This week Torsh CEO Courtney Williams is back in Boston for the Building Excellent Schools (BES) Network Leaders Meeting. BES is an organization committed to the core belief that academic achievement drives every element of a successful school. This resonates with us as well and the shared commitment has grown into a beautiful partnership over the last three years.
BES has grown to drive the success of more than 27,000 students in over 100 schools across the nation. Consistently high-performing schools are selected to join The Network for support in strategizing and sharing valuable practices for sustained student achievement. The Network Leaders Meeting brings together school leaders from 21 schools in 17 cities that are part of the BES system. Courtney is excited to join, visit with old friends and connect with new leaders. A lot of the leaders are likely to be familiar with TALENT since nearly 1/3 of The Network schools are currently utilizing the platform. All in all, there are currently more than 750 BES teachers and leaders using TALENT but we expect that number to significantly grow this next year. Together with BES, we have built out new features to facilitate collaboration across The Network.
The purpose of the project is to create a space where leaders can coach, communicate, and collaborate in the common pursuit of excellence. The schools within this network can have their own individual systems for their teacher professional development – but can also share exemplar videos across the entire BES network. They can create peer groups enabling 4th-grade teachers at Purpose Prep in Nashville to connect with Valor Academy teachers in California, further refining their practice through collaborative reflection and ongoing coaching.
Teaming up with the BES leaders to complete this framework has provided an invigorating experience for our team, and new opportunities for educator learning. The Torsh TALENT platform is chosen by educational institutions nationwide to supplement their professional development, and we are happy that it is also a tool of choice for one of the leaders in high-achieving, college-preparatory charter schools. We look forward to the continued growth of our relationship with Building Excellent Schools, and their continued progress in developing schools that are “truly excellent, founded by talented leaders and grounded from the start in proven strategies and design elements”.
For more information about BES and the amazing work they do, you can visit their website here.
