Greetings from Our CEO

Welcome to Excellence Community Schools!

We thank you for your interest and invite you to tour our website to learn more about our mission, history, approach to instruction, and campuses.

Excellence Community Schools (ECS) was developed to increase our impact and enhance our National Blue Ribbon award-winning model as we expand to serve more scholars, families, and communities.

Our schools cultivate lifelong learners equipped with the courage to dream, the skills to succeed, and the unrelenting pursuit of excellence. Whether it is through our high expectations for academics and conduct, our co-curricular programming, our community-based partnerships, the creative arts, or technology, we strive to provide our scholars with the competitive edge they need to compete for seats in prestigious high schools, universities, and chosen career paths.

We believe that schools are the heartbeat of a community. High-quality schools have the power to elevate entire communities, from raising property values to bringing together generations of family members, and embracing a multitude of cultures all invested in the future generation of scholars, innovators, leaders, workforce, and global citizens.

ECS is a charter management organization driving the expansion of our nationally recognized model. We aim to change the longstanding narrative of inequality in historically underserved communities by closing achievement, opportunity, and creativity gaps.

The two blue flags in our logo underpin our commitment to uphold the high quality of education that earned our flagship campus a National Blue Ribbon Award, as well as a highly competitive award from the U.S. Department of Education for the replication and expansion of high-quality charter schools.

This is a personal investment for us. We want the best for our scholars in the same manner that we want the best for our own children. Through the levers of high academic standards, community pride, accountability, positive work habits, and persistence, our schools are preparing our next generation of innovators and problem-solvers so we can cultivate safer, healthier, compassionate, confident, and informed citizens for a brighter and unified future.

Thank you for joining us in our journey to elevate and empower every scholar, family, and community we serve.

Sincerely,
Dr. Charlene Reid
Dr. Denniston Reid
Co-CEOs, Excellence Community Schools

Learn More about Dr. Charlene Reid
Learn More about Dr. Denniston Reid

Learn More about Dr. Charlene Reid

Dr. Charlene Reid is Co-CEO of Excellence Community Schools (ECS), a charter management organization with schools in Bronx, NY and Stamford, CT. Prior to her role at ECS, Dr. Charlene Reid was the principal and executive director of Bronx Charter School for Excellence (Bronx Excellence). Bronx Excellence was subsequently recognized as the highest performing K-8 non-magnet public school in New York State, and in 2012 was distinguished as a U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. In 2019, Stamford Excellence was recognized as a School of Distinction for High Performance based on the 2017-2018 school year. Prior to joining Bronx Excellence, Dr. Charlene Reid served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in Bronx and Harlem. She began her career as a lead teacher in South Los Angeles. Dr. Charlene Reid earned her bachelor's degree in political science and her master's degree in elementary education from the University of California, Los Angeles. She also earned a master's in educational leadership from Columbia University. Dr. Charlene Reid was awarded a Cahn Fellowship for outstanding New York City principals at Columbia University, Teachers College in 2011, and later earned a Doctorate in Education, Ed. D. in 2016 from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education. She is a Winter 2019 Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow.

Learn More about Dr. Denniston Reid

Denniston M. Reid, Jr. is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Excellence Community Schools (ECS), a charter management organization supporting eleven schools including its 2012 National Blue Ribbon flagship in the Bronx, New York and its 2017-2021 Category 1 School of Distinction for High Performance in Stamford, CT.

As the former President, Chief Academic Officer and Superintendent of a small charter network, Dr. Reid orchestrated the launch and development of a 2016-17 New York State Reward School for High Performance as well as the transformation of a small portfolio of public charter schools. Prior to this work, he was an elementary school principal in East New York, Brooklyn. During his tenure, the school was one of the highest performing elementary schools in New York State and was rated triple-A by New York City’s metrics for school environment, student achievement, and student progress. Over eighty- seven and ninety-eight percent of his students demonstrated proficiency on New York State's English Language Arts and Mathematics exams, respectively.

Before leading the elementary school, Dr. Reid served as a program officer at a New York City non-profit organization, where he facilitated teams launching new small high schools through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation New Century High School Initiative. He also served as a founding teacher at one of NYC’s first charter schools in the Bronx where the New York Times chronicled his students’ achievement. Dr. Reid, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica and immigrated to The Bronx, NY as a teenager, began his career as a Teach for America corps member in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem.

An alumnus of Colgate University, Dr. Reid has a master's degree in Politics and Education with a Policy Concentration from Columbia University Teachers College and an Ed. D in Educational and Organizational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Colgate University and the Board of Directors for New York Cares.