Summer Leaders Internship

Get a head start

The Building Excellent Schools Summer Leaders Internship is for outstanding graduate students who wish to develop their leadership capacity and eventually pursue a career in school leadership through the BES Fellowship.

Summer Leaders take part in a multi-week intensive that combines purposeful study of what it takes to lead a no excuses charter school with an internship with school leaders, who are founding and leading excellent schools. Reserved for those with the ambition and humility to develop leadership capacity, Summer Leaders gain valuable insight into school culture, school mission, and school management.

At the conclusion of the summer, successful Summer Leaders are eligible to receive offers to enter into the flagship, full-year BES Fellowship which will begin either at the conclusion of their graduate study or in the fall immediately after the internship.

Summer Leaders receive both the theoretical underpinning and the practice-based training on the 10 core principles of every high performing BES school:

• Firm belief that all students can learn and achieve at high levels
• Frequent internal assessments with data to drive instruction.
• Strong curriculum focus on skill mastery.
• Strong discipline code enforced by all.
• Clear, outcome-focused mission, understood by all, and evidenced throughout the school.
• Clear and frequent communications with families regarding student performance.
• Highly visible leaders ensuring all are focused on mission.
• Highly structured learning environment and organization.
• Classroom practices promoting continuity (and predictability) from one classroom to another.
• Extended school day and school year.

Profile of a Summer Leader

The ideal Summer Leader will be…

• aligned with the BES design of the no excuses urban charter school model.
• seriously considering school leadership.
• a demonstrated leader with a track record of outstanding and measurable results.
• capable of producing significant output of important and urgent matters in a timely manner.
• available to participate in orientation and subsequent project dates as Summer Leader.

Components of the Summer Leader’s Experience

A Summer Leader will benefit from…

• 3 days led by Eileen Callahan, BES Director of Academics, who provides the practical underpinnings of leadership of a no excuses school.

• 20-day intensive experience working on a project or projects designed by school leaders and the BES Director of Academics of importance and use to the host school and of learning value to the Summer Leader.

Deadlines are the same for both sessions.

• $5,000 internship stipend and June Orientation housing/travel are provided.
• Direct e-mail access to BES team.
• Formal work and presentation on a capstone project.

Apply

The application process for the BES Summer Leaders Internship is the same as that for the BES Fellowship, which involves completing an online self-study questionnaire and survey prior to submitting your introductory information and resume. Select candidates will then be invited to submit a formal application—a process that involves answering questions via webcam.

The application for the Summer Leaders Internship is now closed. For details about the next year’s application, please email akurdziel@buildingexcellentschools.org.