Public Impact: Education consulting and policy organization focused on school leadership, talent management, and school turnaround. Comparable to BES's coaching and leadership development offerings.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Building Excellent Schools social profiles
Digital presenceBuilding Excellent Schools financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Building Excellent Schools leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles32 records
Building Excellent Schools funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Building Excellent Schools M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Building Excellent Schools
What does Building Excellent Schools do?
BES identifies and prepares leaders to found and operate high-quality K-12 public charter schools through a six-program suite: the multi-year BES Fellowship, Follow On Support for the planning year and first two years of operation, the 8-month School Management & Leadership Accelerator, individualized School Leader Coaching, Leadership Intensives workshops, and Executive Search recruitment services. Programs are delivered nationally via in-person residencies, virtual training, cohort-based learning, and 1:1 coaching, and are supported by philanthropic donations plus program fees.
Is Building Excellent Schools a public or private company?
Building Excellent Schools is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Building Excellent Schools founded?
Building Excellent Schools was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Building Excellent Schools based?
Building Excellent Schools is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Building Excellent Schools make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Philanthropic Donations & Grants are the primary driver. The others are program Fees (Follow On Support), accelerator Program Fees, leadership Intensives Fees and fellowship Stipends & Grants.
Who are Building Excellent Schools's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Uncommon Schools, KIPP Foundation, Aspire Public Schools, Charter School Growth Fund and NewSchools Venture Fund. Direct peers are Relay Graduate School of Education, New Schools for Alabama, New Leaders and National Charter Schools Institute. Public Impact is listed as an emerging player.
Does Building Excellent Schools have an API?
No public API is recorded for Building Excellent Schools.
What industry is Building Excellent Schools in?
Building Excellent Schools's product category is K-12 Education Leadership Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAB, K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits, with a secondary code of EDAJACAC, Charter School Networks (Multi-Site). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.