Background:
Bill Durbin is a senior partner in the Strategic Advising practice area at Bellwether, specializing in academic and program strategy.
Bill has worked in the education field for more than 26 years, focusing on leader development, performance management and school improvement, growth strategy, and new school design at the district, network, and school levels.
Prior to Bellwether, Bill served as the chief of schools at DSST Public Schools in Denver. He was responsible for managing 12 schools and 5,000 students, leadership pipeline management, leader development programming, and the annual school planning processes. He also served as YES Prep Public Schools’ head of schools, where he was responsible for identifying, training, and managing school directors at the 13 YES Prep schools serving 8,000 students in Houston. Before managing the YES Prep portfolio of schools, Bill co-founded and led three schools: YES Prep North Central, YES Prep East End, and YES Prep Gulfton. Bill started his career in 1998 as a founding teacher at YES Prep Southeast.
Bill is a Pahara-Aspen Institute Education Fellow. He earned an MBA from Rice University as part of the Rice Entrepreneurship in Education Program. Bill also completed a master’s degree in educational administration and supervision at the University of Houston and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Illinois. He currently lives in Houston with his wife and two step-daughters.
Why I do this work:
A student’s ZIP code should not determine access to a quality education. One of our biggest equity actions should be to ensure every student has access to on-grade-level instruction each and every year, and do so with care and support. I have committed my entire career to supporting organizations in their mission to increase the number of high-quality school options across all neighborhoods. I appreciate the opportunity to continue this work at Bellwether and to support organizations in their ambitious plans to ensure that every student in America has access to a high-quality, equitable, and inclusive school option.
Experience at Bellwether:
Strategic Planning; Growth and Expansion Strategy; Human Capital/Organizational Design; Teacher Evaluation and Development Systems; Performance Improvement/Sustainability; Performance Metrics; Implementation Planning; Project Management; CMO/Charter School Operators; District Schools
Client segments served:
K-12 Schools; School Districts; CMO/Charter Schools; State Education Agencies; Foundations and Grantees; Nonprofit Organizations; Product and Service Providers
Sample clients:
Harmony Public Schools, International Leadership of Texas, Great MN Schools, Opportunity 180, Charter School Growth Fund, NewSchools Venture Fund, Excellent Schools New Mexico, Texas Education Agency, State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia
Contact information:
bill.durbin@bellwethereducation.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-durbin-4a500614/
@BillDDurbin
Issue expertise:
COVID-19; Charter Schools; School Districts; Teacher and School Leader Quality; Urban Education
