BES Fellowship for Founding School Leaders - Tennessee

About the role

The BES Fellowship seeks a Fellow for a position starting in August 2026 to serve as a founding school leader in Tennessee. This Fellowship provides rigorous, multi-year training for leaders to design, found, and lead a high-achieving school that meets the unique needs of its community.

What You’ll Do

• Engage in over 300 hours of coursework on school design, leadership, governance, and community engagement, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Conduct in-depth studies of effective schools across the nation and complete residencies at high-performing schools.
• Develop a charter application and establish a founding board.
• Partner with a BES coach to refine project management and leadership skills, hire founding staff, recruit students, and solidify school vision.
• Put vision into action, welcome inaugural class, coach teachers, and use data to drive academic success.
• Deepen academic focus, serve growing student population, and build leadership capacity for future growth.
• Opt-in to additional leadership and professional development opportunities from BES.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s or Professional degree preferred
• Minimum 8 years of professional experience, with instructional or instructional leadership experience required
• At least 2 years managing and supervising adults in a PreK-12 setting required, 2 years of school leadership experience preferred
• Commitment to serving as a school leader in the proposed community for at least 10 years required
• Strong preference for candidates with at least 2-3 years of experience living or working in the proposed school region, especially those with strong ties to the community
• Clear, compelling rationale for the proposed school location

Compensation and Benefits

• $100,000 grant during the first year of the program (the Fellowship training year)
• Healthcare grants available
• Travel and accommodations for training and during school study travel
• Reimbursement for up to $5,000 in moving expenses
• Up to $3,500 grants for school design expenses for Build Fellows
• The opportunity to apply for BES start-up fund awards and/or those provided exclusively to Fellows by our partners

Additional Information

• The BES Fellowship training year runs from August 2026 through July 2027, during which time BES Fellows will receive disbursements from their $100,000 grant.
• While grant disbursements will end in July 2027, the authorization process in certain regions can sometimes extend beyond that time.
• BES will work with Fellows affected by this timeline to identify additional funding opportunities for Fellows, wherever possible.