Execution in Entrepreneurial School Leadership 

Program Overview
ExSL is the nation's first program which provides school leadership teams a framework to successfully execute their vision in start-up schools. The end result - moving new schools further, faster. Launched in 2008, ExSL is a partnership between Inner-City Teaching Corps and The Levy Center at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. The program is designed to develop leaders who are effective in executing in entrepreneurial environments and offers exposure and access to the insightful wisdom of successful start-ups and entrepreneurs in other industries. ExSL consists of 4 elements: The ExSL Summer Institute at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, plan development, the ExSL Principal Forum, and dynamic on-going assessment and coaching. 

Our Mission
Every child deserves a superior education. To that end, ExSL has set its sights on a new and higher standard for American public schools. Fusing the best of enterprise and education, ExSL is leading the charge for effectiveness in a time of sweeping change and catalyzing a new age for start-up schools that enable under-resourced schools achieve their highest potential.

Our Goals

• Enable faster and higher academic achievement
• Increase probability of overall success of participant schools

Participant Outcomes

• Exposure and access to the great wisdom and insight which can be gleaned from successful start-ups and entrepreneurs in other industries
• Internalization and demonstration of key entrepreneurial skills for effective execution in a start-up context
• Creation of an entrepreneurial school operations plan informed by effective entrepreneurial practice

Program Themes

• Efforts vs. Measurable Outcomes -  Winning organizations focus their efforts and measure results instead of activities
• Focus, Prioritization and Sequence - Nature of entrepreneurial organizations makes it especially challenging to keep the urgent from eclipsing the important
• Data-Driven and Strategic Decision Making - Setting milestones and objectives with clear goals and timelines that are tied to the strategy of the organization
• Anticipating Potholes and Ditches - Successful entrepreneurs have thought through the process of how they will adapt their plan when they hit roadblocks

Program Components

Summer Institute:

• Sessions on essential entrepreneurial skills used in leading start-up organizations, leading high-impact teams, managing school economics, data-driven decision making and selling an entrepreneurial vision
• Includes entrepreneurial coursework taught by Kellogg School professors, multiple case-method driven courses focused on entrepreneurial businesses and schools, numerous interactive exercises and conversations and Q&A with successful entrepreneurs
• Lessons learned from Alain Locke Charter Academy, whose significant ISAT growth earned it a place as one of seven schools featured in "K-8 Charter Schools, Closing the Achievement Gap: Innovations in Education" published by the U.S. Department of Education

Operational Plan:

Summer Institute deliverables include a highly detailed entrepreneurial road map and executable operations school plan for start-up phase years one and two which addresses school culture, core literacy and core math. The plan addresses:

• Short and Long Term Goal-setting
• Prioritizing and Sequencing Areas of Focus
• Ongoing Evaluation
• Anticipating Potholes and Ditches
• Moving from Proficiency to Mastery

Two Years of Ongoing Support:

• Ongoing coaching/mentorship for school start-up leaders and board members to assist in effectively evolving their plan in the face of entrepreneurial challenges
• Monthly Forum - a facilitated peer exchange group focused on problem solving
• 3-day mid-program retreat (Summer 2)
• A network of other school entrepreneurs

Structured Biannual Assessment Process:

• ExSL conducts a mid-year and end-of-year assessment to ensure effective ExSL plan implementation.  The process includes a school walk through, one-on-one principal interview, teacher interviews, and data analysis.  Insights gleaned in the process are used to define the ExSL plan to ensure success. 

"For the first week, I understood we would be in class, but I didn't understand that it would not only be about school, it was about business and entrepreneurship and now I understand why we are all entrepreneurs in our schools. I thought it would be standard, but it was life changing. I now feel confident. I feel I can reach my goals, not by cheerleading. It's not about cheerleading; it's about setting goals and creating a plan to reach them."
Catherine Rich, Director,
Bartolome de Las Casas Charter School

1) ExSL accelerated and magnified the success of LEARN's leadership team.
2) ExSL is the best professional development program for school leaders. Using their framework and under their guidance, we accomplished in two weeks what would normally take two years.
3) ExSL allowed our leadership team to bond, align their vision and develop a top-notch execution plan.
4) Launching and operating a new school is an entrepreneurial venture. ExSL shifted our mindset and gave us the tools to be successful.
Greg White, CEO,
Learn Charter Academies