Building Excellent Schools (BES) is a national nonprofit organization committed to improving the academic achievement of underserved students in our nation's urban centers. We accomplish this by start...
Building Excellent Schools (BES) is a national nonprofit organization committed to improving the academic achievement of underserved students in our nation's urban centers. We accomplish this by starting and sustaining charter schools of excellence through a range of offerings, including our flagship program, the nationally renowned BES Fellowship. Everything we do—from opening schools to training leaders to supporting school growth—comes out of our core belief that academic performance drives every element of a school, including design, leadership, culture, decisions, and governance. We are dedicated to providing urban students with the same opportunities as their more affluent peers, and we stop at nothing to give every BES student a structured environment in which they can thrive. This is why our 100+ schools follow the BES approach of an academically rigorous instructional program, dramatically increased instructional time, and a relentless focus on literacy and mathematics. And it is why our schools routinely outperform their surrounding districts on standardized tests and thoroughly prepare their students for success in college. To date, BES has established more than 100 schools in 26 cities in 15 states and the District of Columbia and served over 25,000 students from families with household incomes at or below the poverty line.