Seeking Visionary School Founders
The Drexel Fund seeks visionary founders who are interested in gaining access to the support necessary to take a dream for a sustainable, replicable, high-performing private school model from possibility to reality.
The Drexel Fund Founders Program
The Drexel Fund Founders Program is a one-year paid fellowship that helps outstanding leaders already on the path to launching a school continue to plan and open an innovative and effective private school in one of The Drexel Fund’s target states: Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The eighth cohort of the Founders Program is designed for entrepreneurs who will begin the fellowship in Summer 2025 and be ready to launch a new private school in Fall 2026.
Through the fellowship, school founders will develop their school’s education model and finalize the nuts and bolts of their school launch, including board and budget development, market analysis, facility location, student recruitment and staff hiring. Founders will create a plan that will make it possible for their school to achieve top-tier results for children while maintaining a sustainable financial model.
The Drexel Fund seeks Fellows whose schools will have a student body that is at least one third eligible for free/reduced-fee lunch, be academically rigorous and financially sustainable, and help students develop strong character. Fellows have a strong rationale for opening a private school, either because their school will be faith-based or will feature an innovative approach that requires the autonomy of a private school.
Serious candidates for the Founders Program will possess a well-developed vision for their new school. The Drexel Fund’s design and planning support will deepen Fellows’ capacity to concretize that vision. The Founders Program will provide resources that will maximize Fellows’ growth as founding school leaders, which could include training in partnership with successful national programs, shadowing of high-performing school models, and support from experts in the practical components of founding and leading a school.
Following The Drexel Fund’s approval of the business plan developed during the Founders Program year, Fellows will be eligible to apply for a school startup investment.
Alternate Path Founders
Compelling school founders who apply to the Founders Program but are not selected may be eligible for Alternate Path support. Applications to Alternate Path are by invitation only.
Fellowship Highlights
- Competitive stipend package
- Customized learning and development plan for each Fellow
- Ongoing learning reinforced by monthly cohort training sessions focused on readiness benchmarks for launch
- Workshops by experts in school budgets and board governance, among other topics
- School visits to high-performing schools across the country
- Near-term opportunity to apply for school startup funding as well as the long-term opportunity for strategy and financial support as the school replicates
Fellow Qualifications
- Deeply committed and driven
- Visionary and entrepreneurial
- Self-aware and committed to continuous improvement
- Results-oriented and results-proven
- Committed to equity and building strong relationships with all stakeholders
- Strategic thinkers
- Strong communicators who possess charisma
- Resourceful project managers
- Persistent and relentless change agents
Application Process & Deadlines
Application Process
- Round 1: Candidates will upload a resume and submit answers to short questions about their leadership capacity and school proposal.
- Round 2: After a phone interview with a member of the Drexel team, second-round candidates will upload a draft school design and budget, submit references, and complete a set of video interview questions.
- Round 3: Finalists will complete performance tasks, have a live interview, and be visited by a member of the Drexel team at their current school or workplace.
Key Dates
- September 30, 2024: Application for 2025-26 cohort opens
- November 29, 2024: Application deadline for early review
- March 3, 2025: Application closes
- Winter/Spring 2025: Applications finalized on a rolling basis
